It really makes the most sense to write about the 4th and the 5th entry to the Dracula Resurrection series at the same time, as they are, essentially, one bigger game that was just slashed from the middle. The 4th game ends abruptly with a cliffhanger that is instantly resolved at the beginning of the 5th game.
The story begins with a storm sinking a cargo ship carrying paintings to the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. Along with the crew and paintings also drown the owner of the artworks, professor Vambery. Later, one of the lost paintings turns out in Budapest, where an art restorer Ellen Cross is sent to authenticate it. The painting is real, but the inspector in charge doesn't want to divulge any more information about the case. Then, the person arrested for the art theft suddenly dies in his cell, face frozen into a visage of horror.
After learning all she can, Ellen embarks towards Whitby in England, where the assistant of Vambery's, Adam Stoker, has found information about a 16th painting that was sent along with the originally planned 15 pieces. Ellen starts to nose around Vambery's mansion and finds out, that the painting in question is a portrait of Vlad Tepes, better known as Dracula. The painting in question also caused a lot of distress to Vambery who had inherited it from his grandfather. There's also an old wax cylinder recording, containing a narrative on how Vambery's grandfather Herman van Bergen encountered Dracula in 1870 in Vladoviste.
I should point out a game mechanic that is present in both games: Ellen is sick. She has a rare blood disease that can make her dizzy and nauseated. Her health is presented as a meter in her inventory and you have to, from time to time, eat or take the medication in order to keep her trucking. It's more or less a useless feature. Perhaps the devs had bigger ambitions for this slight survival mechanic but as such as it is in the game, it functions merely as a minor annoyance. It does work as a good enough of a story reason for why Ellen would want to choose to become a vampire at the end though.
Ellen's next stop is in Instabul to see a painter called Yanek, who is a distant relative of the painter who did the Dracula portrait. She hopes to find more information about the mysterious artist, but it soon becomes evident Yanked is actually involved with the art theft. From his house, Ellen manages to find a case containing the mystery portrait, which she promptly opens in her hotel room only to encounter a horrific vision of Adam Stoker being Dracula. This is where Dracula 4 ends.
The beginning of Dracula 5 reveals the end of the previous game as a dream and Ellen returns back to Met with the picture. There she finally reveals it only to find out it has been defaced with a layer of tar, which she has to remove. After the day, Adam Stoker contacts her to ask her out. After he comes to pick her up, Ellen shows him the painting and then faints.
Ellen gains her senses at her apartment, where she had asked Adam to take her. They end up in bed, but the next day Adam has gone, only leaving a note behind her, stating he has to head out but hopes to see her again. She goes back to Met, where she is horrified to find out that Adam has stolen the portrait. Fearing she's seen as an accomplice, Ellen heads out to find Adama before he can leave the country or follow him where ever he is heading.
While she is doing research, a mysterious call interrupts her. A woman tells her she should leave the country, as his colleague Gerry is dead because of the painting. There's also a package that is going to arrive at her doorstep soon. Ellen calls Gerry, only to find out that he has died. She then finds the package from her door and inside it false papers, which will help her leave the country unnoticed.
Back in Turkey, Ellen finds clues about why Adam stole the painting: he is the head of an organization formed by Dracula's brother Radu. The clues lead her to Chernobyl, where Dracula is now hiding, away from the prying eyes of humanity. There, she either confronts the lord of the night or agrees to take a place at his side. It is again, an end, that leaves room for more.
Towards the end, the story gives another reason for Ellen to want to become immortal besides her illness. It's revealed, that her short encounter with Adam left her pregnant and it is quite possible she would not live long enough to give birth. Dracula offers her a solution: become immortal, save yourself and save the child.
As with the previous games, Dracula's 4 and 5 are 1st person point and click games with scenes you can rotate freely in 360 degrees. You pick up stuff, solve puzzles and gather clues. This time around, the games go even closer to being casual games. Dracula 4 even has an option to play it either as an adventure or a casual game, the difference being, that the casual mode shows all the hotspots on the screen and allows to skip the puzzles. For some reason, there's no such option in Dracula 5, but the games are pretty easy even without it, so it's not like there's a real need for an alternative "easy mode".
Dracula 4 and 5 really do form one, larger game. On their own, they offer around 2 and a half hours worth of gameplay and the abrupt ending of the 4th game really insinuates, that these are just one game, that was cut in half because of budget reasons. In other words, this is a game that could have been released as an episodic title, was chosen to be released as two separate, short games instead. If you do plan to play these, it's pretty much imperative to play them in order. There's no question about it, as neither really stands on its own.
These are not tasking titles. The emphasis is again on the puzzles, but most of them are on the easier side. Perhaps the most annoying puzzle in the game is, unsurprisingly, a maze you encounter in the 5th game. Mazes are rarely, if ever, good. I'd hope game developers would realize that at some point. But other than that, there's a lot of logic puzzle in the offer, of which most are relatively simple, so in that, the design is a bit different from Dracula 3. This maligned broken attempt is a bit more fun as a game, but isn't really, in the end, very satisfying either as a stand-alone game or a sequel.
Both of these games are forgettable and skippable. I see no genuine reason for playing them other than if you are hardpressed to find a casual puzzle game to latch on to. And as far as that market goes, there are far better attempts out there.
For those who feel compelled in giving this iteration of the Dracula a go, you can get it from GOG and Steam. Not that I see any reason for it, but who am I to stop you?
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