Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege

A great ode to the NES era of gaming. Difficult but fair and a bargain for $10.

Otros bootleg de Castlevania que no pretende disfrazar nada.

Pretty good Classicvania. Nothing special, perhaps, but it does the job.

Recommended for the support and with a big disclaimer. This game is tripping on too much nostalgia. Love the general vibe of this game but a few things are so outdated they are here for nostalgia only, and serves only as a nod to older games while bringing a ton unnecessary pain to the gamefeel. If you love non-Iga Castlevanias you'll love this, but it'll feel worse than playing that on any modern system. There might be a narrative point to the live system since you are able to revive given a cost, but why is there a timer? Why is there no level select after you beat a level even though there is a map screen with said levels? I quit stage 7 to try to figure out what all these passwords from the collectibles were and it sent me back to level one, this deleted all my progress. This is plain stupid. Even if it breaks achievements, put a damn level select in this game, this isn't a rogue-like so there are no interesting decisions to be done during a run. Why is there such a focus on passwords when you can just look them up and use them? What is the point of unlocking the collectibles if they are basically useless? This is especially weird since you have to look up what the collectibles even do. How is anyone supposed to know what "Fisherman" mode is!? And if you wanna have fun with passwords use a QWERTY layout ffs, no reason to be this geriatric... This game would be much better and easier to recommend with a save-state or level select. I get wanting to make this feel like old NES games but you'll have to be okay with negative reviews criticising the old for old-sake game design. There are modern solutions to these problems: lock the real ending behind a full run or disable achievements for starting at specific, already unlocked, stages. I have beat some of the old Castlevanias and on any modern hardware (save-states/rewinds/etc.) these are way less punishing than this game (except for those cheese-only bosses) ============================= Minor grip with possible fix: { Edit after playing a bit more: If you press down and right and then jump the character only jumps up instead of right with pogo on. This really sucks if you have diagonal pressed and then jump, as the player clearly wants to jump forward with pogo but instead jumps up with pogo, fixing this would fix so many miss jumps. } Will also never get used to the diagonal or up only jump and losing control after jumping. Losing a life due to pogoing on one or more enemies and being sent straight into an abyss seems like it shouldn't be the most punishing thing in the game. Falling being equivalent to getting hit multiple times does not seem like a fair or equal punishment, especially since you have very limited lives.

Great retro-inspired game that really nails its identity. The presentation is colorful, layered with religious themes, and set against a strong gothic backdrop that gives it a distinct atmosphere right away. The music especially stood out—moody, immersive, and perfectly capturing that classic gothic chiptune vibe. That said, this is definitely a game built for players who appreciate old-school challenge. It leans hard into that NES-era “learn by failing” style of gameplay—expect to play, die, and repeat until you master each level. Playing as Rudiger feels solid and responsive, but be ready for that classic Castlevania-style knockback, which can be punishing if you're not prepared. The gore is another highlight—over-the-top in a fun way, with enemies bursting into guts and adding to the game’s gritty charm. The spear mechanics and power-ups are well-designed, giving a real sense of progression as you defeat bosses and grow stronger. Speaking of bosses, they’re a standout feature. Each fight feels unique, almost like a puzzle, where success depends on learning patterns and finding the right moment to strike. Taking on Pacer and his legion was a blast and really brought back that “good old days” feeling from the games that inspired it. Overall, a great pick for anyone craving a challenging, nostalgic experience with a strong gothic flair.

Solid, but difficult game. Lots of cool levels. Quick but good

A great throwback to the old Castlevania's. A bit on the easy side on Normal (took me less than 3hrs to beat) but playing on Classic is a great challenge. The music is good, the pixel art does the job, the gameplay simple, I love it.