LoS presents the player with familiar action gameplay, puzzle elements, as well as a cinematic quality thanks to the direction of Hideo Kojima of the Metal Gear series fame. You play as Gabriel, a member of a brotherhood of warrior monks who has recently lost his beloved wife Maria. Gabriel is sent on a quest by his order to investigate a recent schism between earth and God. The brotherhood suspects that the Lords of Shadow have somehow used dark magic to create a barrier between the two. In order to break this spell, Gabriel is to defeat each of the three lords and gain their power as his own. Each lord has his or her own part of the God Mask which was broken into three parts in the early ages which embodies their power. Upon reuniting the three pieces of the mask, Gabriel will gain the power needed to break the barrier and reconnect God with earth. Gabriel has another motive, however. He believes that in addition to breaking the evil spell, that he will be able to bring his wrongly executed wife back from the grave with the power of the mask.
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| The visuals have changed a bit since the series' inception in 1987. |
The core gameplay consists of familiar combat elements such as light and heavy attacks that can be chained together to make combos. As you defeat enemies you gain experience which can then be used to purchase new, more powerful combos adding an RPG element to the experience. A light and dark magic system spices up combat with two new abilities. Light magic imbues Gabriel's signature weapon, the combat cross chain whip, with the ability to regain health with each hit on an enemy. Dark magic causes Gabriel's attacks to do extra damage. In addition to the combat cross, Gabriel finds a number of relics throughout his adventure such as silver daggers and flasks of holy water that help combat waves of enemy lycans, vampires, reapers, and many other denizens of evil. Each enemy type has varying strengths and weaknesses to these relics. Light and dark magic also empower these relics with additional effects making combos even more varied. This variation is good as magic power is recharged by defeating enemies normally without magic powers active. The more combos successfully landed on enemies without taking hits yourself builds up your focus meter which, when entirely full, causes enemies to release magic recharging orbs with each hit. Hidden collectable gems are spread throughout the game which will upgrade your light, dark, and health gauges when found.
Puzzles play a part in the game as well. Varying types of puzzles attempt to thwart Gabriel's progress through the game world. Timed level, light reflecting, and sliding tile type puzzles are all included as well as an interesting chess battle mini-game that can be played by two players against one another from the main menu.
As previously mentioned, there is a great variety of enemies that you will engage in battle. This was one of the features I enjoyed most in the game. Along with the myriad of minions sent at you by the Lords of Shadow, you will be facing a number of boss creatures. Most of these bosses are monstrous demons of one sort or another that can be defeated using normal combat maneuvers. Other bosses require specific strategies to defeat. Boss battles commonly end in a series of cinematic quick-time events as Gabriel gives the coup de grâce to his enemy. A few boss battles pit Gabriel against gigantic Titans, the last remnant of an ancient magician's army. These battles play out much differently than the others. Due to their massive size, Gabriel must wait for an opening in the Titans' attacks and climb onto the giant constructs. Spread across the Titans' bodies are a series of runes that Gabriel must climb to and destroy to bring the gigantic beasts down. Bosses bring each of the 12 chapters to an end.
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| Erm, you might want to turn around... |
One of the biggest surprises this game had in store for me was the length. Most actions games recently last a maximum of 10 hours. LoS lasted me over 20 hours in a single playthrough on normal difficulty, collecting all the gems. LoS boasts a total of four difficulty levels (the hardest is unlocked after you beat the game on any other setting) as well as different trials for each level. Trials add an additional task to complete for each level after they have been beaten once. Some trials are more challenging than others. Personally, I do not enjoy extra challenges in games. I mainly play a game once through to experience it and its story, but I can definitely see how this addition would be welcomed by those players who do enjoy such things.
LoS has some of the best looking video game environments that I have seen in a long time. Each chapter moves Gabriel to a new, highly detailed, area of the game world. Every area is amazingly detailed. Some vistas can even be described as breathtaking. Gabriel's travels take him to many areas. From lush green forests, to bleak snowy mountains, and all are beautifully presented.
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| Can I just live here? Forget the God Mask... |
The achievement list for LoS includes the expected "complete chapter #" achievements, as well as achievements for completing the game on each of the four difficulty levels. There are also achievements for collecting all of the different gems and upgrades throughout the game. The remaining achievements are for completing all the trials in each individual chapter. As someone who is not a fan of these trials, I was very annoyed that so many of the game's achievements require you to complete them. There are even two additional achievements that are unlocked for completing every trial in the game.
There are two downloadable expansions for the game, Reverie and Resurrection. Both episodes expand on Gabriel's experiences between the end of LoS and the seemingly disjointed video that plays after the game's credits. I have not played either expansion, but I felt that they were worth mentioning as they are technically part of the game. I have read that they were not well received by the gaming community as they were rushed by the game's producer. (more info here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-06-29-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-dlc-a-mistake-says-dev)
Amulets and Ale Rating:
You forgot to mention the bonus of having Patrick Stewart's lulling voice narrate during the game. I do love a chain weapon, but the size of Gabriel's neck was terrifying!
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