Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review

The first high-profile current-gen Castlevania takes a big risk by rebooting the beloved series.  So how does it stack up?

It’s been twenty-four years since the original Castlevania appeared on the NES, and since then Konami’s popular series has seen over twenty-five entries on a multitude of consoles (see our article series Castlevania: The Retrospective).  While the central theme of the vampire-hunting Belmont family’s multi-generational battle against Count Dracula and his demonic forces has remained the same, the series has gone a number of different directions.  The first several entries (minus Simon's Quest) were 2D action-platformers across successive levels, each ending with a boss fight.  In time the series primarily became castle-exploring adventure games, popularly known as “Metroid-vanias,” where sections of the game world were traversed multiple times as new abilities and items were gained to expand exploration and upgrade the hero.  Castlevania also took a few forays into 3D and even one-on-one fighting with mixed results.  Each entry in the series built upon the massive storyline of the Belmonts through the centuries until it seemed there was no breathing room for more to be told.

The newest entry in the series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, developed by MercurySteam, takes a major risk by removing itself from the established canon, acting as a total reboot.  This is only one reason the franchise’s devoted fanbase has been waiting and watching with extreme nervousness.  It’s also the first high-profile entry for current-gen systems with a big budget and major production values.  If that weren’t enough, it has to deal with the skepticism that’s haunted the past 3D entries.  The Nintendo 64 titles, Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, were lauded for great adventure and story elements with wonderful platforming, but lacked dynamic combat; the PS2 and Xbox titles Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness had kinetic fighting action but struggled with boring and repetitive level design and a major lack of platforming.  With all these challenges, is Lords of Shadow going to win the hearts of Castlevania’s fans?  And does it have what it takes to bring in a new audience unfamiliar with the series’ history?

The answer to both questions is yes, but with some qualifications.  Let me make this perfectly clear for those who love the series as much as myself: this is a total reboot, with no obligation or connection to anything that has happened before.  All the trappings of what “has to be” in a Castlevania game have been thrown out the stained-glass window in favor of a completely new storyline and characters.  I’ve already read comments by gamers trying to shoehorn the events and characters of past installments into this one.  Trust me, it’s futile.  While this may bring dismay to the hearts of some, let me assure you there is plenty for fans to love in this darker, grittier take on the gothic action franchise.

The story revolves around hero Gabriel Belmont (in this continuity the first to take on the surname), who lives in an 11th century Europe that has been plunged into an age of darkness.  Monsters and evil demons run rampant, spreading murder and mayhem, threatening the entire human race with extinction.  Gabriel is a member of a brotherhood of holy knights whose task it is to challenge the source of this chaos, the Lords of Shadow.  Many of his comrades have entered the evil Lords’ realms before, but all have failed.  Gabriel seems to be the brotherhood’s last hope, and is armed with a sacred relic that was previously kept locked away: a powerful weapon known as the Combat Cross.  While the order looks to the Christian God as their founder, Gabriel’s mission is to seek out the Old Gods, whose ancient knowledge may be the only way to truly understand how to defeat the Lords of Shadow.  Gabriel also has personal reasons for his dangerous quest, as his wife Marie was murdered by the forces of darkness.