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Lords of Shadow is beautiful

Godcannon

Member
I think everything about LOS1 is a 10/10 except the gameplay and pacing.

It also sickens me that Mirror of Fate gets no love, but I think it has the best story of the trilogy.

And yes everybody knows that 2 should have been one of the greatest games of all times, but instead will just have one of the greatest trailers of all time.
 

Raven117

Gold Member
I mean, I liked it. Thought the music box part was awesome.

I would love for a major Japanese studio (lets say Capcom..think Dragons Dogma) to give Simon's Quest the actual open world adventure it deserved.

It would pretty much be a darker Witcher 3 if done perfectly. And it would be awesome in every way.

From Software of course pretty much has been making 3D Castlevania games since Demons's and Dark SOuls.
 

Pilgrimzero

Member
Liked 1, Thoguh it felt more like I was a werewolf hunter than vampire hunter. Needing more gothic.

Sequel was trash. Pure trash.
 

Savitar

Member
It was definitely a superb game, it looked great, it sounded great, it played great. And it had an enjoyable story, it was a good take on a classic series. It didn't deserve the hate.

Also that twist if you didn't know what was coming at the end......dear god. I was so hyped and blown away.
 

Kazuhira

Member
I also remember seeing this trailer over and over at the time *.*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN7W3-_uTQY

Let's not forget the epic trailer for LOS2,instant boner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKsEPoJMuKY

Also,the final boss kinda sucked but goddamn that fucking battle theme was amazing,when gabriel's theme started at the 5 min mark i fucking lost it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QBADjkCgiM

Also Robert Carlyle did an outstanding job,amazing voice acting imo.
 

Hesh

Member
Game is gorgeous on PC. I was actually thinking about reinstalling it the other day. This thread might push me over the edge.
 

Raitaro

Member
It's not bad, but as I have written above, I must say it disappointed me. I think we can all agree that environmental art is the highlight of the entire LoS saga, but the book leaves comparatively little space for it, focusing mainly on characters and enemies.

EDIT: For example, even gorgeous pieces like this one are nowhere to be seen:


There should have been an entire artbook for every game in the series, really.

Thanks for the impressions. I missed that bit in your earlier post. Hmm, I was also mostly interested in the environmental stuff (though I do like the character designs as well) so maybe I should reconsider getting the book for now.

Edit: This has been bugging me for a while but didn't Konami initially unveil Lords of Shadow as a standalone game as well as a new, un-subtitled 3D Castlevania game around the same time (perhaps even during the same E3 / TGS) before they made clear that both were the same project / game (possibly by actually merging them behind the scenes?)? I vaguely remember two separate trailers / teasers, one involving the mask, but since nobody ever mentions this I'm starting to think I'm simply misremembering things.
 

DemWalls

Member
Thanks for the impressions. I missed that bit in your earlier post. Hmm, I was also mostly inteested in the environmental stuff (though I do like the character designs as well) so maybe I should reconsider getting the book for now.

Edit: This has been bugging me for a while but didn't Konami initially unveil Lords of Shadow as a standalone game as well as a new, un-subtitled 3D Castlevania game around the same time (perhaps even during the same E3 / TGS) before they made clear that both were the same project / game (possibly by actually merging them behind the scenes?)? I vaguely remember two separate trailers / teasers, one involving the mask, but since nobody ever mentions this I'm starting to think I'm simply misremembering things.

The real problem is that even those pages dedicated to the environments could have been used better. When I bought the artbook, I'd hoped it would contain, if not all, many of those beautiful artworks you can unlock when playing the games (especially LoS 2), printed in high enough quality. But not only that's not the case, there are some pages that are filled with some of the most uninteresting things they could choose among the enormous amount of art I'm sure has been produced for these games.

I mean, why the hell would you select this
XoaLyOm.jpg

over a masterpiece like the one I posted above? God knows.


As for the rest, you're right. The "Mask project" was something Kojima had in mind, but was little more than a concept and a few ideas. It wasn't Castlevania, although it had a clearly gothic vibe. Looking at the similarities between it and the Lords of Shadow project MercurySteam was working on for them, Konami decided to 'fuse' the two, and told Hideo to keep an eye on what those Spaniards were doing. It was only later that the resulting game would become a Castlevania title.
 

Raitaro

Member
The real problem is that even those pages dedicated to the environments could have been used better. When I bought the artbook, I'd hoped it would contain, if not all, many of those beautiful artworks you can unlock when playing the games (especially LoS 2), printed in high enough quality. But not only that's not the case, there are some pages that are filled with some of the most uninteresting things they could choose among the enormous amount of art I'm sure has been produced for these games.

