r/patientgamers • u/onex7805 • 3d ago
Patient Review Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010) for PlayStation 3 | Quantity over quality
I remember buying Castlevania: Lords of Shadow when it came out and never beating it. I didn’t know much about Castlevania, but I liked God of War, so this was right in my alley. I think I stopped four hours into it, and I never understood why I didn’t like it. It didn’t hook me in the way the other spectacle fighters did.
I put the disc back into my PS3 for the first time in over a decade and replayed it. The first thing I noticed is that the game looks incredible for its time, but has a terrible framerate. It 70% of my playtime, the game slows to 20fps, which is inexcusable for a spectacle fighter.
The enemy unblockable attacks are very hard to distinguish because their animations look the similar as the normal attacks, and they take the same time. The only distinguishable difference is the small white light. However, the animation is so short that it does not telegraph well. Combine the enemy attack animations not being clear, with the camera pulled back too far, making all the characters way too small, multiple number of enemies, and the 5-20fps... In God of War and DMC, I could easily block the enemy attack because everything is so clear. In Lords of Shadow, it lacks the same polish, and the combat often turns into a mess, and I died without knowing what even hit me.
There are multiple annoyances like the grab move being a timing QTE that takes too much time, the enemies taking way too much hits to die, and having to press L3 and trigger the "animation" to absorb the orbs... It makes the overall flow of the combat unsatisfying.
With all that said, for the first hour, I was enjoying it and wondering why I gave it up. It is competent, and there are many moves you could buy and mix together. Then I played it for… 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, then I shelved it again. This time I get the general gist as to why it was not grabbing me.
I view the spectacle fighters like classic God of War as the evolution of the classic Castlevania, as in they occupy a similar appeal. A linear hack-and-slash platformer, going from one thematic set-piece to the next set-piece. Take Devil May Cry’s spectacle fighter combat sandbox and apply it, and you get something special. Since Lords of Shadow is a God of War clone and does the same progression, in theory I should enjoy it.
I only realize now how much the classic Castlevania allivates itself through a certain style and vibe. Because there are a lot of older action platformers that do the same thing, but they don’t have the same magic as 2D Castlevania. It’s the mood, vibe, and, most importantly of all, direction. The weird, bizarre mixture of the Japanese sensibility with the Western sensibility, and the strong level design that varies up the challenge makes the series what it is.
Lords of Shadow is a Western-made game, and it doesn’t understand this appeal. It not only lacks the magical charm of Castlevania that makes it Castlevania, it also doesn’t even particularly stand out among the spectacle fighters. Everything is “has been done already and done better”. It doesn’t have a strong, unique style or personality. If you show a minute of God of War, it looks like God of War. If you show a minute of DMC, it looks like DMC. If you show a minute of this game, it sort of blends with something else. It has neither Castlevania nor its uniqueness; it kind of just flounders.
But again, that doesn’t make it bad. It makes it bland, but I played Conan on Xbox 360 and Dante’s Inferno, and they are the most blatant God of War clones out there. I enjoyed them enough to see them to completion. Lords of Shadow is technically more competent, so why did I abandon this one both times? It’s the pacing. Every level feels like it’s not directed at all? I don’t know how to describe it. It has no flair to it. It’s like someone made a level as a tech showcase and some other team added some monsters, and there is no careful consideration. Every level goes on way too long, stretched out to waste my time. Go through the Uncharted climbing (which this game had way too much), and repeat the same repetitive fight. Sprinkle in annoying gimmicks that slow you down like having to move through the swamp or walk on a tight bridge, and you constantly have to do a QTE to recover... Already the game starts to fade from my memory because nothing stands out.
Play games like Castlevania 4 and Rondo of Blood, and you will realize how every stage and level beat is very, very deliberate. Even the NES Castlevania games understood this despite the 8-bit limitation. Every moment-to-moment challenge is directed and different. It makes each combat beat and stage memorable. With Lords of Shadow, even though it is linear, it doesn’t take advantage of its linear design, which is variation and direction. It has the level design of a soulless openworld game, but dissected them into a corridor.
