Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate Demo (3DS)

On 03/01/2013 at 11:09 AM by Surfcaster

What a title! Anyone think they could have just gone with Castlevania: Mirror of Fate? I get that they want to keep the brand recognition and focus on the fact that this is a sequal to Lords of Shadow, but that title is a bit much.

Anyway, I tried out the demo today and I thought I'd write a blog about my impressions.

Just for some quick background, I'm a huge fan of the Castlevania series, but specifically the Symphony of the Night styled titles. I played and loved Dracula's Curse as a kid, but SotN really sealed the deal for me. I loved the free-roam level design and the RPG elements. I play that game just about every year around Halloween and I never get bored of it. I've since played all of the handheld iterations: Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclessia. They were all fantastic games, and all come highly recommended.

When I first heard that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was coming out, I was initially excited. "Kojima Productions was going to be involved in a Castlevania game? This is great," I thought. Then I found out it was really being developed by Mercury Steam and would be a God of War clone. To say the least I was dismayed. Not only because I don't care for God of War or games of that style, but because I knew that SotN style was going to fall by the wayside. I felt my days with the Castlevania games were numbered.

So, what do I think of Mirror of Fate? My first few minutes were rocky. I thought it was going to end up being a linear level-based game, which isn't that bad, but I was hoping they'd bring that free-roam back. Also, I found the combat clunky and uninspired. By the end of the demo, I got a glimpse into what the game was actually going to be like and how wrong I was.

Although I can't say as to how much free-roam will be there in the final product, I could see areas that I'd have to back-track to as I played through the demo. Also, to spice up the somewhat linear design was a little bit of environment-forced platforming and searching, which was nice.

The combat, as well, surprised me. After a little while of playing I leveled up! There are RPG elements in play in MoF, which I didn't expect. You gain new moves and abilities as you level in the game. I received a new combo/attack after playing for a while, which was integral in how I managed to beat the demo's end boss.

The combat is actually very nuanced, with blocking and dodging commands and lots of different combos and techniques to use on different enemies.

I went from really disliking the game to really enjoying it in about 30 minutes. Am I going to pick it up on launch? No, I don't think so. I still have a lot of Fire Emblem Awakening to play and I'd like to see some more reviews once the game is launched. Still, though, there is some hope that my days with Castlevania are not so numbered as I'd thought!

Thanks for reading,
Surf

Matt Snee Staff Writer

03/01/2013 at 11:12 AM

I downloaded this last night and am going to play it today, soon. I never played the last game, but I have a healthy respect for the brand. Will report back on it.

angelfaceband42

03/01/2013 at 11:20 AM

Thanks for posting this. I sold my 3DS because I just stopped playing it. I loved the DS Castlevania games and had totally written this one off. I enjoyed this GOW style play, but never felt like it was really Castlevania. I'm glad there's some hope for the new title.

Surfcaster

03/01/2013 at 01:55 PM

Yeah, I definitely think there's hope here. I'm interested to see the reviews once it's finally released.

Jon Lewis Staff Writer

03/01/2013 at 12:08 PM

I agree, the demo was a lot better than I expected. Might give it a shot.

Yeah, it's definitely more on my radar than before.

03/01/2013 at 12:34 PM

I'm playing the demo now. It's pretty cool! Graphics are real nice.

03/01/2013 at 01:56 PM

Yeah, the graphics are great. I heard from some people that they thought it was the best 3D on the system, but I'm not sure about that. It's definitely good, but I still found myself turning it off eventually.

mothman

03/01/2013 at 01:26 PM

From the demo I think there is potential here. I'm impressed by what the 3DS can do and I'm hoping that this is indicative of what the finished game will be.

Yeah, let's hope!

Super Step Contributing Writer

03/01/2013 at 07:23 PM

I don't mind RPG elements and deep combat, but I've never been as big a fan of Metroid/SotN style gameplay as everyone else. To me it still feels like there's a set path, just with retreading old ground.

I enjoyed Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclessia, and Metroid games I've played, but I don't like the grinding aspect of either PoR or OoE, and I actually liked Fusion most BECAUSE it felt more linear, which to me really meant I explored a new area every time I got that new item, unless the elevator was down.

I'm very interested in Lords of Shadow games though, they look like a lot of fun to me, especially this one, and I'm one of the few that didn't totally mind Castlevania on PS2 anyway, I thought it was a decent rental.

Serraxor

03/02/2013 at 10:09 PM

I'm going to get Etrian Odyssey 4, methinks. I haven't purchased a new game in a long time, so it will be neat, I think... but I definitely need a 3DSXL soon, the OG 3DS is a bit cramped and tiny for these old eyes.

PixlBit