Dracula: The Days of Gore

The Good
The "gimmick" of needing to stake defeated enemies works very well, adding a tactical element to battles. The enemies are really dangerous. Even the ones that walk slower than you and only have melee attacks have a disturbing ability to sneak up on you. The atmosphere is quite good. The music, the gloomy corners, the dangerous enemies, and even the lack of a save all combine to leave you constantly looking over your shoulder.

The Bad
The story is entirely contained within the back cover. There are no cutscenes, scrolling text, or anything else of that nature. Finishing the game earns you the word "Victory!", and nothing else. The game is obviously unfinished. The back cover speaks of elements that are not contained within the game, and even contradicts itself regarding the number of levels. (There are 11.) This continues on into the game itself, with missing textures and uneven level quality. (The sewer level is exactly as good as you think, and the hardest level is level 7.) The AI is quite poor. Enemies will walk nearly randomly sometimes, and melee enemies in general pose little threat. While the levels are quite large, there is no ability to save within levels or checkpoints. If you die, you restart the level. You can, and will, get stuck on the scenery. (I got stuck twice.) As there is no in-level save this is particularly aggravating.

The Bottom Line
To be clear, this is a very bad game. It feels like the development schedule had a couple months knocked off, creating missing features and a generally unpolished game. Even ignoring all that, the game is quite simple. There are 5 weapons, and the pistol/stake is the one to use throughout 90% of the game. There aren't that many enemies, and the melee enemies are more or less interchangeable. Still, the game does horror right. Creeping forward, firing shots at approaching enemies, deciding whether to circle around and stake the vampires on the ground or continue firing, all the while looking behind you to prevent an axe in your back. It's not deep psychological horror or anything amazing, but it will scare you.