Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate (Video Game Review)

The Castlevania series is one of the most recognizable franchises and one of the most interesting for how it holds great appeal on both home consoles and handhelds. The Nintendo DS and 3DS have supported many releases to the series over the last several years that follow a more traditional play style, while consoles have recently seen success with the action, hack and slash Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series. With the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 right around the corner, publisher Konami has released the all new Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate featuring a branching narrative initially set before the events of the upcoming console title. Players will take on the role of multiple characters in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate, and the result is a short campaign that is a blast to play again and again.

In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, we are introduced to one of the eldest members of the Belmont clan named Gabriel, and during the campaign, players will learn the origins of the clan while playing as Alucard, Simon Belmont and even as Trevor Belmont when he faces off with Gabriel's new form as Dracula. Each of the characters in the game have been playable in previous games, but many new revelations can be seen throughout the campaign, and fully exploring the game will add plenty of time onto the length of time you'll spend with the new release. If you're a fan of the series, you'll want to play the game for the memorable cast of characters including Gabriel when he first arrives at the castle for his notorious showdown with a monster, as Trevor aims to take his father's head, Simon takes on zombie hordes to get to the castle and Alucard battles against the toughest enemies yet. The narrative spans many eras, and jumping between characters so often can be a bit jarring for gameplay's sake, but the story comes together nicely in the end making it a welcome addition to Castlevania's lore.

When the game starts, you will be playing as Trevor Belmont on a quest to kill his father. Some really cool features to the game are introduced shortly after when you encounter plenty of massive foes that can be carefully scaled and cut down to size when you attack their weak spots. You'll also start switching between characters to continue the game's storyline, but you can actually learn skills that will be passed down through the generations to characters you will soon control, seemingly making your characters stronger with the passing of time. If you've been keeping up with the series recently, you'll know what to expect out of combat here; the game is heavy on the action but also features plenty of RPG elements that create a nice mix that you're sure to enjoy. The combat of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is its strong point, but the game also encourages exploration, and you'll likely continue playing long after you've completed the main quests in order to find everything the game has to offer.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is a nice looking game that features impressive character models and smooth animations. The combat is runs just as smooth on Nintendo 3DS as you'd expect from a home console, and casting special attacks in a thrill in its own right. The presentation stutters a bit with some poor voice acting in spots, but at least you don't have to read everything you monster! Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is a fun game and the perfect title to get you ready for the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 later this year. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is a must own for Castlevania fans, and newcomers will likely be able to sink their teeth into this new release and discover a great game from a highly popular series for the first time ever. It might be a horrible night to have a curse, but Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate will make it all better.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $39.99 and can be purchased exclusively for Nintendo 3DS on March 5, 2013. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate website.

Game Features:

Single Player

Multiple Characters

Huge Boss Battles

Unique Skills and Weapons

3D Graphic Support

Game Information:
Developer: MercurySteam
Publisher: Konami
Available exclusively for Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: March 5, 2013

Score: 8 out of 10