I mean, why the hell would you select this


over a masterpiece like the one I posted above? God knows.


As for the rest, you're right. The "Mask project" was something Kojima had in mind, but was little more than a concept and a few ideas. It wasn't Castlevania, although it had a clearly gothic vibe. Looking at the similarities between it and the Lords of Shadow project MercurySteam was working on for them, Konami decided to 'fuse' the two, and told Hideo to keep an eye on what those Spaniards were doing. It was only later that the resulting game would become a Castlevania title.

I have no idea about your first point about the selection of images. Perhaps they wanted to go for variety, in a weird way? It's quite baffling for sure.

Cheers for confirming what I thought I remembered about the two games as well. Quite an interesting development cycle the eventual end result (i.e. the first LoS) must have had considering this fusion and all, one that has been largely been swept under the rug in a way. Would be good material for a Danny O'Dwyer No Clip documentary if it was more topical, unless he does it as part of a larger piece on MercurySteam now that they "redeemed" themselves with Metroid.
 

eso76

Member
It is what it is. I expect no replies because to most it's already forgotten.

And yet here we are, 3 years later !

While I didn't think the game was Castlevanias ideal translation to 3d (it had a very western style, both in aesthetics and gameplay) it was a very good game and one you could tell developers really loved making.
A lot of love was poured into it, in my opinion it definitely overdelivered. Just maybe not as a Castlevania game.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
The real problem is that even those pages dedicated to the environments could have been used better. When I bought the artbook, I'd hoped it would contain, if not all, many of those beautiful artworks you can unlock when playing the games (especially LoS 2), printed in high enough quality. But not only that's not the case, there are some pages that are filled with some of the most uninteresting things they could choose among the enormous amount of art I'm sure has been produced for these games.

I mean, why the hell would you select this
over a masterpiece like the one I posted above? God knows.
That's really disappointing.

I took Steam screenshots (not knowing about the compression at the time, oh well) of a lot of the concept art you can unlock in-game, and I'm glad I did. I use them as screen savers in rotation. Here's a few if anyone wants them:

 

gfxtwin

Member
It would be an excellent 3D Castlevania if the vast majority of the game didn't take place outside of the castle.

As is, its a nice fantasy action/adventure game that's like a better version of God of War.
 
It would be an excellent 3D Castlevania if the vast majority of the game didn't take place outside of the castle.

As is, its a nice fantasy action/adventure game that's like a better version of God of War.

And yet here we are, 3 years later !

While I didn't think the game was Castlevanias ideal translation to 3d (it had a very western style, both in aesthetics and gameplay) it was a very good game and one you could tell developers really loved making.
A lot of love was poured into it, in my opinion it definitely overdelivered. Just maybe not as a Castlevania game.

What? The original art style for Castlevania was western in theme. It was only from the GBA onwards that we got animevania.

Personally I like they went back to the realish western style here
 

Raitaro

Member
What? The original art style for Castlevania was western in theme. It was only from the GBA onwards that we got animevania.

Personally I like they went back to the realish western style here

Me too. I thought the LoS games had a good thing going on artistically with their Guillermo del Torro (Pan's Labyrinth) inspired dark fairy tale atmosphere.

That's really disappointing.

I took Steam screenshots (not knowing about the compression at the time, oh well) of a lot of the concept art you can unlock in-game, and I'm glad I did. I use them as screen savers in rotation. Here's a few if anyone wants them:

Those look awesome! And yes, they should have been in the bloody art book!

You guys are making me want to watch a let's play of the PC version for this year's Halloween (since I don't have a PC nor a working last gen console in my home to play the game on myself). Maybe I'll do that...
 
I really enjoyed the first. Awesome atmosphere and an interesting if not predictable story. The game play was fine. The total package just worked, at least for me it did.

I didn't get a chasnc to play the sequel but I hear that was really bad.
 

Marker007

Member
It's for sure the best of the 3D games at the very least. Voice acting and story were pretty damn good but Li wish the combat was a bit deeper. Second was just a damn shame. I expected Dracula Untold alnd got a miserable pile of secrets. Favorite part was the music box section wlith the classic tune.
 
What? The original art style for Castlevania was western in theme. It was only from the GBA onwards that we got animevania.

Personally I like they went back to the realish western style here

The anime aesthetic started with Rondo of Blood. Lords of Shadow artstyle while good does feel a bit generic to me at times. I much rather a 3D game that could accurately capture Ayami Kojima's art style.

