Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review (360/PS3)
123Castlevania: Lords of Shadow serves as a reboot for the long-running franchise, or, at the very least, a new storyline to run parallel to the series' primary canon. The game's story is light and told through simple cut scenes that bookend the levels, but is competent and serves as an interesting prologue for things to come in this new thread.
Lords of Shadow is combat heavy, and comparison's to Sony's God of War franchise have been made. The observation is apt, though like God of War itself, Castlevania borrows just as much from games like Rygar: The Legendary Adventures and its own predecessor, Lament of Innocence. Developer Mercury Steam likely took a look at God of War during development, but worrying about which game "stole" from which is a fruitless discussion. Lords of Shadow probably owes more of a debt to Shadow of the Colossus; the Titan boss fights are pretty much ripped off wholesale.
While there is some interesting platforming, and the odd puzzle that feels a bit disconnected a la Professor Layton, combat is the primary focus, and is much more meaningful than in similar games. Dodging and blocking effectively are paramount, and pulling varied combos and using magics and abilities well are absolutely key to winning. Button mashing and flailing about may win the occasional bout, but performing poorly will likely come back to haunt you down the line, and will probably eventually get you killed. Skill counts for everything.
I really enjoyed the fact that Lords of Shadow wasn't afraid to toss in new, simple mechanics frequently, and only employing them when necessary, rather than becoming reliant on then, reducing them to the repetitive and mundane.
Though the camera can be a little problematic on occasion, and some areas and boss fights lack direction, the beautiful visuals, wonderful music, brutal action and varied gameplay kept me coming back for more. Those that prefer the non-linear Castlevania approach, such as that in games like Symphony of the Night, may not dig Lords of Shadow, but the emphasis on action and platforming recalls earlier games in the series, such as Super Castlevania IV and Rondo of Blood, and I've really enjoyed it. I find Lords of Shadow to be another great entry in the storied and ever-changing Castlevania franchise.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was reviewed using the PlayStation 3 version.
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