Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – the long journey here
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is Konami’s reboot of the beloved vampire hunting series. Even though the franchise is nearly 25 years old, the series has a large cult following that have been thirsting for a good Castlevania game. Lords of Shadow aims to succeed where other 3D Castlevania games failed in the past.
Story
The story in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow starts off with you taking control of Gabriel Belmont, who is a member of an order dedicated to protecting the innocent from evil. Gabriel has just lost his wife to the evil supernatural forces orchestrated by the Lords of Shadow.
Due to the dark spell cast over the land by the evil forces those that die remain trapped in limbo. Gabriel’s wife becomes trapped as well, haunting his dreaming and waking moments.
I found the story in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow surprisingly deep as it pulls from Castlevania’s rich lore as well as adds some new elements. As you play through the game you can feel the despair that has swept through the land and to the main character providing motive to march forward to the next challenge.
As you progress through the story, the game does an excellent job in making the player champion Gabriel’s quest to reunite with his dead wife. As the game nears the end things do take a dark and unexpected turn with a satisfying twist.
A good part of the narration is delivered by Zobek, a mentor from the same order as Gabriel. As the story proceeds, it becomes clear that Zobek will play a role in how things will be shaped.
The story definitely breaks the mold as one comes to expect a certain end goal that has always been crystal clear in every Castlevania game. In Lords of Shadow, the ending will remain hazy till the last moment making for one of the best conclusions to a video game in recent memory.
Gameplay
Castlevania games have always been hack-n-slash based and Lords of Shadow is no exception. The combat mechanics in the game are similar to that of God of War, which is not a bad thing. Personally I think it makes sense for Castlevania to adopt a God of War style combat system as it moves into 3D realm.
The variety of combos does pale in comparison to what is available in God of War but the foundation is there for MercurySteam to build upon. The game does make use of a Light/Shadow magic system that can add a bit of tactic to the gameplay. For example light magic can be used strategically to replenish life in areas with no life fountains.
![clip_image002[13]](http://gamer.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/clip_image00213.jpg "clip_image002[13]")
You can also combine the Light and Shadow magic with various Combat Cross’s attacks. Gabriel’s whip can also be upgraded opening up different combos, which can be unlocked by accumulating experience points. These points can be accrued by defeating enemies or solving puzzles.
There is a fair amount of platform traversal in the game involving climbing and jumping. The platforming is straight forward but at times the camera angles can make gauging jumps difficult. At one part near the end of the game there is a place you must leap (glide) towards in order to proceed. However, because the camera angle was set in such a way it would have been impossible to have known without trail and error. However, its difficult to fault MercurySteam as no one has been able to get camera angles like in God of War, as its more of an art.
Design/Visuals
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is by far one of the most beautiful multiplatform games made this generation. The developers did not compromise in visual quality with full uncompressed textures and videos. Its not clear how much of an influence Kojima had, but regardless, MercurySteam has done an impressive job with the presentation of the game.
![clip_image002[9]](http://gamer.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/clip_image0029.jpg "clip_image002[9]")
The voice acting and cast is top notch with Patrick Stewart as Zobek, Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe) as Gabriel Belmont and Natascha McElhone (Solaris) as Marie. The developers did an excellent job in marrying the music with what’s going on in the game. The cutscenes are enjoyable and really makes you want to keep playing to watch the next one.
Despite being a reboot of the Castlevania series, Lords of Shadow has all the makings for a prequel to the franchise. The game also retains many of the signature trademarks such as the whip, dagger and holy water. There is even a very familiar clock tower level.
The game has a good amount of puzzles scattered throughout the levels, with some being more challenging then others. There are some interesting puzzles like the mini-chess game and the music box puzzle which is built as an actual level. The game offers an option to bypass the puzzles sacrificing valuable experience points.
The game is fairly lengthy as a play through can span 20 to 30 hours depending on level percentage completeness. There are challenges and hidden treasures that will add to the completion percentage of each level. The game also has a handsome share of boss battles as one seems to pop up for almost every other level.
![clip_image002[11]](http://gamer.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/clip_image00211.jpg "clip_image002[11]")
There were some minor yet frustrating glitches in the game. I had to replay the game from scratch two times because of a saved game corruption glitch that is caused by shutting off your console with the game still running. After my second time starting from scratch, I realized I had to exit the game gracefully via menu screen button in order to avoid the glitch.