The only Lords of Shadow game I actually beat was Mirror of Fate funnily enough. It was somewhat tedious and too short but it looked great and felt the most "Castlevania" to me. I much preferred Trevor and Simon to Gabriel because the developers seemed to finally remember the Belomonts are kinda important to this story. In the first game it just seemed to call him Belmont to justify calling the game Castkevania.
 

kromeo

Member
Might as well have been a new IP for how much it felt like Castlevania, but I still enjoyed it, think I'll play it again some time this year
 

hitgirl

Member
I was just about to jump into this game after beating Aria of Sorrow, but noticed I didn't own it on steam and didn't want to pay $30. So I jumped into Dawn of Sorrow, I'll probably play Lords of Shadow after.
 

Forkball

Member
I thought this game was crazy boring, but I admit the art design was absolutely stellar. There is so much rich detail and every area is completely unique, yet they share a visual coherence. I liked the concept of the game where essentially a Christian crusader ventures into forgotten lands on the edge of civilization and encounters remnants and creatures of by-gone ages.
 

EricB

Member
I have a downward trajectory with the series:

I liked the first game enough to beat it on PS3 and then buy it on Steam.

I bought the 3DS game but lost interest about half the way through.

I never bothered with the second console game.

The thing is, even when I was enjoying the first game, it never felt like Castlevania to me—just a cool action adventure game with the name tacked on.

It requires a very specific talent to update a series while adequately capturing the essence of the original. Retro Studios definitely have (or at least had) it, Mercury Steam most certainly did not. Samus Returns is cool though.
 

steven28

Member
One of my favourite games from last gen.Amazing adventure with so many different environments,it was the definition of epic.
 
Strange that this 3 year old thread finds new life.



But I absolutely agree. LoS is a beautiful gem of a game. Little rough around the edges gameplay wise, but man I really enjoyed it so much. Just an epic gothic journey with a great visual style, a great soundtrack, and great cutscene presentation. It's derivative, sure, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts here. By the end of it you really get the sense that you went to a lot of beautiful places, saw a lot of things, and did a lot of stuff. Caught way too much flak for not feeling like Castlevania and being a GoW clone tbh. I'm dying for another game that feels like this one did in scope and tone, but I'd settle for a strong Bluepoint remaster.
 

Petrae

Member
I thought it a boring by the numbers GOW clone.

Didn't feel like castlevania at all. Stopped playing after five hours of zero fun.

This.

Lords of Shadow is easily the most disappointing game that I have ever played. I expected more with the Castlevania name attached, but there was no Castlevania in it while I played and I quickly lost interest.

No familiar foes. No nods to past games. No castle (until well after I stopped playing, apparently). Even Lament of Innocence, also a God of War clone, took place in the castle with familiar enemies. To me, that makes it far superior to Lords of Shadow-- despite its long, empty hallways and other flaws.

I traded in Lords of Shadow the morning after I bought it at midnight.
 

Tonky

Member
MS really should have gotten the chance to make a LOS game for the current-gen. It would have been beautiful.
 

Raitaro

Member
The anime aesthetic started with Rondo of Blood. Lords of Shadow artstyle while good does feel a bit generic to me at times. I much rather a 3D game that could accurately capture Ayami Kojima's art style.

The only Lords of Shadow game I actually beat was Mirror of Fate funnily enough. It was somewhat tedious and too short but it looked great and felt the most "Castlevania" to me. I much preferred Trevor and Simon to Gabriel because the developers seemed to finally remember the Belomonts are kinda important to this story. In the first game it just seemed to call him Belmont to justify calling the game Castkevania.

Personally I never liked Rondo's anime art shown in the cutscenes and such and would in fact call that quite generic and non-fitting instead. I strongly preferred the older more Western style box art (by Tom Dubois especially) or Ayami's more gothic anime style. Both fitted better with their respective games and their in-game graphics I find. To each their own of course.

Same applies to Mirror of Fate and the Belmont connection in LoS. I also only completed MoF and I agree with you there in terms of gameplay but personally I really like the fact that Gabriel was a Belmont and that
he himself became Dracula after battling Satan himself while avenging his wife and hunting even older vampires, werewolves and undead. Him turning
Trevor
into Alucard
was also a nice touch imo because of how it twisted the father-son relationship between these two Belmonts and because of how it allowed grandson Simon to become a more "wild / barbaric" Vampire Hunter when growing up in the forests of Germany because of this family history. Again, to each their own.
 

eso76

Member
What? The original art style for Castlevania was western in theme. It was only from the GBA onwards that we got animevania.

