World building (paintings,statues,background items)

the statues in the sotn warp rooms and how each room was slightly different to give another indicator where you were without using the map



this nod to the origins of dracula



the cd loading area with the statues and the cd plaque



and this room, with its firey background and odd moan if you go in and maximum nope back out the left entrance



heres the woodcut portrait of a certain dark lord done in technicolor


and heres a page containing all the sotn maps, and now that i look through them that painting castledan showed is the only actual painting in the entire game, everything else is a statue, relief, stained glass, or some other object in the background, which i think is what makes that painting stand out so much and makes it so epic, theres the behemoth corpse in the colosseum, the curled up demon encased in crystal in galamoths lair, the massive stained glass window of michael in olroxs dining room, the curtained columns surrounding draculas throne, the myriad statues and reliefs, but only one painting, and it kicks ass

^ Yeah, I myself couldn't remember any paintings otherwise in SotN. But yes, I think this extends to any lore or reference-containing design in the background.

I don't know how much of an established mythos we can use for references as with Vlad the Impaler/Bram Stoker or movie monsters this time around, may be more obscure now given the origins stated for monsters. It will be interesting to see how much they try to keep from what frequently appeared in Castlevania...the atmosphere of the later games like Iga's came to be in no small part from the base that was established there. Of course, if anybody can find that balance and do it right, we have that guy. Original, but familiar, from a 30-year-old legacy...

I'd personally like to see some referential details that call to mind bits and pieces of 'vania lore. Nothing obvious, and not even direct depictions, just something here and there that the core fans can piece together and think "is this...alluding to the 'Prayer' scene at the beginning of Dracula's Curse?" when we see a certain scene, or the way furninshings or architecture in certain rooms could be reminiscent of particular areas...

It will all be interesting to see what we come up with. Thinking on all of this, it really makes me hope that the team is given enough time to really mull over these details and put all this love into it.

What is that "odd moan" i don't remember about? 

I love these little details. I've NEVER experienced that, to this day I discover things in that game. Love it.

How the hell i didn't know that? haha. I Searched on the internet and found a video with it. Cool.

"Maximum nope", lol.

I need to hear that sound file!

Yeah I think that the background has always been a little underappreciated in IGAvania games, considering the amount of detail that they put into them. One of my favorites is:

The painting in the room when you fight Death, in Circle of the Moon.



Also, not completely related, but sorta the same style are the DSS cards, also from CotM.


I think little details like these really subtly make me appreciate the smaller things, more. :p