Wrap-Up
Konami made the right decision in bringing in MercurySteam to do the development of Lords of Shadow, as the studio did a fantastic job reimagining this timeless franchise. MercurySteam definitely deserves to be this year’s breakout studio taking the crown from 2009’s Rocksteady Studio.
Overall, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow provides an experience that will leave you satisfied yet wanting more. The length of the game is perfect, similarly to eating a full meal that you thoroughly enjoyed. There are very few games that will leave you feeling like you’ve gotten your money’s worth and Lords of Shadow is without a doubt definitely one of them. I highly recommend that everyone go out and buy Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
Score
4.5/5
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69 Responses to “Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – the long journey here”
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November 24th, 2010
I agree with this review.
November 24th, 2010
Wow, I am shocked! I know some of you may not agree with IGN and their reviews but personally I find most of them to be fair when I pick up a game myself after reading their reviews. GT5 only got an 8.5! Not a bad game by any means, but not the second coming that some of you have been saying. After many years and so many delays, I’m not really impressed! I think I will have to give this one a pass. A classic example of a game being over hyped! I’m still sure it will sell well. Guess I will go check out some other reviews and see what they are saying!
November 24th, 2010
According to Carlb and Metacritic, IGN typically rates games 5.2 games lower than average.
http://gamer.blorge.com/2010/11/02/gran-turismo-5-finally-gold-discs-being-made-now/#comment-144089
If you read the review IGN gave it a 10/10 for racing, and a 5/10 for the game, with much of the critique aimed at the navigating menus.
November 24th, 2010
“5.2 ‘points’ lower than average”
November 24th, 2010
payback a bitch i guess..
i wish kev comes back even if for 1 day only..
November 24th, 2010
what for?
November 24th, 2010
Ign’s review scores lately have been idiotic. They gave Castlevania a low score. This game deserves nothing less then a 9.
“I wish kev comes back even if for 1 day only…” As far I’m concerned, he can come back for more. He was quite an entertaining fellow.
November 24th, 2010
I wish kev would come back too for more than one day. I’d like to show him some sales figures. He was always big on sales figures and I’m sure he’s appreciate the irony.
November 24th, 2010
LOL @ Phranc
sales figures are important to the xbot community.. just look at what happen to HH.. Months after months claiming that the previous official quarterly numbers were not fair because it did not included the 360 Slim and also claiming that the 360 will beat the PS3 in sales once the 360 Slim, Halo Reach and Kinect are all out..
Then the official numbers were relased (which included 360 S and Reach numbers) and the PS3 still managed to outsell the 360 worldwide.. HH have not come back ever since.
November 24th, 2010
Yeah. Those were some fun times. The next time we hear from Happy, he’ll have a PS3 unless he wants only multi-platform titles.
November 24th, 2010
“I know some of you may not agree with IGN and their reviews but personally I find most of them to be fair ”
” GT5 only got an 8.5!”
LMFAO You have to be kiding right?
November 24th, 2010
Been playing GT5 for past few hours. If you liked previous GT’s you will like this one too.
Graphics are amazing, especially in-car. Physics feel more lifelike.
“much of the critique aimed at the navigating menus.” – I thought the menus were very good (though no world map).
Stig makes a short appearance!! Yay!!
But for online I can’t connect to servers. =(
Overall, I say 9/10 but that could go up as I play more.
November 24th, 2010
Phranctoast and Roca,
Lol.
I have been wondering where HH is. Ps3 fanboys are tough. You’ve run many away. It seems that most of the Xbox360 boys can’t take the heat.
November 24th, 2010
This game looks good.
November 24th, 2010
“Stig makes a short appearance!”
Sold. Going to gamestop right……now.
November 24th, 2010
We have an early quit today for the Holiday. I’ll be taking Friday off for a vacation day and won’t be back until Monday on Blorge.
Have a great Thanksgiving and an enjoyable bargain finding black Friday.
Have a great week/weekend. fellow Blorge members…Enjoy.
November 24th, 2010
who the hell is this Stig guy?
November 24th, 2010
“who the hell is this Stig guy?”
LOL that is what I was about to ask.
November 24th, 2010
I’ll be leaving early today too but no so early.. at around noon EST
November 24th, 2010
I just tried GT5 demo. Is there a secret to not having your car fly all over the road when trying to steer? I over steer with the slightest touch of the directional pad or the stick in these games.
That is why I couldn’t get into Mod nation.
I probably won’t get GT5 now.
