Soul of Darkness

As a child, Kale's family was attacked by vampires leading to the death of both his parents. After this Kale devoted himself to tracking and hunting down vampires. At one time he saved a girl called Lydia who lost her memories from the horror of a vampire encounter. They fell in love and have since lived together. However as Lydia is getting nightmares they travel to Ominos, a small city that often appear in Lydia's dreams. As they arrive they find out that it's a city only inhabited by death. It's not long until they come across a vampire who captures Lydia, telling her that it's time for her to return to her family. Now Kale is on his own and has to find Lydia.

Soul of Darkness is a side-scrolling platformer similar to later entries in the Castlevania series, such as Symphony of the Night. The game is divided into eleven levels, making it more linear than a typical Metroidvania game. The player has access to two weapons. At the start of the game he has a fire sword and after one of the first boss fights he also gets access to an ice spear. Both weapons can be upgraded with the use of purple soul shards which the player earns for each enemy defeated. Weapons can be upgraded in four categories (power, combo, critical and magic) and at certain intervals they are leveled up. Magic is used for a special attack. For the fire sword it summons fireballs around the player and for the ice spear it's a ranged attack.

The different capabilities of the two weapons are also used for some puzzle solving. The fire sword can be used to activate contraptions that unlock doors while the ice spear can be used to turn water creatures and fountains into ice which then can be jumped onto. The spear itself can also be used as a platform as it sticks into walls when thrown. At certain places the player can transform into creatures that allow him to get through some passages. For example the beetle can get through low passages and has abilities such as walking on the ceiling. To get through water sections Kale can transform himself into a fish.