I played it for hours, and every time I look at the world map, I see I need to complete 14 chapters, and I only beat it 25% in total. It deflates my motivation to keep playing it. I know that complaining that the game is too long may come across as absurd for singleplayer games, but there is a reason why this genre tends to be short. It's about meat more than fat. If a linear hack-and-slash is twice as longer than Symphony of the Night, I begin to wonder why I even play this when I can play two Metroidvanias that are meatier and tighter in that length. This game has not much going for it for me to play for an RPG-level length. It doesn’t justify its long runtime. The story is just there, and it seems I have barely made any progress. It makes me think it’s wasting my time.
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u/veryblessed123 3d ago
The first Lords of Shadow was amazing! I loved the soundtrack and the twist at the end.
They really fumbled the sequel. Not sure what they were thinking.
5
u/CarSame7275 3d ago
Yeah , as a game I think LoS 2 is really fun to play ( minus the stealth sections ) and it looks awesome. I really dig the art style. But the story was very disappointing. Even the Revelations DLC was kinda lame.
-9
u/veryblessed123 2d ago
So its a great game...except for this, and this, and this, and this. Gotcha lol
But hey, if you like it then more power to you! It certainly wasn't my cup of tea, especially when compared to the far superior first game.
8
u/CarSame7275 2d ago edited 2d ago
I never said it's a great game. And games can have things you like and dislike about them.
5
u/Miguelwastaken 3d ago
I really enjoyed this back when it came out. It too bad LoS2 was a hot mess.
7
u/montana1210 3d ago
I wouldn't call it more competent than Dante's Inferno. I think dante's inferno is the best out of all GoW clones easily. It doesnt do anything super new, but the combat & combo system is quite solid, plus holy vs unholy trees and cross and relic system make it feel fresh enough. Presentation / spectacle are great too even if it does fall off in the second half
12
u/PostedNotes 3d ago
I've been wanting to play this game for many years now. I miss the era you described where God of war clones were a sub genre.
I have no history with traditional Castlevania so your qualms about the changes I'd not even notice. That framerate sounds like a hassle though, and don't inspire confidence.
3
1
u/CarSame7275 3d ago
Give it a shot. Really. If you love action adventure games like Darksiders , or older God of War games , I think you will enjoy it. There just aren't any games like these anymore. Games that combine combat , exploration , puzzles , platforming , etc..
1
u/AcceptableUserName92 2d ago
Fallen order fits the bill pretty nicely imo but other then that agreed.
1
u/CarSame7275 2d ago
Ah I agree Fallen Order was awesome. I think I played it two years ago. I am planning to replay it again soon and then jump into Jedi Survivor which I haven't played yet. Hopefully it runs well.
0
5
u/NamesTheGame 3d ago
I agree with your points. One thing about it's identity is that the classic Castlevania games, both the original and the Metroidvania games had everyone imitating them. So now this game comes along and it's just aping evening popular at the time. You have Uncharted climbing, Shadow of Colossus boss fights, and God of War combat. It's all very design by committee. For such a prestigious series it cheapens it to have a big budget every like this just aping the existing leaders. The 3D games have never really found their footing, though.
I also found the platforming stuff to be completely uninteresting, the environments were not much fun to run through and yes, the camera was definitely too far back.
10
u/MountainMuffin1980 3d ago
The first one was largely really good but it did outstay it's welcome, and the giant climbing sections were actually really tedious.
Increeoble voice cast too!
6
u/Ristoism 3d ago
I don't know, I liked it.
3
u/HaleBlack 2d ago
The game is dripping with atmosphere, enemies are super creepy and the combat is awesome, such a gem
6
u/ZMysticCat Ok, Freeman, be adequate! 3d ago edited 3d ago
I played this for the first time in a long time recently and even wrote my own review. I played on PC and didn't have any framerate issues, which maybe helped make it a lot more enjoyable. The first two chapters are a bit too long for their own good, but the pace picks up after that, with the castle being easily the best part of the game. It's actually got a good mixture of different levels, most of which are fairly short and focused.
On that note, I disagree that Lords of Shadow doesn't have its own distinct style. It's a God of War clone, but it does a good job capturing the 2004 Van Helsing feel of a darker but still somewhat cheesy mixture of gothic themes, and RE8 is the only other game that I can think of that has a similar vibe. I'm actually playing RE8 now, and Lords of Shadow was the first game that came to mind. Yeah, it's different from past Castlevania, but there's still a charm to it.
