Most if not all Castlevania games utilizing a 3D gameplay field has been plagued of having negative reception and not being as well made as the side scrolling entries. When the game Lords of Shadow was confirmed to be part of the Castlevania lineage and to be developed by a Spanish team who’s previous games were considered lackluster, it seemed like a huge gamble for Konami at the time.
With the help of Hideo Kojima and his team though, Mercury Steam at the end made an excellent game that feels true to what Castlevania represented while modernizing the series with common yet fun mechanics that players can gruesomely engage with.
Designed as a reboot, the whole game world is uncharted territory with new characters. Starring Gabriel Belmont, a member of a group of supernatural hunters known as the Brotherhood of the Light, he is bent on killing the major figures that torment the land of Europe who are called the Lords of Shadow. After the murder of his wife, he motivated to destroy them all to bring her back to life. During Gabriel’s journey, he is aided by numerous companions including the narrator Zobek, voiced by Sir Patrick Stewart, to help him reach his goal.
With a 16 hour average completion time, there is a lot of content in Lords of Shadow but the progression seems to drag on a bit too long sometimes especially when it tries to be like a movie in some cases. The massive amount of cutscenes become a sort of antithesis to the gameplay.
The overall plot isn’t really spectacular and serves more as a way to show off the many very beautiful environments.
On both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the levels do look spectacular and grand in detail. There is so much attention to the graphical depth that even from the very closed in areas to the wide castle vistas, it’s beautiful and awe-inspiring. The visual fidelity though is chosen at the expense of performance. Frame rates gets hit hard during the most intense areas especially the well made cut scenes to where it becomes an almost unbearable slideshow. It affects the gameplay pretty hard as it can affect timing against the toughest enemies.
Upon first glance, Lords of Shadow seems to emulate the God of War style of hacking and slashing with occasional quick time events. In essence, it pretty much hits the nail but is executed very well. Playing in a linear and most of the time open battlefield, Gabriel uses his whip-like “combat cross” to take down his foes around him. He can focus on one enemy with a linear attack and then can immediately provide crowd control with his wider attacks. Performing the many combos feel seamless yet tedious but if it gets the job done, it’s acceptable.
After some extended time, players can unlock new abilities and combos which can help towards the orb system. Consisting of “light” and “shadow” powers, the orbs can help players gain health or punish enemies faster respectfully when attacking them. Performing a flawless combo can nab you instant orbs but with the multitude of enemies and the bad camera angles, it’s a dangerous gamble which can sometimes lead to death. It follows risk/reward but if you become aware of the fighting environment, it becomes less challenging and more fun.
Outside the fighting is massive exploration. Gabriel must avoid many traps and obstacles to progress. Sometimes it involves complex and occasionally vague puzzles. While the beginning sets feel simple and can be completed in a couple of minutes, the latter half of the game will be headache inducing as they can last for up to a half hour. One puzzle for example involved a set of electrical rods and their color alignment. There doesn’t seem to have a clear reason why some rods react to one another but after many possible tries, I was able to escape without understanding how do they work. There is a solution feature to help finish the puzzle but it will cost some currency that can be used to upgrade Gabriel.
Boss fights are a plenty in Lords of Shadow with almost every chapter having an end battle against a tough one. Ranging from large titans to the Lords of Shadow themselves, they are pretty tough to kill but like regular enemies they are very pattern heavy. Anticipation of their movements is key to defeating them. Eventually the boss fights antes to very cinematic quick time events that differ from other games utilizing the feature. Primarily focused on timing, players must press any button when a circular field enters the acceptable zone. Too early or late will give off another chance but might require additional effort but successful presses can lead to satisfying and brutal hits.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a repetitive and sometimes dragging game. But beyond the fun God of War influence that dominates the field, it feels like a Castlevania game with the 3D touch. The spirit of the various games in the series resides in Lords of Shadow always keeping it interesting. It’s a big surprise when my anticipation for the game was very low and believing that any 3D Castlevania game will fail. Mercury Steam proved me wrong and made a really fun but familiar game.