Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Reviews
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 features memorable combat in a forgettable world.
A reworked engine, new locations, and a heroic anti-hero. Much has changed since the original Lords of Shadow, but will the Dark Prince reign supreme or will he be all bark and not bite?
The lack of anything not done before and the run of the mill story still leave the game a decent gaming experience, there's still plenty to see and plenty to kill, and, as mentioned before, there is a great sense of games and level design competency which oozes from the seams. For third person action veterans it probably won't quite cut the mustard, but for Castlevania fans who are still digging the reboot this will be another good title in the reimagining of a classic series.
Like all sequels, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 attempts to improve on the original in almost every area, but ultimately fails to do so. New ideas and mechanics are let down by sloppy execution.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 doesn't do everything right, but the solid combat, breathtaking environment, and wonderfully orchestrated soundtrack more than make up for its annoyances. If this truly is Mercury Steam's last go with the series, it's a good exit.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a good game when it tries to deliver a hack and slash experience. Unfortunately, when it attempts to go for a stealth-oriented design, it fails miserably and provokes only frustration and confusion. The fleshed out combat system and the presentation make up for it to some degree, but it still ends up a lackluster game.
'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2' will likely end up a polarizing title in the series canon. It's doesn't bring the series' most engaging narrative to the table and in some aspects, the developers really felt like they were phoning it in. Personally, the game strikes the rare balance between casual and hardcore player, offering the former some mindless fun and the latter opportunities to push their play strategy to the test; 'Lords of Shadow 2' may be generally shallow, but those willing to scour those shallow areas are going to find a few hidden secrets and added value.
Lords of Shadow 2 is a good game that has a handful of flaws that was holding it back from being a masterpiece. Lords of Shadow 2 would've been so much greater, but instead it's mediocre compared to the first game.
Lords of Shadow 2 may not surpass its predecessors' surprise rise to AAA status, but MercurySteam's last foray into the series still provides a fitting, if sometimes flawed end to the trilogy.
Lords of Shadow 2 is a competent, and sometimes great, action game that's unfortunately bogged down by some horrid tacked on stealth moments and a story that doesn't really seem to know what it wants. Fans of the previous game will likely enjoy the game though and I'm sure anyone who's looking for a solid action game will find something enjoyable here if they can rough it through the shaky opening.
There is some fun to be had in the combat, and the bosses are so creative that players will want to push forward just to see what's next, but the journey is ultimately an unfulfilling one. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's lack of focus is its downfall, and plants it firmly in the mediocre pile.
Underneath the unfocused, ramshackle design decisions and incomprehensible story there's a decent action game - but how much of it you're willing to endure for closure depends on how deeply entrenched you are into Lords of Shadow's lore.
Even basic exploration quickly becomes more trouble than it's worth, thanks to a scarcity of waypoints, overly lengthy transitions between areas, and the lack of an overall map.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a study in contrasts with wildly fun combat levels separated by monotonous stealth levels.
It's a shame that you need some tolerance to stick with the game to get past its faults and slow start to get to the chunk where the game is gratifying, peaking close to what made the first Lords of Shadow a great game.
The fresh take on the series in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow seemed to introduce enough fresh blood to resurrect what seemed to be a dying brand. The sequel unfortunately pollutes that bloodstream with an infection caused by too many ideas and too many cut corners. As far as single-player experiences go, there's plenty of meat on the bone thanks to exciting combat and some interesting boss designs. However, any sense of resolution or redemption in Lords of Shadow 2 becomes lost amidst poor storytelling and unsurprising plot twists. If this Dracula seeks eternal rest then as much as we'd love to see him stay alive for one more adventure, perhaps it's about time a stake was put through his heart.
For all its physical beauty, it can be an ugly game—remember that family-murder, remember that awkward, stilted script. How well can you look past this ugliness to find the redeeming qualities within?
Despite the transformation from Belmont to Dracula, combat feels is largely the same and buying your combos over again feels like a cheap excuse for not bothering to come up with anything new. Some design choices seem to have disrupted other core elements too; gone are the beautiful crisp visuals and varied fantasy/gothic settings, replaced by stealth sections and modern day concrete. This is not the ending I was expecting for the Lords of Shadow series and it's certainly not the one it deserves.
It may have all the right tools and the gorgeous scenery to go with it, but Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is like a beautiful person with a horrible attitude.
It's a tragedy to see Lords of Shadows 2 arrive in this form. Rather than focus on what made the first game so much fun, the designers seem to have totally misunderstood what gamers wanted from the sequel, and delivered something that was utterly alien to the first game.