November 24th, 2010
“The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers’ full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character’s racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy Clarkson and the show’s producer Andy Wilman. ‘Stig’ was a nickname for new boys at their old school.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig
November 24th, 2010
You too Phranctoast. I wish I got off work early today. I have to work most holidays.
November 24th, 2010
Internet Sleuth figures out that Activision is responsible for the 360′s XBL price hike..
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413950
WOW.
November 24th, 2010
@phranc
so if that is true how long until PS3 owners have to pay to play CoD?
Considering the fact that CoD games generate such huge amounts of income from retail its not like Kotick isn’t getting his money to begin with.
Another thing in the article that I wasn’t convinced by…
“… Activision does enjoy a “very modest amount of the subscription fees,” Kotick told us, but he’s more interested in seeing any cost increase in the service go towards “directly benefitting the Call of Duty players.”
We know that Kotick really doesnt give a damn about the players once they pony up their money. If he cared that much he wouldn’t have fucked things up with the IW team once MW2 was complete.
November 24th, 2010
WOW – paying $10 not only to play COD games but to play every other online game.
lol
November 24th, 2010
I can’t really answer any question based off of this Fahkin.
Maybe That’s why the 360 gets timed exclusive map packs for COD games. That might have been part of the deal. Rather than MS straight up buying the Map packs, the deal works out of the added subscription costs
/speculation.
November 24th, 2010
I should sell my COD BO.
November 24th, 2010
@FahKin
“so if that is true how long until PS3 owners have to pay to play CoD?”
If Activision do charge for it, then PS3 will have to pay ($10/year) to play that one game, all other games can be played online for free.. while on 360, everyone must pay $60 (MRSP) to play any online game.
I’ll be taking off in a few mins
November 24th, 2010
“Maybe That’s why the 360 gets timed exclusive map packs for COD games”
yeah MS have a deal for COD DLCs for the next 3 years I think.
November 24th, 2010
““I know some of you may not agree with IGN and their reviews but personally I find most of them to be fair ”
” GT5 only got an 8.5!”
LMFAO You have to be kiding right?”
@ncaisse
No actually I’m quite serious. For all the hype this is a letdown! I was expecting a 9.5 at least. 6 years and all the set backs and it’s full of flaws. Hardly the best racer and graphics a lot of you guys were going on about! Sorry but that’s the way I see it, no changing my mind about this.
November 24th, 2010
Also I like how you only quote what you see as negative from my post and not the whole post! Not like I was doing nothing but bashing the game!
November 24th, 2010
IGN gave GT5p an 8.5
I guess the prologue version is just as good and all the cars, features, extra modes, racing events and a career mode does not count.
8.5 is definitely a letdown (I haven’t played the game yet) but I can see why is that… GT5 is a hard game to review because it has so many things that if one does not live to the hype ppl are going to take 1 or 2 points off
for example, lets Nascar and Go Karts are not well implemented then the game is going to get a lower score because those two ‘extra feautres’. Same goes for rally, F1, A-spec, b-spec, web-based b-spec mode etc, etc. But I get what Kushy is trying to say but it’s hard to take a 8.5 rating seriously when GT5 Prologue got the same score.
November 24th, 2010
^ pardon my grammar
November 24th, 2010
@Roca
I’m sure what will be even harder to swallow is what IGN gave Forza lmao
Forza 3 – 9.4
I think this is hilarious
November 24th, 2010
“No actually I’m quite serious. For all the hype this is a letdown! I was expecting a 9.5 at least. ”
That is because IGN is NOT FAIR. They are a bunch of fuckin retards. We all know that.
November 24th, 2010
“Also I like how you only quote what you see as negative from my post and not the whole post! Not like I was doing nothing but bashing the game!”
Guess I should have been clear. My point is IGN sucks ass and do not know what they are talking about.
November 24th, 2010
“@Roca
I’m sure what will be even harder to swallow is what IGN gave Forza lmao
Forza 3 – 9.4
I think this is hilarious ”
Oh, but they are not idiot xbots! LMAO
November 24th, 2010
“I’m sure what will be even harder to swallow is what IGN gave Forza lmao”
Apparently from reviews, GT5 is the superior racing simulator while F3 is the superior game, if that makes sense.
PD spent so much time fine tuning GT5 to perfection that they forgot they were making a game.
This is the impression I’m given with what I’ve read. So while the career mode of F3 is better than career mode for GT5, GT5 is a superior in being what it always was…A racing simulator.
