Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark

Holy crap did Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark take me by surprise! I loved the first game in this series, but what we have here is something truly special and actually lives up to the promise that the first game had. We are only in the first quarter of 2025 as I write this, but I can see this 100 percent being on my game of the year list. This is truly awesome! It has great action, great platforming, great puzzles, and an awesome monster girl type story with two characters that are just so likable. I had a feeling I was going to like this, but it turned out even better than I imagined it would be!

Sisters Are Doing It For Their Master

The story of Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark is a lot of fun. It is the story of two sisters, Kirika and Masha who are looking to bring back their Demon Lord, Maxim. To do this, they must restore his castle and deal with rebel demons and even demon hunters from the human realm. The game for a Metroidvania game actually has a great deal of story and that is something I think is really cool. It certainly has a bit of a CastleVania vibe about it, more like the Nintendo DS style games such as CastleVania: Portrait of Ruin for example.

Two Very Different Sisters

The two sisters thing that did Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark has going on is not just for the story! This is a major aspect of the gameplay as both sisters play very differently and you can switch between the two on the fly. Masha uses a whip and I guess you would say as that more classic CastleVania thing going on with her dashing, you will get some Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night vibes with her. Kirika, on the other hand, uses guns and these guns are awesome and range from quick firing to more powerful bursts, she is more for those who want to fight at a distance. Each sister can use sub weapons too, giving each one a great arsenal of attacks and moves. While you may prefer one sister over the other, you will have to play as them both as certain sections of the game and certain puzzles will require the specific skill set of one of the sisters.

A Castle Fit For A Demon Lord

Each sister certainly has their own style going on which is cool and fun, but in general, Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark overall is just an absolute joy to play. You have a large castle that you need to bring back for your Demon Lord and as you do, you will get powered up. This is very much a Metroidvania game where you will have to explore and come back to areas that were once inaccessible, but now are ok thanks to some kind of upgrade you have gotten. If you enjoy Metroidvania games, I just see there being no way at all that you will not have an absolute blast with this game! If they made some tweaks to the story, I could legit see this being 100 percent accepted as an actual Castlevania game!

Part Castle Part Vania!

Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark has some awesome visuals! This has that gothic style that we all know and love from the CastleVania series and visually, it reminds me of titles like CastleVania: Dawn of Sorrow and even Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It has a bit more of a “demonic” vibe than Castlevania usually does, but I mean that in a positive way. Each sister has her own look and I like that they are so differently colored. The monster designs and the gothic nature of each area you go into, really do give this game a very cool presentation. The animation is also silky smooth as well and the way the two sisters move is very cool. When story segments happen, we get these nice large character portraits that look great! This is honestly one game that I would love an art book of, I would for sure buy that in an instant! The sound design is also great, the soundtrack could not be any more fitting and there is even voice acting in the game which sounds great!

Pros:

• I liked how each sister was so different to play as
• I got a real kick out of the story
• This is some of the best Metroidvania gameplay I have experienced in a while
• If you love Metroidvania games, you are 100 percent going to love this!

Cons:

• I do think that non Metroidvania fans will still not be won over by this
• You could argue that Kirika makes things a tad too easy with her guns