Return to 1997 in ‘Symphony of the Night’-Inspired ‘Magnavale: Eternal Soul’ [Trailer]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night holds a special place in many gamers’ hearts. And while the man behind SOTN, Koji Igarashi, gave us a welcome spiritual successor in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, there are those longing for a pixel-based version. Enter Barrier Studio and Magnavale: Eternal Soul, which is currently in development for release on Steam.

Details on the story are light at the moment, but the game casts you as Amrita Magnadyne, who has set about exploring Castle Lexington. As one would expect in a Metroidvania, you’ll be scouring the castle, exploring every corner to find new abilities and items in order to progress to new areas. There will also be RPG elements, and plenty of weapons for you to wield.

Eternal Soul doesn’t just take after Symphony, mind you (though the pixel art definitely hits the nostalgia factor nicely). In fact, the developer states that the game also takes after the GBA and DS Castlevania titles. That happens to be in the form of the Soul System from Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, but with a few tweaks. The souls are now split into four categories: Manifest, Augment, Passive and Guardian. Movement will also be fast-paced, as you’ll be making use of your dash and high jump to almost fly around the screen.

Even then, Eternal Soul will still have its own original mechanics. Namely, death functions differently. If you do die, you won’t be sent back to the start menu. Instead, you will be revived at your last save room with no progress lost. However, the foes you encounter will remember your “follies”. There will also be optional side quests with rewards for completion.

Currently, you can keep track of the game via the newsletter.