I guess they should have included a rewind feature and the ability to photoshop your car ala Modnation/forza and all would be ok. *rolls eyes*
Oh well. It’ll still sell 10M copies.
November 24th, 2010
SNORE.
Destructoid gave the game 10/10.
What does that tell you? That a review is someones opinion.
November 24th, 2010
Yes, Ign does suck ass Ncaissie. Microsoft has been giving it to Ign so good all they can do is just ooze out high Xbox360 scores from their behinds. Ign sucks. How can you give the prologue of the game the same score as the complete game? Gran Turismo is the greatest racing game series ever and they know it.
November 24th, 2010
I hear you ncaisse, was just expecting more.
November 24th, 2010
“5.2 ‘points’ lower than average”
Actually, now it’s:
“On average, this publication (IGN) grades 4.7 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)”
I guess GT5 must have bumped up their average lol
Ahh, another day, another gamer complaining about a half point difference. IGN did rate this game 8.5, which they consider to be “GREAT”, but I guess this isn’t good enough for the fanboys, some of whom, by their own admission, have yet to even play the game. Maybe they should stick with Playstation Lifestyle and Destructoid if they don’t want to get their po’ wittle feewings hurt.
However, IGN isn’t the only dastardly villain in this story delightfully curling his handlebar mustache and laughing (i.e. actually writing a CRITICAL review). Joystiq also gave it 4/5, which Metacritic translates to 80.
The game currently averages 87 on Metacritic with 13 critics.
November 24th, 2010
“How can you give the prologue of the game the same score as the complete game?”
Because it came out 2 and a half years ago and was priced $20 less.
November 24th, 2010
cloneB is like that guy with multiple personalities, one for everyday of the week huh carl? har har. . .im gona refer to you now as “the talented mr.ripley” ok? and yes i know he doesnt have multiple personalities, but anyone who has seen the film will definitly relate the character to carlB.
November 24th, 2010
how much is anyone betting MS bribed IGN to give gt5 a lower score than forza 3?
November 24th, 2010
hey lick, would you act the same on the job as you do at Mardi Gras? Okay, maybe you would. Besides, I have more in common with American Psycho.
November 24th, 2010
Next up, Flight Simulators make a comeback
November 24th, 2010
Mr.Ripley
LOL @ lick. but it took you long enough to make up a comeback that doesnt make any sense whatsoever. you wouldnt happen to be one of them clones at the end of judge dredd would you? or perhaps the 6th day was it? hmmm. . . . .
November 24th, 2010
btw mardi gras is french, im irish. .we dont celebrate it. . .so keep on replying with dumb random comebacks “mr ripley”
November 24th, 2010
quid, sorry, I only check this a few times a day.
November 24th, 2010
St. Patty’s day, whatever.
My only point with flight sims is they were also considered simulators more than games.
Most impressions I’m reading are saying GT5 is more sim than game also. This isn’t a bad thing if you want a realistic driving simulator, it may be less than ideal if you are just looking for a fun game.
November 25th, 2010
ill prob get gt5 for xmas. fallout new vegas is on the top of my list now, plus im to busy with black ops.
November 25th, 2010
New Vegas is awesome, except for the bugs, so you have to have a lot of patience. I suggest at least waiting for the next patch, or preferably the GotY edition if you can. But then again, I’m probably going to play Fallout again anyway (GotY this time), because it’s just that damn much fun.
November 25th, 2010
do you know when the next patch is going to be released, and is new vegas better than fallout 3? have you played black ops yet?
November 25th, 2010
Haven’t played blops yet… I wouldn’t call NV better, but I would say it is just as much fun, except even buggier.
November 25th, 2010
“Besides, I have more in common with American Psycho.”
I have this on BR and still need to watch it. Maybe tonight.
November 25th, 2010
“I wouldn’t call NV better, but I would say it is just as much fun, except even buggier.”
So like GT5 more of the same. Yet still fun.
If I get GT5 I will need a racing wheel.
I hope GT5 supports Force feedback wheels.
November 25th, 2010
“I hope GT5 supports Force feedback wheels”
it does
November 25th, 2010
“So like GT5 more of the same. Yet still fun.”
Exactly. Certainly nothing to get upset over a half point on some review score which still rates it as great.
November 25th, 2010
1/2 point on a scale of 10 is a big deal when they convert it to 85 out of 100 when it should be 90 or 95.
Asshole reviews like that is what gave GOW 3 a lower score when it deserves 100 across the board.
