As a Castlevania fan, I've seen many opinions on the series' games throughout the years. Symphony of the Night is one of my favourites, and a lot of people can vouch for its quality, but there's also people who love games like Super Castlevania IV, Rondo of Blood or Aria of Sorrow.
But Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has always been an interesting one to talk about, because it feels like opinions on this one are really split.
While I have played my fair share of Castlevanias, there are still some titles in the series I have yet to experience, and Lords of Shadow was one of them. Being a complete reboot of this series, taking place in an alternate timeline, I decided to come into it with an open mind.
New setting, new characters, new lore in general! Of course, considering we haven't seen a new Castlevania game since Lords of Shadow 2, I get the feeling that this reboot's existence has put a sour taste in people's mouths, but I personally wanted to not think much about it.
So... how's the game?
Taking place in an alternate timeline, we follow Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light who recently lost his wife while demons are taking over Europe. The extensive rise of demons has been the source of the titular Lords of Shadow.
Now it's up to Gabriel to kill these Lords of Shadow to restore light in Europe and also find a way to potentially bring back his dead wife.
From there, he will meet enemies and allies, while he goes through many environments and obtaining new abilities!
At first, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow doesn't feel very remarkable in the gameplay department. While I haven't played any God of War game at the time of writing this review, I could tell that Lords of Shadow's gameplay wasn't too different from that series. Some could even say it's a rip-off.
And additionally, the first major boss you fight, at the end of Chapter 1, feels like it wants to capture the spirit of games like Shadow of the Colossus.
What didn't help matters was that, in terms of aesthetics, the game felt like a generic medieval fantasy game. I did have fun early on constantly saying "Crundle Quest V: The Crystals of Gingledoof" and laughing like an idiot, but that's more of a testament at how uninspired the game felt.
But Chapter 2 came and introduced Light and Shadow Magic. On paper, these aren't complex. While you have Light Magic on, when you strike enemies, you regain health. With Shadow Magic, you deal more damage. Simple enough. But if you perform well enough, enemies start giving you energy to restore magic, and depending on what analogue stick you're pressing, you can either restore one or the other, or even both (just split in half).
I think this made gameplay a whole lot more interesting and much more enjoyable. That, and coupled with the powerups you get throughout the game, and the abilities you can buy with EXP, the game just becomes more fun.
Although, beware of the QTEs. I didn't die to any of them, but they were a bit annoying.
Of course, I wouldn't say its complete smooth sailling from there. Sometimes, the game decides to give Gabriel puzzles for him to solve, and I wasn't the biggest fan of these. Some of them weren't too complicated, but others I simply gave up and looked up online.
I understand why they added them, to offer more diversity to the game, but I feel like the game's platforming challenges were already pretty good at that.
And yeah, while this game is pretty different from other Castlevanias, it does continue their platforming tradition, just in a different way. You can tell that the dev team was inspired by Super Castlevania IV, because this game will make you use your whip to swing from side to side or climb walls.
It's pretty different from how it was implemented in that game, but I really liked how it felt and I liked the challenges that the game provided with that, especially in 9-1. That one combines that with the Double Jump ability that you get earlier and it makes for some of the smoothest platforming in the game.
Thing is, they kinda don't do that much for the rest of the game.
Of course, there's still more platforming afterwards, but they don't combine Double Jumps and Whip Chaining as much, and that left me a bit dissapointed.
The boss fights were alright. They were definitely some better than others, but I generally had a decent time fighting against them. They really do try to be epic in a lot of them, especially the Titans that you end up fighting. These evoke that Shadow of the Colossus energy I was talking about earlier, and they're ok, but it feels like it's easy to fuck up and having to do a good chunk of climbing all over again.
In many of the bosses, you will hear either the boss character talking, or a partner of yours talking and, while I appreciate some of the tips, these got a bit annoying after a bit and I wish they would just shut up. The Titan boss fight of Chapter 2 was the worst with that shit.
And speaking of talking, let's talk voice acting! I think it is alright, with the characters speaking with a British accent to add that European "edge" (for a lack of a better word), but I was quite surprised that they managed to get Patrick Stewart to voice one of the characters of the game. And it's not even for just like a scene or two, no no, while you're waiting for the game to load the next stage, he will narrate what's currently happening. That's awesome!