Personally I like they went back to the realish western style here

Well, I'd say pc engine onward as far as in-game graphics go but you're right.
I'm not talking about the anime GBA style though, or the concept art. More like in-game aesthetics and graphic design.
I would have expected a 3d Castlevania to look like ninja gaiden black or DMC1/4.
This looked more like DmC.
 
Personally I never liked Rondo's anime art shown in the cutscenes and such and would in fact call that quite generic and non-fitting instead. I strongly preferred the older more Western style box art (by Tom Dubois especially) or Ayami's more gothic anime style. Both fitted better with their respective games and their in-game graphics I find. To each their own of course.

Same applies to Mirror of Fate and the Belmont connection in LoS. I also only completed MoF and I agree with you there in terms of gameplay but personally I really like the fact that Gabriel was a Belmont and that
he himself became Dracula after battling Satan himself while avenging his wife and hunting even older vampires, werewolves and undead. Him turning
Trevor
into Alucard
was also a nice touch imo because of how it twisted the father-son relationship between these two Belmonts and because of how it allowed grandson Simon to become a more "wild / barbaric" Vampire Hunter when growing up in the forests of Germany because of this family history. Again, to each their own.


Sorry I was mainly saying that was the first game to use an anime art style. The Kojima art style(particularly Aria) is my favorite.

As for Gabriel my problem is the story seems
to focus on him and Alucard with the Belmont legacy feeling almost like an afterthought.

That being said I understand people like it and it's not like Clasicvania fans and Igavanis fans have much going on right now ether.

Glad Mercury steam seems to be doing well with Metroid though opinions of LoS aside they clearly put a lot of effort in their games.
 

DemWalls

Member
I really enjoyed the first. Awesome atmosphere and an interesting if not predictable story. The game play was fine. The total package just worked, at least for me it did.

I didn't get a chasnc to play the sequel but I hear that was really bad.

The sequel isn't really bad, it's just very inconsistent, and this obviously disappointed many fans after the first game set a decently high bar.

LoS 2's highs are better than the first's, and in particular the combat system is among the best a Western studio ever produced. The boss battles are mostly great.
Too bad such highs are interspersed between baffling lows. The 'best' one probably being a stealth section in which you have to stealthily evade an enemy that one hit kills you on sight (a pure exercise in trial and error)... only to directly confront that same enemy as soon as this tedious section ends - and it's not like you debilitate him while you hide. It just doesn't make sense, narratively.
 
Worth a play through for the excellent presentation and art direction.

The God of War style combat is better than the game it imitates too, since the light/dark powers add an interesting risk and reward element.
 

BurningNad

Member
Both games are fantastic, neither deserve the hate that the internet has for them. I played through both one after the other last year, haven't enjoyed anything as much since.

For the people who complain about the shitty stealth parts in 2, yeah they suck but there's what, five short stages that you have to deal with it? Whatever.
 

horkrux

Member
I actually never once in my entire playthrough felt like this game was beautiful. I was actually annoyed by the art style, that of the monsters in particular.
It was kinda confusing because before I played it back then on PS3, I had read of people praising the graphics and visuals in general. But I was bored by it. Jungle, snowy castle, nothing that was really impressive to me.

Also didn't help that I was bored by the game in general.
 

Ahasverus

Member
I remember the Castle part looking jawdropping, especially two memorable shots

- The one when you see the Castle for the first time, which comes out of nowhere
- The one when you're going up the stairs, moonlight shining, classic looking.

I liked the land of the dead and all, but it was a visual downgrade for sure.
 

gfxtwin

Member
What? The original art style for Castlevania was western in theme. It was only from the GBA onwards that we got animevania.

Personally I like they went back to the realish western style here

They probably mean they wanted the graphics to resemble the more anime-style concept/promotional art of classic castlevania:

224274-cv_sotn_alucard6.jpg


castlevania_ps2_conceptart_vp7yC.jpg


More Vampire Hunter D, less Lord of the Rings.
 
I couldn't get past the first terrible boss, but the music, art design, cutscenes, and overall graphics were indeed wonderful.

It is just sad that the first boss just made me go nah, I'm good after a decent start, I mean this is like B or C-tier action adventure hack n' slash(think van helsing) that sort of feels like Castlevania but still isn't the Castlevania I want.
 

Thorgal

Member
Just the fact that this game Has Sir Patrick Steward haming it up to eleven and chewing the scenery like there's no tomorrow throughout the entire game makes this a 10/10 for me
 
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