Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Review

If any of you remember that little 8-bit whip-wielding bad ass named Simon Belmont, and by chance have a 3DS, then I invite you to see what that little 8-bit killer of the undead has turned into.

Release Date: March 5th, 2013 (US) March 8th, 2013 (EU)
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB Rating: M for Mature – Blood and Gore, Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes
Platform: 3DS
Developer: MercurySteam
Publisher: Konami

Note: This is the 2nd game in the Lords of Shadow series of Castlevania games. If you wish to avoid spoilers of the previous game I suggest not reading this.

So we begin our adventure in the prologue of the game. Here we see Gabriel Belmont kicking any ass in sight while the game gives you a handy little tutorial. After a cutscene or two we begin act 1 of Simon’s quest to kill Dracula. When you enter the castle you find this black floating thing which you may recognize from the case of the game as part of the logo. This is where you learn that Simon’s father had failed in his quest to kill Dracula. This black thing which is later referred to as the lost soul, tells Simon he will guide him through the castle. All along the way you will see this guy marking where you need to go, feel free to whip-smack him.

The story of Mirror of Fate was surprisingly good for how simplistic and how little it is touched upon, however this is not the main attraction. The gameplay has always been the best part of Castlevania games, from the platforming segments to the combat system, this is what Castlevania is going to be having you do for hours on end in the most satisfying way the 3DS can offer. Starting with the combat, you gain experience for killing monsters and finding scrolls of the fallen. Each of the 3 characters you play as in MoF will have 2 sub weapons, an offensive and defensive ability all unique to the character you play as. Needless to say you gain new powers unrelated to those stats which allow you to continue to advance through the castle.

Pros

– Reboot of original Castlevania.

– Still feels like a Castlevania game.

– More content than I was expecting for a 3DS game.

– The story while short was surprisingly interesting.

– Great replay value.

– Puzzles can be actually puzzling.

– All the characters stories intertwine.

– Extra cutscene for collecting 100% items.

– Can mark area’s on the minimap with the 3DS.

– Grab moves are generally pretty awesome execution moves.

– Simon aged well and looks bad ass versus his older design.

Cons

– Voicing was not the best

– Blocking in this game is virtually pointless when nearly every enemy does unblockable attacks.

– Whip becomes overpowered when you level up but is too weak early on.

– Everyone uses a whip. I am looking at you Alucard.

– You take way too much damage early on.

– Lag spikes are pretty bad in this game.

Final Verdict: I was pleasantly surprised by how fun this game was. The story wasn’t anything special but it was certainly intriguing. The voicing and lag spikes were my only major problem with this game aside from the 3DS and its horrible battery life. I give Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate 7 1/2 feet of whip out of 10.