I mentioned the plot a bit earlier, but there is something that I do want to discuss, and I'll try my best to explain it without spoiling anything. So, Gabriel Belmont is considered to be a dark hero in the game, being a protagonist filled with anger and edge and all of that stuff. The game is not subtle about it, and constantly says that he is blinded by the love of his dead wife, and gets more and more angry throughout the game...
Thing is, I barely saw that, especially during the 2nd half up until the final boss. Most of the time, it felt like Gabriel was more so indifferent to what was happening, and just focused on his mission. The dude may have commited some sin, but because of how infrequent it was, I don't think Mercury Steam succeded in passing the message that Gabriel Belmont is a rage-filled hero.
Although, I really did enjoy that post-credits scene, it definitely made me speculate a lot! Won't spoil it, don't worry, even if I have known about the big twist for years now.
One thing that I really liked about this game though was its presentation. Now, when it comes to character models, I feel like this game has aged a bit. Not as much as some other games, but characters are generally not very expressive and enemy designs can be a bit generic.
In spite of the generic medievel feel, I loved the amount of environments Gabriel goes through! From forests, to villages, to cemeteries with poisonous rivers. And that's not even counting the stuff you see when you reach the castle! The game has a lot of vistas and sometimes the game will focus on them, since the game has a locked camera.
I find the game having a locked camera pretty weird, but fortunately it didn't cause many problems during my playthrough.
When you're buying new skills or looking at the character entries, you'll see some amazing artwork and fuild as hell animation showcasing these, which was awesome!
The soundtrack is very much atmospheric, really trying to capture grandious moments, but I do think one of the songs I heard was a remix of a Super Castlevania IV song, and if that's the case, kudos! I appreciate the reference.
You know, that's a thing that this game has sometimes, references to old Castlevanias. Keyword being sometimes, because you have stuff like the Holy Water, or the Daggers, and the whip being called the Vampire Killer, but these are very much light references, just to throw old fans a bone.
Overall, while I feel like this formula has room to grow and this game has its flaws, I ended up enjoying my time with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. It may be a different take on the series, and some of its elements are not really original, I had a good enough time that I'm curious on what the Lords of Shadow sub-series has to offer next, whenever I get to the next game (or the DLC stages for this game).
But Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has always been an interesting one to talk about, because it feels like opinions on this one are really split.
While I have played my fair share of Castlevanias, there are still some titles in the series I have yet to experience, and Lords of Shadow was one of them. Being a complete reboot of this series, taking place in an alternate timeline, I decided to come into it with an open mind.
New setting, new characters, new lore in general! Of course, considering we haven't seen a new Castlevania game since Lords of Shadow 2, I get the feeling that this reboot's existence has put a sour taste in people's mouths, but I personally wanted to not think much about it.
So... how's the game?
Taking place in an alternate timeline, we follow Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light who recently lost his wife while demons are taking over Europe. The extensive rise of demons has been the source of the titular Lords of Shadow.
Now it's up to Gabriel to kill these Lords of Shadow to restore light in Europe and also find a way to potentially bring back his dead wife.
From there, he will meet enemies and allies, while he goes through many environments and obtaining new abilities!
At first, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow doesn't feel very remarkable in the gameplay department. While I haven't played any God of War game at the time of writing this review, I could tell that Lords of Shadow's gameplay wasn't too different from that series. Some could even say it's a rip-off.
And additionally, the first major boss you fight, at the end of Chapter 1, feels like it wants to capture the spirit of games like Shadow of the Colossus.
What didn't help matters was that, in terms of aesthetics, the game felt like a generic medieval fantasy game. I did have fun early on constantly saying "Crundle Quest V: The Crystals of Gingledoof" and laughing like an idiot, but that's more of a testament at how uninspired the game felt.
But Chapter 2 came and introduced Light and Shadow Magic. On paper, these aren't complex. While you have Light Magic on, when you strike enemies, you regain health. With Shadow Magic, you deal more damage. Simple enough. But if you perform well enough, enemies start giving you energy to restore magic, and depending on what analogue stick you're pressing, you can either restore one or the other, or even both (just split in half).
I think this made gameplay a whole lot more interesting and much more enjoyable. That, and coupled with the powerups you get throughout the game, and the abilities you can buy with EXP, the game just becomes more fun.
