Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Platformers usually aren't my thing, so I wasn't sure this would click. What won me over was the RPG side of it, figuring out how to push forward, experimenting with the variety of spells, and having actual build choices made the platforming feel secondary to the exploration and progression. That's a rare thing for me to say about a game in this genre.

Map design was outstanding, easily the strongest part of the whole experience, and the boss fights backed it up with fun, well paced encounters. Music hit the right notes throughout too, never distracting, always fitting the mood. My one gripe is the EXP gain slowing to a crawl near the end, it stalls progression right when you want momentum but even knowing the reasoning behind that design choice didn't stop me from enjoying the ride overall.