Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- Mirror of Fate

The Castlevania series comes anew with the release of “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- Mirror of Fate”. This action-adventure game is set in Southern Europe during the dark days of the Middle Ages. It features excellent graphical settings, with pop art visions of gothic architecture and mythical beasts.

The plot of the game revolves around Gabriel Belmont equipped with combat skills and strategy.

The combat involves a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross. The player can perform up to forty unlockable combos with it. The commands consist of direct attacks for dealing damage to single enemies, and weak area attacks when surrounded by them. It is also capable of interactions with secondary weapons, such as knives, holy water and other items which can be upgraded.

We previously knew that there would be four different playable characters, and we knew that Trevor Belmont and Simon Belmont would be two of them. Alucard brings the number up to three, leaving only one unknown – who do you think the last hero will be?

Similar to the original Castlevania titles, platforming and puzzles are a key component and are featured in fifty levels.The player can control Gabriel to jump most distances, dash or hold his balance above fatal pits. The Combat Cross is not only used for fighting, but also for exploration purposes like scaling walls, rappelling and swinging across gaps. Some sequences of the game require the player to solve physical puzzles or brain teasers. Alternatively, moving certain objects can set off chain reactions and open the way to another area. Activating switches can also assist against traps. The player can explore the levels in order to find hidden items, which can increase health or abilities, best known as magic. These items are "gems"; there are three types of gems, life gems, light gems and dark gems. These can increase life endurance, light magical ability and dark magical ability, respectively.

Castlevania at its best is a feast for the eyes, pop art visions of gothic architecture and mythic beasts. Returning to the Castlevania III means Mercurysteam is looking to the series’ best for inspiration, but it seems to have missed what made that game so fine in the first place. With just a few months left before release, Mercurysteam has little time to change the game. Here’s hoping that it’s a bit brighter and a bit less laborious when it comes out later this year.