From a playability standpoint this game is really long, some 52 levels I believe it was. I don’t even know what the final time stamp was on the game, but it took about 3-4 days of solid sessions, basically time you actually commit to playing a game cause you need X amount of hours to play and progress far enough. Having watched/played a bit of the stages of Castlevania, then beating Fist of the North Star lately it’s definitely rejuvenated my past time for video games.
The artists that Mercury Steam has working for them are hands down incredible. This game contained some of the single most beautiful concept imagery I’ve seen from a development standpoint. It’s unbelievable the amount of detail that goes in and is invariably lost in the noise. It’s also that sense which makes the visuals in Castlevania not as good as they could be. It’s a bit of an oxymoron, but the easiest way is to throw things out comparatively. There are set pieces in Lords of Shadow that you are intriguing and great to look at, but the overall delivery of them in some cases doesn’t give you that final punch in the face of wow. I stand by what I said though, there are moments in this game were the visuals are memorable and they do leave a lasting impression. But the general graphics standpoint, it’s a B. Concept art that’s an A. It’s like giving your one-off masterpiece to a production company and they mass produce your work. This might be a bad analogy but in that sense this original artwork isn’t translated as beautifully when production hits a high volume.
In Lords of Shadow, I think it’s a different case as the Mercury Steam team is incredibly small compared to a team like Naughty Dog. It’s a strange state video games are in today. What type of experience are games trying to deliver, are they new, reboots, engaging, cinematic? What direction are you going to take, what shape are you going to let that direction unfold towards, how is that story going to be told, what structure is this game going to develop as well.
I’ve never been a Castlevania player back in the day, but I do know Castlevania is a hardcore 2D platformer. In that sense I guess I should’ve expected to see platforming in 3D form in Lords of Shadow. Yet I have to say the platforming in this game is incredibly weak comparatively to what is out there and I have to bring up Tomb Raider and Uncharted. Lords of Shadow from my perspective calls on that actual type of platforming mechanics, there are definitive sequences in this game where platforming is a necessity in order to progress through the game. The obvious reaction to this is, well of course, otherwise how would you get through said level. My point here is basically for how important the platforming in Lords of Shadow was, I think it could’ve been better developed, or hell even stolen from one of the counterparts on the market already. Would it make the game less original, maybe? But honestly with all the God of War and Shadow of Colossus reference like gameplay in this game, they could’ve gone 3 for 3 or 4 for 4 in this case. There is a quote I read awhile back, years even “copy the inspiration, not the outcome.”
The platforming mechanics aren’t a problem themselves so much as actual level design is a problem. complaint is the sense of realism in design with video games. You’ll never encounter a long wide hallway in real life, you’ll never see a pathway diverge in obscure ways. It doesn’t have to be ultra realistic, but it should at least always carry that overtone and with creative/art direction I think it’s important. There are just weak elements in this game that basically effect other aspects of the game itself. It’s not just Lords of Shadow, but many other games. It’s like Uncharted, that’s an incredibly linear game, but the visuals and how the story is told and ultimately progresses is fine-tuned to sell you on this adventure. With how Lords of Shadow borrowed from so much, it felt disjointed in what exactly should I expect with this game. Even as you played it, it became more of what was pushing you on finish it. It was here that the storyline seemingly took it’s place in the game. Then followed by the conceptual art direction along with the orchestral music playing in the background.
The storyline in Lords of Shadow is… I want to say told well. Yet there are so many glaring plot holes and omissions where the story is told and not shown. You want to see certain parts and character developments actually made visible, but at this point the game would have to be a movie. I brought note to the diary/narrative by Patrick Stewart as the way the game segways from stage to stage, chapter to chapter. It’s this actual way the storyline is told, which ironically breaks up the game poorly. You see an obvious twist coming and are expecting and even when it’s brought up, it’s glossed over in such a manner that’s it’s oddly inconsequential. Yet supposedly is one of the key driving forces behind your character’s reasons for going on the quest he is going on. The trek and journey s hould be epic. It should be as epic as the orchestral music. But instead you play through a stage and are given text scrolling down a screen describing what the stage is about. You don’t feel the experience as much as you should, which is a shame considering the amount of focus on the characters.
Mercury Steam, whether it was suggestion of Hideo or whatever, did a great job with trying to give weight to the characters. In this instance Lords of Shadow like many other games shows a lot of potential but, like in my previous posts, does not quite reach the top of the hill or mountain. With the story you can tell something is missing, or purposefully untold. There is an epilogue sequence which I found very interesting and as such can continue this Castlevania series from a sequel/prequel, DLC standpoint forever, if done properly. In fact there are 2 DLC expansions coming out which continue the story as such I will be holding onto my copy of Lords of Shadow rather than do the traditional trade-in.
I want to talk more about the story, but all I can say it was disjointed from a narrative perspective. The storyline is effect simplistic in nature, but given there were 52 levels to trudge through… it’s like giving someone 52 chances to tell you their story, piece by piece.
The gameplay, you know I can’t actually comment so much on the actual fighting mechanics other than what you start off with. When my brother plays through a game, it’s a very odd thing he does. He collects all the gold in the game, does all the secret trials and puzzles but never spends a dime of experience points. At the end of the game he finished with a little over 67,000 experience points. Maybe it’s a testament to his skill as a gamer, but it’s not the first time he’s done and it won’t be the last time.After we beat the game, I spent all the money I could and first unlocked all the artwork which was awesome to look at. Then for the hell of it I spent the rest of the money on upgrading all the move sets. In the end I was able to unlock everything but the two final ultimate attacks which were 25k each. One more playthrough of the game would obviously give you enough to unlock said moves. When I say I can’t comment so much on the gameplay itself, it’s based on we never unlocked anymore moves then the basics. Hell we never referenced the skill guide once and it was clear that there were even some moves we weren’t aware of we already had and in fact didn’t use. Since I’ll be holding onto this game, I’m going to let my cousin attempt a playthrough of his own when he’s over. Either or, it’s the typical God of War, Devil May Cry unlock moves mechanics.
We played this game pretty thoroughly I must say and collected nearly every special gemstone which aided in increasing your magic powers or life. The puzzles in this game were intriguing enough, some of them were convoluted though and made entirely no sense in structure or appearance during a game. It’s like going on a treasure hunt, you know the person has the treasure booby trapped and you need to figure out how to unlock the trap. I think puzzles should have the same type of weight based on their sudden appearance and reason in a game. You can’t just throw in a puzzle for the sake of throwing in a puzzle to break up the game’s sequencing. There is still this level of monotony involved with how a player engages in solving a puzzle versus their want to solve the puzzle other than to proceed through the check point. Of course that is the end goal, but in that same weight I think it has more to do with level structure and design in the end, other than it simply being an obstacle in your way. I’m all for that type of variety and it’s seemingly found it’s place in these type of action/adventure games.
There were other quirks about the game like the final boss and this odd reason you had unlimited magic which essentially meant you could not die in the final boss, unless you absolutely sucked at the game. I made the comment that it would be impossible based on the last 11 chapters would have to had been the longest tutorial known to man. There were villain fights that were very smart, there were parts that were expected and some parts which were also re-used from other games. There was a lot of good intention behind Lords of Shadow and in that sense I really would promote playing it. It’s definite task though but I know there are far far worse games out there. It is definitely deserving, whether it’s on your list of things to play I can’t go beyond other than saying what I’ve said about the game so far.
Grade: B
