Trevor Belmont, knight of the Brotherhood of Light, embarks on an epic quest to avenge his mother who was killed by his father Gabriel. GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers. When you aren't confronted with throngs of enemies or tricky platforming sections, you might struggle with some of the environmental puzzles strewn throughout the castle. Peter's a glutton for Castlevania games and despiser of superfluous quick-time events. You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate stirs up conflicting emotions. At the end of the day, demon slaying and clever platforming are the biggest reasons to stick until the lukewarm conclusion. Had some of the inconsistencies in gameplay been ironed out, the experience would have felt much more cohesive, but as it stands, Mirror of Fate is a good, but not great, addition to the historic Castlevania series. Parents need to know that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is a rare M-rated 3DS game, and not suitable for kids. Watch Video Read Article. The element of exploration is a nice nod to the past, but Mirror of Fate fails to match the joy of discovery found in previous Castlevanias. BlizzCon 2021: Biggest Announcements And Full BlizzConline Schedule, Want To Write For GameSpot In 2021? Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate stirs up conflicting emotions. They're enjoyable, if fairly simple in their execution. These are small changes, but the latter has far-reaching implications on the game at large. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate intends to expand upon the idea of the latter, promising some really interesting surprises and references for fans of the former. With Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate MercurySteams follows its own way of thinking about the epic Konami franchise. Apart from these highlights, however, Mirror of Fate struggles with a handful of issues. When grappling across chasms, or rappelling down walls, you need a keen sense of spatial awareness and timing to keep your footing and health in check. Least of all, the controls have been loosened a bit, allowing you to use the D-pad to control your character. It's not created by Igarashi, it's created by MercurySteam and they have indeed a very unique style. The combination of the best elements from different corners of the series worked well, and the reimagining of the connection between the Belmont family of vampire hunters and Dracula provided an interesting if somewhat predictable twist. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate brings the series back to Nintendo's portable systems, where it thrived for a decade, after a lengthy hiatus. It’s as if the game designers were torn between the action-based mechanics of Lords of Shadow , and the tried and true exploration and basic platforming of the handheld games. Worse than that, there are numerous occurrences of a particular door in the later half of the game that can only be open by enduring repetitive, button-mashing quick-time events, and that's after you've acquired the skill that's supposed to enable you to open the door to begin with. They're encountered every few minutes as you ramble around the dark corridors of … The story in Mirror of Fate picks up after the conclusion of the first Lords of Shadow and follows the paths of three characters: Simon Belmont, his father Trevor Belmont, and Alucard. The few puzzles in the game are generally well designed, but they primarily task you with finding the appropriate arrangement for a series of objects. © 2021 GAMESPOT, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. Get ready to tap the A button a dozen times. No one ever said this title will gonna be a next Metroidvania. Unfortunately, a small number of design choices got in the way of the good stuff, but in porting Mirror of Fate to consoles, Konami had a chance to finally fix those failings. Here's How, Apple Has Now Dragged Valve Into Its Fight Against Epic, By Throughout the course of each chapter, you spend a good amount of time developing your character's skill set and learning the particulars of each attack. BlizzCon 2021: Biggest Announcements And Full BlizzConline Schedule, Want To Write For GameSpot In 2021? It has the most intriguing story in any Castlevania game to date, even if it is a bit predictable, and the emphasis on combat above exploration is a fair trade, primarily because the combo system is so fluid and sports a good amount of depth. Every character possesses different skills and secondary items, but they all wield a whip of sorts. Mirror of Fate doesn't feel like "classic" Castlevania games at all. The start of each act cascades back in time, leading up to the events of the act before it. With their trusty lashes, they can conquer pretty much anything. The prologue recaps a part of Gabriel Belmont's story from the original Lords of Shadow, and then you set out as his grandson, the crimson-clad Simon Belmont. Interestingly, the graphical boost isn't the only difference between versions of Mirror of Fate. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate is by no means a bad game, but it does little to make itself stand out in the Metroidvania genre. Traditionally, generations of Belmonts have faced off against Dracula in a never-ending battle to save humanity, with very little character development along the way. Mirror of Fate is a fun, but not spectacular outing that provides some decent Castlevania action at a cheap price. Each of their stories is told separately, but these threads weave together by the end of the game. All told, Mirror of Fate is a fun and occasionally challenging action game with successful elements and an unfortunate, but small, selection of poor design choices. Developing your grasp of combat mechanics is a fulfilling journey, but the prevalence of quick-time events repeatedly deflates the value of this progress. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a single glaring problem: It's not very good. The developers did a good job in capturing Castlevania’s soul, but the game’s soundtrack and level design aren’t good enough to stand a chance against the other portable episodes of the series. Initially set 25 years after the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Mirror of Fate will reveal the story of Gabriel's descendants, as they battle their own destiny in each era only to discover their true, shocking fate. It's a mixture of new blood and old, but how does it taste? Peter Brown By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Prepare for a series of button presses that can't be missed. Here's How, Apple Has Now Dragged Valve Into Its Fight Against Epic, By Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD [Online Game Code] at Amazon.com. Peter used to work at GameSpot. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, developer Mercurysteam has found its … The grumpy daemon lord has a serious bone to pick with the Belmonts.

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