An indie development team is inviting players to help Dracula rebuild his castle in a new roguelike game called Draftula. The game's demo is currently available on Steam, offering a unique twist on the genre where players earn room tiles instead of cards to construct the vampire lord's labyrinthine fortress.
The core gameplay loop of Draftula involves strategically placing earned room tiles to build a castle tall enough to withstand the attacks of a persistent vampire hunter, Sir Del Montes. Each room tile has a coin cost, requiring players to make careful decisions about their construction. Monsters can also be placed within the rooms to further impede the hunter. Success in each run is rewarded with hearts, a currency that can be used in a hub area to purchase permanent upgrades between playthroughs, allowing for castle expansion beyond immediate limits.
Draftula's premise is set against the backdrop of a weakened Dracula, who has recently emerged from a long slumber. This diminished state necessitates overcoming certain height restrictions in castle construction by using specific tiles to break protective wards. The duration of each run can vary significantly, from mere seconds to a few minutes, depending on the available rooms, monsters, and the player's ability to earn coins for additional tile placements.
Upon the conclusion of each night, Sir Del Montes dismantles the player's completed castle. Players then return to the hub area, a cliffside overlooking the building site, where Dracula and various vendors reside. These vendors offer new castle pieces for purchase using the hearts collected across multiple runs, gradually unlocking opportunities to expand the castle's dimensions. Some building pieces are offered temporarily, such as the innkeeper room, which requires surrounding tiles.
While the demo is concise, offering a limited number of runs before progression halts due to unmet height requirements, it showcases Draftula's potential as a planning-focused roguelike. The game features a deliberate design, from its available components to its retro aesthetic and ambient music. A notable point of feedback from the demo is the absence of an undo button, which could mitigate frustration from accidental tile placements.
Draftula's demo has recently been updated with a new Nightly mode. This mode introduces a fixed set of tiles, a map, and rule-modifying elements. These changes include bonuses for placing rooms, restrictions on column placements, and random distribution of duplicate rooms. Nightly mode also features a predetermined scoring system that calculates bonuses based on the number of rooms, castle height, and accumulated coins and gems, providing a structured way to practice before the full release. While players can retry runs endlessly, score submission to the leaderboard is limited to one attempt.
Currently, Draftula does not have a set release date. However, the game presents an appealing option for players seeking a relaxed construction experience with a Castlevania theme or a change of pace from the series' demanding boss encounters.