Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate: Noun of Abstract Noun

As promised, my thoughts.  Really enjoying it, up to press. Speaking of, as Stu mentioned, there was a lot of angst in the gaming press about this not being a true Metroidvania game. Having played two Castlevania titles (Super Castlevania IV and Portrait Of Ruin), one of which was linear and the other not, I'm not tied down to what a Castlevania game has to be. The combat is satisfying, which is the main thing, and it's pretty atmospheric.

Cheers for the input, Zero Jones -à la Stu, I've had this sealed on my shelf and ready to start for ages. I'd like to hear from folk who have played it more extensively, really to let me know it it's more like the NES/SCIV/New Generation old-school CastleVanias or closer to the Metroidvania stuff I can't be arsed with.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Cheers for the input, Zero Jones -à la Stu, I've had this sealed on my shelf and ready to start for ages. I'd like to hear from folk who have played it more extensively, really to let me know it it's more like the NES/SCIV/New Generation old-school CastleVanias or closer to the Metroidvania stuff I can't be arsed with.

It's... a bit Metroidy, in that it in theory takes place in one big place; but there's not really much in the way of backtracking.

So far, it seems like the backtracking is optional. You can go and pick up health and magic meter boosts but you don't need to do so; the game keeps pushing you forward to the next plot point anyway.

I've returned to this and I don't think I would have remembered to had it not read Zero Jones' musings on it on The Twitter. Having a New 3DS has had that effect on me where I revisit some of my games library. Never had much time to play Mirror of Fate last year, and I don't remember it being this decent.

I'm finding it a cross between the old and new styles of 2D Castlevania, with a slower pace. I really like the combat, though, and the boss design has so far been fantastic. There's also moments of brilliance in the platforming, but on the whole it's been a pleasant surprise. It also looks the business -- some of the best visuals on 3DS in my eyes.

Agreed. I was surprised to find this gem that had been untouched for a little while in my 3DS backlog during my summer clearout. It made me wish for a sequel with a little more to it.

fronkhead wrote:

It also looks the business -- some of the best visuals on 3DS in my eyes.

Some of the best graphics, yes, but it's all too gloomy to have the best visuals in my eyes.

Also it now feels a bit like an advert for two other-format games, which is rubbish.

I think the art design is fantastic, too, though. It's not just technically accomplished, enemies and characters and locations all look the business to me. And the colour palette is surprisingly varied at times.

ZeroJones wrote:

It made me wish for a sequel with a little more to it.

Yup. I'm on Act Two at the moment and that puzzle room was a nice surprise, but I'm guessing this is once-in-a-game stuff. Likewise some of the locations are fairly uninspired in their design while others are really fun to explore and uncover.