Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Castlevania is a long running franchise that contains many of horror’s iconic monsters. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, and many others can be found in numerous Castlevania titles. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow breaks away from it’s traditional 2D action-platformer roots and sets out to reboot the well known series. The series now tackles the action-adventure style seen in titles such as God of War and Dante’s Inferno. The question now is, what makes it stand out from the other titles in the genre? Lets keep our holy water and crucifixes handy.

The Plot

You play as Gabriel Belmont, a knight who belongs to a brotherhood sworn to defend the living against otherworldly forces. Gabriel is a man on a mission, if you’ve seen the movie Commando you know guys like that are not to be messed with. Well someone has hit Gabriel’s rage button and now a whole lot of baddies are going to realize something even worse is coming for them. Gabriel’s love, a woman named Maria has been murdered, angered and saddened Gabriel sets out to find the God Mask. The mask is said to hold limitless power and is even said to be able to bring the dead back to life, giving Gabriel hopes of bringing Maria back to life. Gabriel will encounter many trials and characters on his journey, as twists and turns in the story make you question the character you’re playing as.

The Gameplay

Lords of Shadow has taken the action-adventure approach, Gabriel can dish out a variety of combos with his whip called the “Vampire Killer.” Combos can be purchased and upgraded with points that you earn by killing baddies, this is cool because not only does it add depth but it adds a somewhat strategic element when fighting tough foes, I’ll explain further into the review. The game’s enemies are VERY diverse, you fight everything from werewolves, to zombies, to vampires, to skeletons, and all of them have their own quirks that make them different. Instead of having a rage meter (AKA a whoop ass meter as I like to call it) he has two separate bars of light and shadow magic, with a focus bar thrown into the mix. Each meter does something different when triggered.

The light meter allows Gabriel to heal by beating his foes to death, while the shadow meter allows him to deal out more damage. The meters cannot be simultaneously active and must be refilled by getting magic energy. Magic energy can be gained by defeating enemies or filling up your focus bar, this requires getting numerous hits on enemies without being hit yourself, which then makes your opponents spew out magic energy whenever you land a hit on them. If you’re hit your focus bar will be depleted and you’ll have to make it go up again. Each bar must be filled up separately, you hold in the left stick to absorb magic energy into your light bar, and the right stick for your shadow bar, energy and health pools can be found on every chapter so combat is not the only way to go.

Some combos are only available while in light or shadow mode, and certain weapons such as the dagger and holy water are more effective in those forms. So remember that tactical element I was telling about, it’s there believe me. When you’re getting butchered by a boss you’re going to try and get on your game by getting that focus bar up and absorbing magic energy in order to either heal, or deal more damage to them. You’re  probably going to  use combos like the chainsaw to land more hits on enemies in order for them to give out as much magic energy as possible before being hit. The game also has a block, dodge, and counter system.

Some attacks from enemies can be blocked while others can break through your defense, this will require you to dodge out of the way quickly. Countering is simple as you only press the block button as soon as an enemy strikes, allowing you to attack them while they’re stunned. The game does retain it’s platforming element. Gabriel can climb walls, use his Vampire Killer to swing from one location to the next, or he can use it as a lever to turn switches and can even bring down statues with it. All of this makes your character feel capable, so when you overcome a boss or a tough spot using all of the skills available to you it does give a sense of satisfaction.

Finally Lords of Shadow has puzzles, these differ greatly and make you think. Some puzzles require you to move at a certain pace, move objects into the right position, match up patterns, and more. You folks who love challenging puzzles welcome to Lords of Shadow, those who don’t, know that most of them CAN be skipped, you will however lose the experience points you would have been given had you completed the puzzle. The puzzles can be fun and are a good change of pace. The game has a lot of elements that keep it fresh, from combat, to traversing levels, to making you use your noodle, it definitely stands out from being just an average beat em’ up.

The Atmosphere

The game’s atmosphere is dark and varied. Lords of Shadow keeps that great dark fantasy feel, it’s art style, epic soundtrack and scale make this game stand out BIG time. The story is LONG and makes you feel like a champ at the end of your journey. Visually Lords of Shadow is very good, no part of the game feels like the devs cut corners, everything looks top notch. It captures what it set out to do in flying colors and immerses you.

The Verdict

I love dark fantasy, I love action-adventure when done right, and I LOVE lengthy games. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a treat for those who want something epic and challenging, for those of you who beat this on the highest difficulty I salute you. My only gripe with the game is that sometimes the camera gets a little wild, causing you to sometimes plunge to your death, or setting up for something really dumb to happen. Those problems can be overlooked, and do not hinder the overall experience. I highly recommend this title, and cannot wait to see what the future holds for this series.

30 Reviews in 30 Days, Day 16: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Okay, if you have played Castlevania games before, you know they follow a certain formula: Dracula is trying to once again take control of the world, and it is your job as a legendary vampire killer, often a member of the Belmont family, to stop him. This formula has been repeated over and over again with some variations. Of course most gamers are familiar with Symphony of the Night, which changed things up by making you play a vampire yourself who was hunting other vampires, and this was the first game to offer an experience system and the ability to carry more than one secondary weapon at a time. There were also two other DS games, each with little quirks that made them different, but still following much the same plot.

