Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is, strangely, the third entry in the re-imagined trilogy by MercurySteam, and has broken new ground as the first Castlevania title to star Dracula as its primary protagonist. This final chapter in Gabriel’s story is bloody, dark and genuinely disturbing, but is playing a vampire in the modern world all we dreamed it could be?
Lords of Shadows 2’s story kicks off shortly after the ending of its predecessor. Gabriel, now in the form of Dracula, is hiding out in an abandoned church when his old buddy Zobek turns up to warn him that danger is on the way. Satan is returning, and Dracula has to save the day. However, a thousand years have passed since their last encounter, and the old vampire is not the fearless fighter he once was. A shell of the man he used to be, Dracula must first regain his powers to stand any chance at putting Satan down a second time. All the while he is plagued by his hatred of God, his regrets of the past, and an apparition of his son that he sort of killed a few hundred years ago.
It all sounds like a very sombre affair, but as much as it is heavy, Lords of Shadow 2 is a surprisingly moving tale. When push comes to shove, the game isn’t really about defeating Satan at all, but about Dracula’s life and the impact he has made on the world. He never wanted the life he has been forced into by fate, yet he has to make the most of it and accept the terrible things he has done. He doesn’t brood or pout about his problems, either, he simply gets on with it. It is nice to still see some vulnerability and character behind the monster, and MercurySteam do well to flesh Dracula out as more than just a vampire or a broken soul.
As there is a lot of history to the game, Lords of Shadows 2 does a good job of introducing new players to the series. Once you get through the tutorial there is a lengthy recap of what occurred in both Lords of Shadow and Mirror of Fate, which means that you can get right on board without missing a beat. There is also a tonne of lore available to help you on your way. For older players, however, there is one small hitch. Just how Gabriel came to be Dracula was explained in an optional DLC for Lords of Shadow, and it isn’t really touched upon at all in Lords of Shadow 2. This means you have to take that Gabriel became Dracula at face value. This is a little disappointing, and it would have made sense for MercurySteam to elaborate on the transition from man to monster in this sequel.
Gameplay-wise, Lords of Shadow 2 is split into three main segments; exploration, stealth and boss battles. Exploration mostly occurs in the dream-state castle where you pick up new powers, stealth is used in the modern world as you hunt down Satan’s acolytes, and boss battles are used like punctuation. It works well and has good pacing but does become a bit predictable at times as you bounce between the castle world and the real one. Luckily each segment comes with a littering of puzzles to keep you on your toes and break up the repetition. These puzzles are tricky but enjoyable and shouldn’t prove too difficult, though if you do struggle you can activate hints to help you out.
While mostly fun, the gameplay does have some problems. The stealth segments in particular are very simple as you can either possess and distract enemies, or sneak past them in mist or rat form. This may appear like you have a lot of options, but in fact only one will get the job done in each situation, so there is little choice in the matter. Similarly, most of the game is pretty straight forward so you won’t find yourself having to really think about anything other than how best to dispatch your enemies, which can provide a challenge. A little less hand-holding would have been welcome.
As well as this, while the game is advertised as being set in a modern world, disappointingly you will be spending the majority of your time in Dracula’s medieval castle. Although the thousand year old vampire does fit better in his gothic surroundings, playing the role of a monster in the modern world could have been a far more exciting experience. As it stands, it feels like an opportunity completely wasted, and it would have been nice to see more balance between the two locations.
In terms of content, there are a couple of moments in Lords of Shadow 2 that are genuinely horrifying and uncomfortable to watch, with the most distressing example very early on in the game. In one scene you take on a first person perspective and are forced to kill and drain a couple while their daughter watches on, screaming in terror. The camera then cuts to black as you lunge at the young girl. Of course you are Dracula, and Dracula indiscriminately kills, but it feels as if MercurySteam were simply going for shock value rather than substantial meaning and it could come across in bad taste. Thankfully this isn’t a regular occurrence, as most other parts of the game are unsettling in a more entertaining way.
The combat in Lords of Shadow 2 is generally strong and very enjoyable, which is important when you’re the most fearsome creature in town. Dracula has three main weapons; the Shadow Whip for long distance, the Void Sword for close combat and healing, and Chaos Claws for heavy damage and breaking defence. There is a huge amount of upgrading to be done, and using specific combinations count for a lot when it comes to levelling your weapons and retaining focus, so you can’t button mash your way through. This makes the combat challenging and fun, while the variety of weapons on offer mixes up the experience and adds a lot of strategy.
Some combat mechanics are a little strange, though. Your defensive roll doesn’t make you invincible so you will sometimes find yourself unable to avoid attacks no matter what you do. Enemies also don’t stagger very often and will keep hammering at you through your attacks, which makes timing crucial. For the most part it works, but it can be annoying if you find yourself cornered and unable to escape the relentless assault of your enemies by rolling out the way or knocking them back. As a finishing move, you can also drain your victim’s blood to restore some health. This is fun the first few times, but if you’re consistently running low on health and opting to drink your enemies to death, it does delay battles by a considerable amount and breaks the flow of the fight.
One small problem Lords of Shadow 2 does have is its overemphasis on depicting horror. More specifically speaking, there is blood everywhere. Every other door or contraption requires a blood sacrifice, enemies explode like a water balloon when they die, and to top it all off, a massive pool of blood stalks you around the castle. This may be vampire game, but we don’t need to see everything drenched in red to get the point. It sometimes feels as if the developers tried to make the game mature and edgy by upping the gore, but it just comes across as overkill.
It also doesn’t help that the blood isn’t particularly convincing, either. The stalking pool, for example, doesn’t typically behave like blood; it doesn’t ooze or show any signs of viscosity, it’s just a shiny film that glides across the ground. It may seem pedantic, but for such a heavily focused aspect of the game, I can’t help but feel they could have made it more stylised.
That’s not to say the rest of Lords of Shadow 2 is particularly stunning and the blood is a stand out point, because it’s not. The graphics have made a small improvement from the first Lords of Shadow entry, but not by very much. There is nothing particularly wrong with them, they are just not quite up to the polished standards that most other new releases on the same console are, and it is noticeable. While graphics aren’t everything it would have been nice to see some more enhancements over the last four years.
Though the graphics aren’t fantastic, the game design itself is something wonderful. The art style and direction have been pieced together perfectly, creating the ideal setting and the atmosphere needed to pull off such a dark and gritty game. The soundtrack is haunting and powerful, the environments are striking and epic, and the monsters are simply grotesque. If the graphics were just a little better, Lords of Shadow 2 would be a truly beautiful title, so it’s a shame that such thoughtful design was not backed up with stunning visuals.
Overall, Lords of Shadow 2 is a solid action game, with some surprisingly moving and emotive storytelling. The gameplay is enjoyable with hardly any glitches or loading screens to break up the experience, and while there are some annoying qualities about the game, they don’t distract too much from the generally well put together experience. While it was disappointing to not spend more time in the modern world, playing as an almighty vampire partly made up for it. Lords of Shadow 2 may not be the most challenging game you’ll ever play, but it is well worth a purchase for both newcomers to the franchise and life-long fans.
