Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Review

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is the latest in the series reboot from MercurySteam. Many originally showed scepticism when the Spain-based dev studio were passed the reins, previous attempts to outsource traditionally Japanese franchises to western developers had been a little hit and miss. However, upon release the critics on the whole were quite positive about the first Lords of Shadow game which was praised for its well-implemented high production values and competent reimagining of a classic gaming legacy that had been in danger of becoming stale. The latest iteration, and allegedly the last from MercurySteam, carries on in much the same way.

Should you not be aware, it’s a third person action fighter with some explorative and puzzle elements. As well as taking inspiration from the likes of Ninja Gaiden and God of War, there are also parts of the game which seem to be clearly influenced by not-so-obvious sources. You play the corrupted Holy Knight Gabriel Belmont, now known as Dracula, as he battles the demons of old, of new, and of his own creation. The story is a little convoluted for my liking, almost cheesy you might say, but fans of the protagonist’s epic struggle against the vast forces of evil will probably love it. This is complemented well by the excellent crop of actors who’ve voiced the game; the likes of Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle. The musical score to the game is of matching quality, particularly the creepy signature piano motiff that permeates throughout.


As you may expect, the focal point of the gameplay consists in fighting enemy mobs and bosses. Both of these require a focused effort by player to combo, block, avoid, counter, and sometimes use special abilities to defeat the aggressors, particularly on the higher difficulty settings. The mobs are competently designed and fairly interesting, some require simple tactics to defeat. The bosses range from generic to epic; and are spaced fairly close together so the player doesn’t get bored of wading through tedious enemy mobs. The first boss in the game is coupled with an enormous titan. It’s not exactly Shadow of the Colossus, because here the fight is much more scripted in nature; but the action-packed experience is still fun to play and you definitely get the sense of taking down something massive.



Gabriel has a veritable arsenal of various weapons and tricks at his disposal and although it seems too much at first, you get to grips with the complexity relatively quickly. This learning processes is heavily aided by the fact that rather early on the game robs all your abilities, like something out of Metroid, and gradually awards them back to you throughout the game. He also has three abilities which are mainly used to access areas in the world. These are the mist form, which allows him to pass through grates; the rat form, which allows him to sneak by extremely dangerous enemies; and the wolf medallion, which allows him to switch between the two primary gaming areas – Earth and his castle.


Gabriel’s three primary weapons are the Shadow Whip, the Void Sword and the Chaos Claws. The former is more or less the standard weapon; it’s quite long range for a melee attack and fairly versatile. The latter two are shorter range and have extra effects, draining the life of enemies and smashing their shields respectively. They also require special types of energy – Void or Chaos – to use, which can be replenished a variety of ways. Each weapon also has a respective projectile that are used both in battle and to access new areas in the gaming world; again this reminds me rather a lot of the Metroid series. The Shadow Whip projectile can be used to destroy small devices such as security alarms, the Void Sword one can be used to freeze things and the Chaos Claws one is used to smash things apart. In addition to that Gabriel also has a rather lot of utility items including a Dodo, which goes to find the nearest secret and marks it on your map, and an egg timer used to slow down the enemies and deal extra damage for a limited time.

You can’t quite call the game open world, but it’s getting there. For most of the game the story requires you to follow a rather linear path, only exploring off to the side when and as you find secrets. Normally these secrets consist in pain boxes which gradually take you towards permanently extending the limit of your health bar or one of your two energy bars. However, there’s almost never restrictions left on going back the way you came, and, in fact, sometimes that is absolutely required in order to use a recently acquired ability to access a previously unreachable secret. Additionally, fairly early on in the game you gain access to a room which allows quick travel through various areas; giving you a way to go back and hunt out secrets you missed the first time round and thus strengthen your ability to tackle the enemies you’re currently facing. This is exactly what the game’s tips recommend you do if you’re having trouble fighting a boss.

Saying this game is nicely polished is like saying Father Christmas has a bit of a beard going on. The 3D engine is a clear product of programming proficiency; not to the extent that the graphical fidelity will blow away the connoisseurs, but certainly in a way that you can appreciate the smooth and efficient engine which has been put together by masters of the craft. The animation is just as pleasant, the way Gabriel climbs structures and hops up walls has almost the same kind of fluidity praised in Assassin’s Creed. It’s also hard to miss the brilliant architectural design of some of the gaming areas; from the humongous outdoor structures to the artistically crafted gargoyle switches, it’s clear to see the attention to detail and creativity which have been put into the design process. It’s also refreshing to see a PC port both running so well and get release-date parity with the consoles; although this should be the rule rather than the exception. A big thumbs up is well deserved by the folks who grinded on the stone to piece this beauty together.



There’s many elements of great games here and they come together well, providing a furious third person slashing experience with more than enough bang to keep you pounding away on the keys until the end. Where the game falls is its clear like of innovation. There’s almost nothing you haven’t already seen elsewhere, whether it’s from Zelda or God of War, you can trace the roots of almost every single game mechanic to something that has been before. Likewise, the characters and story don’t display anything to set them out from the crowd. Gabriel is a badass, but there’s nothing to set him out from the legion of badasses who’ve come before him. He doesn’t attract the intrigue of someone such as Ryu Hayabusa, and neither does the narrative have anything like the sophistication of a game like Ninja Gaiden. Ultimately, do you care about these things? This makes up the focal question as to whether someone will dig this game or not. Are these the kind of things which affect your immersion?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 does some things alright and some things really well. The lack of anything not done before and the run of the mill story still leave the game a decent gaming experience, there’s still plenty to see and plenty to kill, and, as mentioned before, there is a great sense of games and level design competency which oozes from the seams. For third person action veterans it probably won’t quite cut the mustard, but for Castlevania fans who are still digging the reboot this will be another good title in the reimagining of a classic series.