![castlevania lords of shadow castlevania lords of shadow](https://images.greenmangaming.com/385a1c56f53f4791986dbd9a27340523/dcb53b82af184375b12217a043daa8d6.jpg)
Each level has a distinct look and architectural style, ensuring your eyes will never be bored. This Castlevania's greatest assets are its dazzling vistas and scenic design. For the most part the fixed camera works well enough, but there will be times when you can't see an enemy that is attacking you or you wish you could look around for secrets on your own. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow doesn't let you control the camera, which is always a drag in 3D games. These magics also come into play in many of the game's puzzles. The system provides a welcome layer of strategy to the button-mashing combat. Fallen enemies refill the magic meter of your choice, but not if magic is active. When light magic is active he will heal himself by attacking enemies. Gabriel has an interesting light/dark magic system at his disposal. These are some of the more enjoyable bits in Lords of Shadow.
![castlevania lords of shadow castlevania lords of shadow](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BplPol1yHeU/maxresdefault.jpg)
You scale walls while carefully looking for surfaces to cling to and your trusty Combat Cross can be used as a grappling hook to swing to new heights. Those relaxing moments you can take at your own pace are often filled with light climbing and grappling exercises that remind me of Assassin's Creed or Uncharted. I found the quiet moments in between skirmishes more interesting and satisfying. There are also many aggravating sections where you're trying to solve a puzzle (many of which are clever) and enemies keep endlessly respawning around you. All of the button mashing made my eyes glaze over after a while and I felt like I was just going through the motions. There are dozens of combos to unlock and the game is constantly funneling you towards your next encounter with a gang of monsters. Instead, Lords of Shadow is about action and combat. Items to find are scarce - much less than in a typical Castlevania. There is no map and very little in the way of exploration.
![castlevania lords of shadow castlevania lords of shadow](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/1b0adbe06ce100529c9b8a5aca1c4136.jpg)
Instead of exploring one large castle you proceed linearly from level to level (although you are encouraged to backtrack to previously unreachable areas once you've upgraded your skills). Gabriel wants to save the world from the Dark Lords, but he also has a more personal stake in the mission: he is out for revenge for the death of his childhood sweetheart. These guys are like the Jedi of Castlevania, protecting the normals from everything that wants to kill and eat them. Lords of Shadow introduces us to Gabriel Belmont, a member of a holy order of knights called the Brotherhood of Light. There is definitely fun to be had with Lords of Shadow and it's drop dead gorgeous at times, but Castlevania fans might be left in the dark. This action adventure game that's heavy on combat actually has much more in common with God of War than Castlevania. The only loose connection is the presence of vampires, werewolves, and skeletons.
#Castlevania lords of shadow series#
None of the common gameplay elements you'd expect from the series are to be found here and the story isn't canon. I'd say it's an unrelated game that borrows the "Castlevania" name. Konami describes Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as a reboot for the 25-year old franchise.