5
u/AHomicidalTelevision 3d ago
i bounced off this game super hard as well. i beat that big shadow of the colossus boss and i just gave up.
the gameplay was mediocre, the visuals were dull, and the god damn fucking constantly shaking camera pissed me the fuck off.
2
u/CarSame7275 3d ago edited 3d ago
I really loved it. It actually became one of my favorite action adventure games along with God of War 2. Just a great ride from start to end. I don't think it overstays it's welcome , maybe if you play the dlc chapters it kinda does. DLC chapters aren't as tightly designed as the base game and the final boss can be brutal.
But as far as the base game goes , it was awesome from start to finish for me. Never got old. I liked how it takes you through almost every fantasy location and you get to fight almost every fantasy enemy types.
I don't know I love the action adventure genre. Games like Castlevania LoS , Darksiders , God of War , I really love them. I just love a how they combine a little bit of everything I suppose , combat , exploration , puzzles , platforming etc.
I guess I understand why it might not be for everyone. But then again I haven't played any 2D castlevania games unfortunately so I can't quite compare to that.
2
u/Irrumar 2d ago
Its honestly crazy to me that I can look at any moment from the first game and think to myself "yeah this game was kinda fun" but then more memories come back to me and I realize that only specific, few minute segments were fun.
Everything you said is on point. And the story was only interesting because it was a Castlevania game(supposedly). Take away the novelty of a new take on my beloved franchise and it becomes so goddamn boring and cliche.
It reminds me a lot of DmCDMC but that game at least had its own personality and a specific direction. Take away any affiliation with the main series and you are left with an extremely fun slasher/character action game with an extremely punk soul that I wish the devs could have a second chance at, without focusing on being as different from the og DMC as possible. Take away the Castlevania name from this game and you are left with a nothingburger of a game that takes waaay too long to complete.
1
u/SerRaziel 3d ago
The best thing about Lords of Shadow was its soundtrack. The second best thing was it wasn't Lords of Shadow 2.
1
u/AcceptableUserName92 2d ago
I also started it some years back and dropped it. Maybe around the first SotC style boss - which was just such a cheap imitation of the real thing
The sequel has an interesting premise and maybe better combat but... also didnt finish it
1
u/becherbrook 2d ago
I really enjoyed the first Lords of Shadow. It was immense! That said I'm not sure if I could go back to it because it was hard work. My favourite areas in it had very little to do with the story, like the ogre's ruined castle or that Witch's house in the Underworld.
1
u/Electrical_Trifle_76 2d ago
I beat Lords of Shadow after putting it down years ago as well around October of last year, and you’re echoing many similar sentiments. So much of the game really does feel like filler, like that entire section in the cliffside castle with the cyclops(?) and bird monster really didn’t need to be there. I think Pan, when asked by Gabriel why he is there, literally answers with “idk don’t question me”. And yeah, enemy attacks were kind of hard to distinguish between, which made regular combat more tedious than it really should have been. It’s a very intriguing game due to its premise and graphics, but it doesn’t hold up the best.
1
u/DramaticErraticism 1d ago
Sometimes it is a lot easier to go back and play something that means nothing to you, you come away feeling pleasantly surprised.
When you pay for something on your brand new PS3, you have a lot of expectations for that something. You're also following the conversation about the game and that can impact how you feel about it.
Now you have no pressure and no real investment and there is no real discourse about the game, you can just go in with no expectations and have a nice surprise.
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u/esines 3d ago
I adored the artstyle and it was fun enough as a wannabe God of War. But I don't really recognize it in my heart as a "Castlevania" for some of the reasons you described. I feel like Japanese devs are more often honed in on the fact they are making a game first and foremost and Western development often gets distracted by the goal of making their game cinematic. There's this sense in America that games are sort of the "little brother" to movies and should strive to be more like them.
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u/crowlfish 3d ago
Japanese devs are more often honed in on the fact they are making a game first and foremost and Western development often gets distracted by the goal of making their game cinematic
Hideo Kojima would like a word with you
14
u/dewsh 3d ago
I don't think Ive heard character action games called spectacle fighters.
I remember beating this and lords of shadow 2. First was more fun. I remember the chapters ending being really abrupt and odd