If you want to play a cozy classicvania / metroidvania hybrid similar to rondo of blood but with fast paced snappy controls, this is pretty much the game for you.

Both characters kit are quite fun but a bit limited in term of movements (no double jump / slide / back dash / dive / can't switch character mid-air) which is intentional by design but made me feel the game would have been a lots cooler as a fully fledged out metroidvania.

Overall it was a fun cruise, and i'll definitely be checking the sequel out.

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is a spin-off of Gal Gun: Double Peace that re-uses that game's cast. This is core to the game's identity and you are in for some sexual humor if you play this game, but it is not an eroge or "H-game". Shinobu and Maya are literally the main "route" girls in GGDP, well the other GGDP, not this GGDP.

With that out of the way, GGDP is a linear traditional 2D Castlevania with defined stages that have branching paths and end in a boss fight. You have 2 playable characters and you swap between them in single-player mode, but there is local co-op and simultaneous double character multiplayer. As you progress through the game, you unlock different subweapons for both combat and traversal, and these allow you to open up new paths on previously played stages. Some other stuff happens, but the general gameplay loop is that you will be able to return to any stage you've already played as often as you want: exploring to your heart's content and finding power ups and NPCs to rescue... among other things. This game is NOT a Metroidvania, although it does have a sequel announced and that might be a Metroidvania. This game is very similar to Castlevania 3, and also to IntiCreate's previous takes on that specific type of game: their 8-bit Bloodstained Spinoffs (Curse of the Moon). The platforming is tight, the controls are snappy, but the enemies and knockback are unforgiving and the bosses are rough. You have reasonable difficulty options to make the game easier or harder, including the return of Casual difficulty which negates enemy knockback. The pixel art is pretty good but generally not mind-blowing, although there are some beautiful high-res 2D drawings of the characters as portraits and in cutscenes. The music is fitting, with Ippo Yamada heading it up and making appropriate spooky gothic themes befitting a Castlevania-inspired game. It's a good package overall.

It took me roughly 11 hours to 100% the game, but I played it a bit more after that and was looking at the Boss Rush mechanics and thinking about potential speedruns. So yeah, this is a short and mostly linear game that will not fill the same true Metroidvania niche as something like Hollow Knight or Ender Lilies. You know if you like this type of game or not.

Pretty fun if you enjoyed those older more linear Castlevania games.