Although, beware of the QTEs. I didn't die to any of them, but they were a bit annoying.
Of course, I wouldn't say its complete smooth sailling from there. Sometimes, the game decides to give Gabriel puzzles for him to solve, and I wasn't the biggest fan of these. Some of them weren't too complicated, but others I simply gave up and looked up online.
I understand why they added them, to offer more diversity to the game, but I feel like the game's platforming challenges were already pretty good at that.
And yeah, while this game is pretty different from other Castlevanias, it does continue their platforming tradition, just in a different way. You can tell that the dev team was inspired by Super Castlevania IV, because this game will make you use your whip to swing from side to side or climb walls.
It's pretty different from how it was implemented in that game, but I really liked how it felt and I liked the challenges that the game provided with that, especially in 9-1. That one combines that with the Double Jump ability that you get earlier and it makes for some of the smoothest platforming in the game.
Thing is, they kinda don't do that much for the rest of the game.
Of course, there's still more platforming afterwards, but they don't combine Double Jumps and Whip Chaining as much, and that left me a bit dissapointed.
The boss fights were alright. They were definitely some better than others, but I generally had a decent time fighting against them. They really do try to be epic in a lot of them, especially the Titans that you end up fighting. These evoke that Shadow of the Colossus energy I was talking about earlier, and they're ok, but it feels like it's easy to fuck up and having to do a good chunk of climbing all over again.
In many of the bosses, you will hear either the boss character talking, or a partner of yours talking and, while I appreciate some of the tips, these got a bit annoying after a bit and I wish they would just shut up. The Titan boss fight of Chapter 2 was the worst with that shit.
And speaking of talking, let's talk voice acting! I think it is alright, with the characters speaking with a British accent to add that European "edge" (for a lack of a better word), but I was quite surprised that they managed to get Patrick Stewart to voice one of the characters of the game. And it's not even for just like a scene or two, no no, while you're waiting for the game to load the next stage, he will narrate what's currently happening. That's awesome!
I mentioned the plot a bit earlier, but there is something that I do want to discuss, and I'll try my best to explain it without spoiling anything. So, Gabriel Belmont is considered to be a dark hero in the game, being a protagonist filled with anger and edge and all of that stuff. The game is not subtle about it, and constantly says that he is blinded by the love of his dead wife, and gets more and more angry throughout the game...
Thing is, I barely saw that, especially during the 2nd half up until the final boss. Most of the time, it felt like Gabriel was more so indifferent to what was happening, and just focused on his mission. The dude may have commited some sin, but because of how infrequent it was, I don't think Mercury Steam succeded in passing the message that Gabriel Belmont is a rage-filled hero.
Although, I really did enjoy that post-credits scene, it definitely made me speculate a lot! Won't spoil it, don't worry, even if I have known about the big twist for years now.
One thing that I really liked about this game though was its presentation. Now, when it comes to character models, I feel like this game has aged a bit. Not as much as some other games, but characters are generally not very expressive and enemy designs can be a bit generic.
In spite of the generic medievel feel, I loved the amount of environments Gabriel goes through! From forests, to villages, to cemeteries with poisonous rivers. And that's not even counting the stuff you see when you reach the castle! The game has a lot of vistas and sometimes the game will focus on them, since the game has a locked camera.
I find the game having a locked camera pretty weird, but fortunately it didn't cause many problems during my playthrough.
When you're buying new skills or looking at the character entries, you'll see some amazing artwork and fuild as hell animation showcasing these, which was awesome!
The soundtrack is very much atmospheric, really trying to capture grandious moments, but I do think one of the songs I heard was a remix of a Super Castlevania IV song, and if that's the case, kudos! I appreciate the reference.
You know, that's a thing that this game has sometimes, references to old Castlevanias. Keyword being sometimes, because you have stuff like the Holy Water, or the Daggers, and the whip being called the Vampire Killer, but these are very much light references, just to throw old fans a bone.
Overall, while I feel like this formula has room to grow and this game has its flaws, I ended up enjoying my time with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. It may be a different take on the series, and some of its elements are not really original, I had a good enough time that I'm curious on what the Lords of Shadow sub-series has to offer next, whenever I get to the next game (or the DLC stages for this game).
Vash4e
24 days ago