This is not a terrible game, you can have some really fun moments with this game, but I think that for a 2D Castlevania game maybe it's the weakest in the series (I haven't played all of them, but right now it's my least favorite).
Why? there are lots of reasons; the game try to have exploration but the map it's very linear, the combat and the platforming sections I felt them frequently unfair, it has a couple of bosses that are completly QTEs, and I felt its presentation uninspired (you can argue that it's a port from 3DS and I shouldn't be strict with the presentation, but I think that the music could be a lot better, at least as good as the original Lords of Shadow, and also, older castlevania games of Nintendo DS has more attractive visual style).
I recommend to play first other Castlevania games instead of this; even I recommend to play games inspired by Castlevania instead of this (like Guacamelee, Dust: An Elysian Tail or Rogue Legacy).
Maybe the only good reason for playing this game could be to be preparaed for Lords of Shadow 2; but you can always skip this game and check the wikis.

This is not a terrible game, you can have some really fun moments with this game, but I think that for a 2D Castlevania game maybe it's the weakest in the series (I haven't played all of them, but right now it's my least favorite). Why? there are lots of reasons; the game try to have exploration but the map it's very linear, the combat and the platforming sections I felt them frequently unfair, it has a couple of bosses that are completly QTEs, and I felt its presentation uninspired (you can argue that it's a port from 3DS and I shouldn't be strict with the presentation, but I think that the music could be a lot better, at least as good as the original Lords of Shadow, and also, older castlevania games of Nintendo DS has more attractive visual style). I recommend to play first other Castlevania games instead of this; even I recommend to play games inspired by Castlevania instead of this (like Guacamelee, Dust: An Elysian Tail or Rogue Legacy). Maybe the only good reason for playing this game could be to be preparaed for Lords of Shadow 2; but you can always skip this game and check the wikis.