I have been a Castlevania fan for years, so I have played several of them. One of the things the more recent versions of the series have been missing is the challenging and sometimes downright frustrating difficulty of the earlier games. So when I started hearing that Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was bringing that difficulty level back, I was definitely interested.

What I did not know at the time was this was going to be one of the more unique Castlevania experiences out there.

Not your normal Vampire Killer

Order of Ecclesia turns the normal gameplay for this series on its ear. You play as Shanoa. a member of the Order of Ecclesia, a group formed after the death of the last member of the Belmont Clan. The Order has been trying to find a way to deal with Dracula’s impending return, and in doing so has created the glyphs, magic symbols that can be equipped by those trained to use them for combat. Of the glyphs, there are three that reign supreme: Anger, Hatred and Agony, the Dominus Glyphs made from Dracula’s power. Just as Shanoa is about to be made the living vessel for this powerful set of glyphs, her colleague and fellow vampire hunter Albus steals them. Shanoa is left powerless and devoid of both emotion and memory, with no other goal than to get the Dominus glyphs back.

The glyphs completely change the way you do combat in this game. Shanoa can equip three glyphs at a time, one in each of her arms and one on her back. The arm glyphs are either weapon or magic glyphs that are used in combat. The one on the back allows Shanoa to do various physical maneuvers, including creating a magnetic field that will let her launch herself from metal objects or become insubstantial enough to walk through certain types of walls, or they can effect things like Shanoa’s magic resistance or the amount of money received from killing enemies.

Using the glyphs takes magic power, measured in a meter in the left hand corner of the lower screen. The more powerful the glyph, the more magic it uses. The magic power will replenish over time, but if you use it all up, you will not be able to attack till you have enough built back up. On top of that, you can combine the glyphs in Shanoa’s arms to make a Glyph Union. This attack does much more damage, but they use up your hearts.

You obtain glyphs throughout the game by absorbing them into Shanoa’s body. This is no real problem when you run across them in the world or are dropped after you kill enemies, but that is not the only way you obtain them. When an enemy is casting magic, you will see a glyph form, and if you start absorbing it in time, Shanoa will gain the ability the enemy was going to use against her. The problem is she is very vulnerable when she is trying to absorb glyphs, and any damage taken during that time will stop the absorption. In other words, you need to learn how to time this glyph theft.

Now THIS is the difficulty I remember

When reviewers were saying Order of Ecclesia brought the difficulty back to the Castlevania series, they were not kidding. Early on, everything seems easy enough. You face off against the typical fair of enemies, and you advance relatively quickly. Not too long in, however, you run across your first major enemy, a giant skeleton who is rather difficult to take out this early in the game. As if that was not enough, vanquishing it opens up a new area filled with enemies you will have to really be on your toes to deal with, including some that, for the time being, you will just have to avoid.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia brings the difficulty back to the series.

Thing is, these difficult enemies are not even bosses. You don’t face your first real major boss until you reach the lighthouse; there, you will fight a giant crab who is the perfect example of an old school Castlevania boss: hard hitting, pattern driven and broken into several stages. There was a point where I though I had beaten this enemy finally, just to find out there was still one more stage to face. In the end, you end up getting all the way to the top of the lighthouse in this battle and smash the crab to bits with the elevator conveniently placed at the top. As frustrating as it was, there was something that felt familiar about this battle. It felt like the return of an old friend.

Not just stuck in a castle

One problem with many Castlevania games is you see the same level layout repeated over and over again. Portrait of Ruin broke that up a bit by adding the paintings representing different lands, but still, if you have played one of these games, you know what to expect environmentally, down to the watery caves under the castle and the clock tower full of Medusa heads.

This is an area where Order of Ecclesia once again stands out. One of the first places you visit is a village whose villagers have all been kidnapped by Albus. He has taken them to different locations that include forests, snow covered mansions and ship wrecks on the floor of the sea. In other words, you will travel to areas you are not used to seeing in a Castlevania game, making this an excellent blend of the old school difficulty and new gameplay.

On word of warning: make sure you find all the villagers before your final showdown with Albus. if you don’t, you will get the bad ending for this game. That is one Castlevania convention I could have lived without, but it is not surprising that it is there.

The game has such unique environments…until you get to Dracula’s Castle.

And yet there is one catch

Up to one point in this game, I was really loving how different Order of Ecclesia was. It really stood out in the battle against Albus, where not only did you have to memorize his unusual pattern to beat him, but you needed to absorb his Agony glyph or you would never have the chance again. After beating him, Shanoa learns the truth behind his actions and the fact that Dracula is about to return once again. This leads you to Dracula’s Castle, where the old familiar scenes start to play out.

That’s the problem. Up until this point, Order of Ecclesia was unlike most other games in the series. Once you get into Dracula’s castle, however, it starts to feel all too familiar. In a gem where they were so innovative, it is disappointing to see the developers kind of return to form. It almost feels like laziness on the part of Konami, going back to the same old gameplay that has lead to more and more gamers leaving the Castlevania series behind. I guess those of us who like the series are just going to have to wait till Kojima’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow comes out to find a truly unique Castlevania experience.

That being said, this is still a very enjoyable and challenging game. I would even argue that it may be the most invative Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia gets a 4 out of 5.