The nicest thing I can say about this game is that it's very singular. The graphics and music congeal together to make a really unique tone and surreal atmosphere, Juste feels really fun to play, and the magic system is neat.

Everything else is awful to baffling. To start, the level design feels like a kid with Mario Maker was asked to build the castle and do whatever he wants. There's nothing punishing per se (aside from damage numbers feeling wildly inconsistent in terms of difficulty curve) but there is a looooot of square rooms full of the same enemy over and over, rooms that are platforms scattered haphazardly, and the rare puzzle being a painfully simple box puzzle or a King's Quest-esque obtuse riddle to solve progression. Not helping whatsoever is the Two Castle gimmick where the layout of the castle is matched by a "new and unique" castle. In practice, this should be a way different castle than the one I recognize that feels distinct in its own right. In actuality, it mirrors the first castle so I cannot distinguish between the two castles whatsoever aside from minor background changes. Both castles are equally nonsensical in layout and lack cohesion between areas. In a better Castlevania, I could at least see how areas connect like a main hall connecting to a dance hall or chapel with the underground being filled with caverns and aqueducts. In Harmony of Dissonance, the Mario Maker comparison comes up again because it feels like somebody made levels with completely random themes without a single care of how anything is supposed to connect with anything else. I suppose it fits the name but it makes exploration near incomprehensible which adds onto another problem: Progression in this game is terrible.

In a sane -vania, you would use your tools to slowly gain access to more and more new areas and tools to explore even more areas. It's a system that allows for an intended progression system but leaves wiggle room for the player to do what they want as long as the game keeps the player knowledgeable about progression. In Harmony, progression is arbitrary. You mindlessly wander the same looking areas looking for any sign of forward momentum in not one but two different castles. The already large map from one castle is doubled into two which forces the player to comb through two different samey levels, however much area you can access can be way higher in one castle for some reason as well, and have really silly ways to move forward. One example is how you access the Crushing Stone. It's only available in one castle's Clock Tower and when you see it you have no way of getting to it. So you have to go to an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT AREA, fight that area's boss, move forward to get back to a HIDDEN AREA OF THE CLOCK TOWER, and activate the mechanism to go ALL THE WAY BACK to the Clock Tower to get your progression item. The most egregious example I think is one of the five Dracula items needed to get the true ending being HIDDEN BEHIND A WALL YOU CAN JUMP INTO FOR NO REASON. No other wall in the game acts like this. There is no indication this wall is anything special. There isn't even a hint as to how you get it. You just have to guess. This isn't even getting into the many, many, MANY locked doors in this game. The keys for these doors are all lategame locked behind random bosses so you spend the entire game running into locked doors with zero idea of where they go or what they do or what they're for. For me, it's a sign that the level designers weren't confident about making a cohesive map so they slapped locked doors everywhere rather than make a naturally flowing map. I'm thankful I played on Advance Collection since that gives indicators of what items are in what area which genuinely shaved hours off my total playtime because this game is so terrible about telling or even hinting at where things are.

Speaking of the bosses, they all are not good. Some aren't bad per se, but all of them are at least lackluster. They all have two to three different attacks they can use so they're immensely predictable, they all follow same philosophy of "I'll stay still for two seconds before I throw out another attack with little to no telegraph," and they all are freaking boring. Because the magic system is so strong and Juste has access to so much sub-weapon ammo and mana recovery items, there isn't a boss that should give you trouble unless you genuinely stop paying attention or the game decides to give Random Boss #17 100 damage per hit. Even if Juste is fun to control, what's the point if every boss and most enemies in the game are lame?

I did compliment the graphics and music, but OW this game can be really hard to look at and listen to. The bright colors and warping effects combined with the fact Juste constantly looks like he's in a different art style than anything around him was enough to give me headaches when I first played. The music doesn't help either with its very VERY high pitched sounds that left my ears ringing multiple times. I'd love to hear these compositions in a tonal range that doesn't make my ears bleed, but I wouldn't be surprised if Konami doesn't want to revisit this one unless they decide to make a Simon/Juste saga in the Castlevania animated series.

I did compliment how Juste controls and I think he's really fun, but the fact jumping kills all air momentum whatsoever dampens a lot of the fun I'd be having with this character unfortunately. Every time I jump after a dash it's like I FEEL the invisible hand dragging me back like this is Crash Bandicoot. I could understand this decision if there was tight platforming I need to be precise for, but the only platforming challenge in this game is the race where I'd WANT to keep my momentum in the air.

I can see the makings of a great game here with its weird atmosphere and tight controls, but this game drops the ball so hard it makes a crater. I can't even be passionate about this game in any way because it's such a genuinely exhausting experience. I might come back to finish the furniture because Interior Designer Juste is genuinely the most charming thing about this game. As is, I never want to play this game ever again.