November 25th, 2010
carl
cool, i love free roam games. what pissed me off the most in F3 was that i collected 19 bobbleheads for the gold trophy but then realised the last one was back in vault 101. . .after i had been there the 2nd time. anger isnt the word….LOL
November 25th, 2010
I wonder why people even thought IGN was gonna give it a great score… the same blokes that gave GoW III a 9.3 and Halo 3 a 9.5?? Yeah, I don’t value their opinion, and only Xbots should.
GT 5, imo, deserves a 9.7. Sure as hell ain’t perfect, but it does what it sets out to do well.
I don’t care for car damage at all (frankly, there needs to be an option to turn it off), and this game barely has it.
The learning curve is EXTREMELY steep for certain things (Rally racing, go-karts, drifting-anyone got advice for me yet??) and exceedingly accessible in others. Perhaps that’s how it’s supposed to be
The graphics are superb. Anyone telling you different is a bloody liar. There are bits of rough spots (the outline of my Lancer in the rain looked completely jagged, the grass on the replay of High Speed Ring looked like PSP level grass), but everything looks as if you took a picture and superimposed GORGEOUS rendered cars. It really looks that damn good. Look at the clouds on your replays guys- it’s literally jaw dropping.
The game sounds fantastic. In the menus there’s beautiful jazz music (may not be certain ppl’s thing), and during the races, you can play your own tunes. I recommend making a playlist. The engines are DEAD on. But that’s expected from Kaz, right?
There is an unbelievable amount of content. I keep getting distracted… And the rumor that DLC is on the way is intimidating…
Basically, get this game. Forget what reviewers say- this game needs to be personally experienced. It is an awesome game.
November 25th, 2010
CarlB,
I completed Fable 3. It was a fun game but because of the poor graphics and technical issues with the game I couldn’t give it a high score.
As far as Ign goes, I quit reading their reviews because they are idiots.
November 25th, 2010
@NC,
Don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s either worth playing or not, and they consider it to be worthy.
@Liquid,
Holy crap that would be frustrating… I feel for you man. Did you wind up getting the last one?
@Twilight,
Never bothered with Fable 3 after I made the switch to PS3. I thought I would miss it more but it didn’t happen, and I think Fallout 3 NV just has me so occupied I forgot about it.
IGN is one of the few remaining sites that has really critical reviews that fly in the face of console/franchise fanboys/girls, ones in which the body of the review and the individual reviewers tastes are clearly stated. These factors are greater than the sum of it’s oversimplified score, and I’ve learned by now that anything rated 7.5 or above is worth a second look if the game interests me enough. IGN reviewers are also one of the few who take the ratings “Good” to “Great” seriously and don’t just give these words lip service to please long time fans of a franchise.
That said, I don’t agree with every single reviewer on any site, let alone every single review, which is why I think it’s more important to generally categorize those games as Metacritic has: “generally favorable reviews”/(green)/the top 25% is worth more serious thought of investing time.
Any further quibbling about where it falls within that range is generally the autism spectrum of fanboys/girls and their preconceived notions of what they are “entitled” to for “their” particular games score. What’s really funny is they won’t have any problems with the review scores that do agree with their individual tastes on the same exact site and as such won’t bother mentioning them.
November 25th, 2010
“As far as Ign goes, I quit reading their reviews because they are idiots.”
Which individual reviewer(/s) do you think are idiotic on IGN, and why specifically (what particular part/s of a certain review or several)? Most of the time people don’t have the answer to this as they are simply focused on the score alone because they haven’t read the review carefully. I’m not saying this is the case with you, I’d just like to hear your honest take for some possible further discussion.
November 26th, 2010
carl
no i didnt get it because i was on a high level and had done most of the quests and didnt want to start again. was some annoying doh.
November 26th, 2010
I can see that, though there has been enough time for me since I played it at launch to happily play through it again and go exploring…
121 hours on my first playthrough of Fallout New Vegas. I went back through with a new character to mop up some trophies, and am now using some older saves to do the same. Probably about 150 hours altogether so far at least. It is better in that it has more possibilities, more endings, more locations, more characters, more companions, more weapons, items, quests, etc. One thing that I like about going back through is finding all the stuff I missed the first few times.
November 26th, 2010
CarlB,
I don’t pay attention to who writes the reviews. I just read the reviews. Most of the stuff that many of the reviewers (not just Ign) take off for is stupid stuff.
November 27th, 2010
That’s fine twilight, just the part(/s) on an IGN review you found especially “idiotic” or “stupid” quoted would be fine.