Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Recoil Review: Did I Read the Name Right?

Of all of the video game franchises around, many of you probably already know that I hold the Castlevania series nearest and dearest to my heart. From the moment I first caught wind of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, I knew that it was a make or break moment for the series. All previous 3D Castlevania’s had been given a lot of criticism and this one needed to break that habit and blow us all away. All in all, the game made some major wins, but took some major hits. This isn’t really going to be a formal review of the title so much as a postmortem of what worked, what didn’t, what elated me and what drove me over the edge.

Rebootiness

Firstly, it was a bold choice going with a reboot. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is not a part of the original canon of Castlevania, and steps pretty boldly away from the direction the more recent games in the series were setting up as far as the chronology and history of Dracula and the Belmont Clan. Created by Spanish developer MercurySteam and advised by Hideo Kojima, of Metal Gear fame, LoS takes the basics of the story [Whip + Vampire = Brutal Awesomeness] and spins a new tale around it that feels like a cross between Pan’s Labyrinth and Apocalypse Now if they were set during the Crusades.

There are a few specific points I want to hit on as there are plenty of reviews out there already, I’m going to skim over the basics. To make a long story short, the game’s length is great, the story is heavy, the setting is beautiful, and the mechanics are fluid. From what I’ve heard, the game ripped off God of War to an extreme degree in terms of mechanics, but as I’ve never played that series, I can’t say for sure. What I can say is that the basic controls make sense and behave exactly how you’d want them to once you find the rhythm of battle. Basically, for a 3D Castlevania, at least technically speaking, they got this one right.

Sounds good, but doesn’t sound right

Why is game music important? For the same reason it’s important in film. Music sets the mood, transports you to another place and brings up old memories long thought forgotten. There’s only one real way to describe Óscar Araujo’s soundtrack, which is that it is pure ambiance. It immerses and makes you feel like you are on a grand quest that can end in no way other than total and utter desolation. The sound design makes the darks seem darker and the light seem almost reachable, if you could just get over one more hill. The music and sound design of the game are well done in my opinion, but there’s one huge flaw with it.

Nothing about this music feels like Castlevania. Castlevania’s music has always had two hallmarks that set it apart from other franchises; gothic organs and hard rock guitars. I’m not saying that the music doesn’t work in this game, but it gives you an incredibly different feel. The music of ‘Vanias past gave you a sense of power, rhythm and control that propelled you forward at breakneck speed. LoS’s soundtrack is more of a grand orchestral affair. The only hint you even get of Castlevania’s recognizable theme song, “Vampire Killer,” is in a mini-game where you’re shrunk down and have to solve a puzzle in a music box. I may be biased because I’m such a huge Castlevania fan, but the last time I checked, that was the point, guys!

Maybe you missed the point of DLC

I’ve been waiting to write an article on LoS until after I’d played through both DLC chapters as I wanted to make sure I had the “whole scoop.” So, without giving too much away (because I really do recommend playing through this whole game if you have the chance), when you get to the end, there’s an ending, and an epilogue with considerable time taking place between them. Konami announced that they would release two DLC packs: Reverie and Resurrection, that would help fill in some of that time-gap. At first, I was super stoked about this because I had just finished the core game (and loved it) and couldn’t wait to see what else they had up their sleeves.

I’m still waiting. It sure as hell wasn’t in these two DLC packs. I dropped ~$10 and played through the first pack. I was enjoying it immensely until it abruptly ended in only a couple of hours. On top of the incredibly short length, it ended right before a major boss battle to take place in the next DLC. I was a little irked, but I waited patiently for a month. I was thankful for Konami’s promises that the 2nd DLC, Resurrection would be much longer than the first. I dropped my ~$10 again and was more than a little surprised when the drawn-out multi-part boss battle ended… and so did the game. Yes, Resurrection is basically just a boss battle. No grand explanation, no extra powers, and even the beautiful cutscenes had been replaced with mediocre animatics. $10 would have been fine for both packs together, and I would have been a happy vampire killer, but individually it is just ripping us off. And that means something coming from someone who spent $30 on a crappy replica of Simon’s whip. In fact, the cancelled Dreamcast game Castlevania: Resurrection might have been more fulfilling.

Back in 100 Years

Please do not misunderstand me, I really loved Lords of Shadow and would recommend it to any movie monster fan who loves a good, dark, action game. In the end, LoS still doesn’t feel like Castlevania to me. I tried to convince myself otherwise that parts of the game really do feel like Simon’s Quest since the game is on a much grander scale than just one castle. There are hints of it there. Hints, longings and the middle section of the game even has some great baddies from past games, but it’s still something different. We’ll have to see what they do in Lords of Shadow 2 or whatever they end up calling the sequel, but my only hope is that they take the game back to its roots just a little bit, for the fans. If I sound a little back and forth on this, you’re exactly right, that’s precisely how the game makes me feel. If anyone needs me I’ll be over here playing Symphony of the Night.

Recoil Review – Games evolve with updates over time and so do opinions. A postmortem review after the dust has settled on a game’s intial launch to see how the game holds up today.

Source:

Giant Bomb (images)

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