Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Similar to previous Castlevania games, Portrait of Ruin is a 2D Metroidvania that features side-scrolling action with an emphasis on exploration and combat. Role-playing game elements like leveling character statistics and collecting equipment that augment those statistics are also present. The player traverses Dracula's castle with the end goal of defeating Dracula. Aside from the castle, the main protagonists—Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin—explore other environments such as Egyptian-like deserts and London-like towns via painting-like portals dispersed throughout the castle.

During the adventure, the heroes encounter 155 different enemies, which are kept track in a bestiary ; many of which have appeared in previous Castlevania titles as standard monsters or bosses. As they progress, the duo learn new skills and acquire equipment and items that allow further exploration in the game. One of the main gameplay features is the ability to freely switch between two characters, similar to the "Julius mode" from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow . Jonathan and Charlotte can combine their powers to perform a powerful attack together known as "Dual Crush".

Their combined abilities are needed in certain parts in order to solve puzzles and progress through the story. For example, the player must have both characters board two motorcycles and dodge obstacles while alternating between the two characters. Like previous games in the series, Portrait of Ruin has more than one ending that is determined by the player's actions during the story. The "bad" ending involves Jonathan and Charlotte only preventing Dracula's resurrection and finishes as a game over .

The other ending sees all the vampire antagonists defeated and is considered the game's canonical ending. Alternate modes Portrait of Ruin features four single player modes and a "Boss Rush Mode" that can be played with either one or two players. Initially, the main story is playable only with Jonathan and Charlotte. After obtaining the canonical ending, the player will unlock a prologue to the main story, "Sisters Mode", and additional stages in the Boss Rush Mode.

Completing the game also gives the player the option to increase the difficulty, add level caps on new games, and start a game with all previously obtained items and skills. In Sisters Mode, the player controls Loretta and Stella Lecarde with the DS stylus rather than the traditional inputs. If the player meets additional requirements in the game, two other versions of the main story mode are made available: "Richter Mode" and "Old Axe Armor Mode". Richter Mode allows the player to control Richter Belmont and Maria Renard from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood .

In Old Axe Armor Mode, the player controls only the eponymous Old Axe Armor enemy without the ability to switch characters. Boss Rush Mode is a time attack mode separate from the main story that features three stages. Although only one stage is initially available, two more become available after obtaining the canoncial ending. Each stage is a series of rooms with a boss or collection of monsters that the player must defeat.

Rewards are determined by how quickly a player completes each stage. Portrait of Ruin is the first game in the Castlevania franchise with cooperative multiplayer. Players can interact through the Co-op mode or a Shop mode via either local wireless or Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection . The online cooperative mode allows two players to complete Boss Rushes together.

The online shop allows players to sell their items to other players at reduced prices.