Friday, April 14, 2023

Free Point-and-Click Adventure Review: Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back


Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back is a point-and-click adventure game by the Spanish developer Alcachofa Soft.

The game follows a man named John Hacker who rescues a girl from the vampire Count Dráscula. It's a game with many humorous takes on the movie monster genre. Unfortunately, the English translation is let down by the sub-par voice acting and translation mistakes.

The version of the game with Spanish voices and subtitles, the version with English voices and subtitles, and versions with French, Italian, and German subtitles, are available for free download from ScummVM. Due to this, it is possible to have Spanish voices with Spanish, Italian, French, German, or English subtitles. This is the way to go as the voice work isn't as rough in the Spanish version.

The graphics are quite nice, with a pleasing cartoon style and detailed backgrounds that fit perfectly with the character sprites. The point-and-click interface is unusual, but it becomes second nature once you get used to it. There are a few puzzles that stretch logic a bit, but they are all solvable with a little out-of-the-box thinking.

If you play the free version from ScummVM, make sure to download the music add-on which is available in several different audio formats including FLAC, MP3, and OGG. It's well worth the download as the music is actually quite good. Together with the graphics, it is definitely the best part of the game.

Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back is a humorous adventure game that has a lot going for it. However, if you play it make sure to combine the data with the subtitles in the language of your choice with the Spanish voiceover. The English voice work is done by actors whose first language is not English, and it shows. The English subtitles have a few translation mistakes, but it is quite enjoyable with the Spanish voices in the background. The unusual but easy-to-learn interface and good puzzles round the game out well. The music is the best part of the game, as it fits the tone of the game perfectly. Dráscula: The Vampire Strikes Back is far from perfect, but it is free. With a little fiddling to get the Spanish voices working with subtitles from other languages, it is also pretty fun.

Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5

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