Steam says I've put in 4 hours so far but it feels like much longer than that.
So the game has finally "opened up." I air quote that because being linear, it never really quite does. But the mechanics are starting to roll in, and levels blessfully aren't a mess of cutscenes and QTEs anymore, finally giving you some room to move around and do things.
I've hit the point where I can say I'm starting to have fun. The first hour or so of the game leaves you thinking that there's not a lot Gabriel can do, but after Chapter 3 and 4 the gear (chain upgrades, shadow magic badassery that starts infusing parts of your armor and such) options start rolling in. Most stuff has a combat and a puzzle/platforming component. If you've played DMC you're pretty familiar with how it feels, and in truth it's not that far removed from the latter day Castlevania games.
The story does much better when it's delivered less often. The contrast between the first few levels and the rest of the game is pretty striking in this regard. Where before I was feeling smothered by how little control I had and how overbearing the cutscene and QTEs were, now it feels a bit more like what most games do. Which is good because the story isn't anything to write home about (although at least it starts to explain its details a bit more as it goes on.)
Levels are still largely a mash up of platforming with only 1 way to go, gear-based puzzle elements, and fights. The first makes up the majority of a level. Fights are a mix of smaller, man-sized opponents in hordes with the occasional big guy that is way more durable and reactive. There's also a mechanic where you have to beat down and ride different beasts, so you can use their abilities to navigate some terrain obstacles.
Levels are less linear but are still basically "screens" dictated by the fixed camera. It continues to suck because of what it won't show you or let you show yourself. It contributes to annoyances such as not being able to jump off a ledge that is 10 feet above the ground, because the camera says no and it's not a pre-approved place to jump off or climb on to. Considering I was playing Assassin's Creed prior to this, the lack of freedom in moving around the levels (I'm talking just being able to turn and jump off a ledge) is really frustrating. And it sucks all the illusion out of levels being more than a set piece.
There's things you have to return to levels later to get once you have the abilities to do so. It's a nod to the SotN kind of thinking. Unfortunately, it doesn't stack up for several reasons. Firstly, what you're going to return for is a known quantity. Either you missed some life, light magic or shadow magic gems, or you didn't have access to an ability so you could get an upgrade for one your secondary weapons (knives, shadow crystals, fairies, something else.) Secondly, levels aren't really fun to replay, and because they're full of "points of no return" (either due to the camera being an asshole or things like jumping off 100 foot drops) it's a pain in the ass to actually look for the things you missed. At least you get experience for the things you kill, but I'll get to why buying moves isn't really a priority in a minute.
All of this makes anything the playing of anything but combat kind of underwhelming. Although granted, the level design allows for set pieces and the whole freaking thing to look pretty amazing.
It's a spectacle, for sure. But it feels stifling and railroad-y. Put it this way. Devil May Cry 4, which does essentially the same thing with its levels, offers way more freedom of movement and the sense you're in control of what you can and can't do.
Combat....I still don't know what to make of it. You get two magic pools for light and shadow magic. When activated, one heals you when you hit guys, one does extra damage when you hit guys. Different upgrades open up different attacks and effects while either magics are active. Additionally, the more you hit guys with a variety of attacks without taking damage, the more "focus" you get. You can also do the "Perfect Block" to get a whole bunch of focus very quickly. When your focus maxes out, every hit makes guys drop magic orbs that you can absorb to refill your magic pools. When guys die, they drop a couple orbs as well. You get secondary weapons (a nod to the knife, axe, cross and other secondary weapons from the other games), that also can do different things with life or shadow magic. One is basically an inverted cross (hits all stuff on the screen for huge damage).....with
a pretty fucked up animation. (This game seems to have a bit of a tit fetish.)
On paper combat sounds pretty good. How it's been implemented though leaves somethings to be desired. For one, combat is very fast paced. Little guys will run up and swipe at you, breaking your focus easily. Big guys tend to react almost on a formula of "you hit me three times, I'm going to swing at you." This means you spend a lot of time evasively dodging, making all your longer, bad ass moves and combos inadvisable, since you'll just get knocked on your ass. Second, almost every big guy, from beasts to werewolves to bosses, have an AOE stomp attack that will throw you off your feet, unless you jump right as it goes off. Its range is usually way farther than your dodge goes so you can' roll out of it. And the enemy telegraphs it very briefly before using it. Jumping straight up, in most other cases, is usually a good way to get swatted out of the air. While it's not unavoidable (a quick dodge --> jump can get you out safely depending on the size), there's little warning it's coming.
So combat against bosses and big guys tends to go like this: 3 attacks, dodge, 3 attacks, dodge, 3 attacks, get knocked on your ass. Dodge, dodge, 3 attacks, dodge, ... , turn on Light Magic to get life back. ... turn on Shadow Magic because why not? ..., 3 attacks, dodge, 3 attacks, dodge, QTE, QTE, QTE.....
And that's the super annoying part. Combat, after being really active, ultimately is decided by QTEs, sometimes as many as 5 or 6 in a row for end bosses, that if you fail one you're instantly killed and have to go back to the last "stage" of a boss. Or in the case of big guys, you have to beat them down some more after being taxed 25 to 50% of your health. It can make for some frustration. Plenty of games do this routine, although they tend to save it for the real bosses. Castlevania Lords of Shadow can manage a QTE of some kind every fight.
Combat rewards paying attention and timing, and the move list is pretty extensive. After you start getting new gear, magics, ect.... it reaches the level of "8 different kinds of attacks I can do at the drop of a hat" like DMC. Unfortunately, all of these are crammed on to about 5 buttons. Like activating your Dark Gauntlet is done by holding block and clicking jump, left click or right click each for a different effect. But if you're moving, it turns into a dodge. Holding block is also how you active the Perfect Block, which is different than just tapping block.
So while the enemies and the action are tuned pretty high, demanding specific actions very quickly, your character and the controls aren't necessarily always keeping up. Since everything is basically context sensitive, it becomes hard to remember what "Left click, left click, hold right click" means when you're in the air. Or that left click, hold left click does a completely different move while Light Magic is active versus not. Oh, did I mention there's no thing as locking on to a target either? During boss fights the camera will lock to your boss, but your facing won't. It just contributes to combat being a big sloppy mess most of the time. It makes me think the camera is actually Dracula, and the final fight will be me repeatedly whipping the camera until it shatters and the game ends.
Fights aren't hard....but you end up doing the same couple combos over and over again because it's the most efficient way to fight, and in some cases, the only viable one. And again, because all enemies are a source of experience, how many fights you have and how big they are, are pretty tightly controlled. Just when you're starting to feel the combat system shine, get some moves firmly in mind, everything is dead. Or, you're low on life and need to turn on Light Magic and start whipping the shit out of everything with no finesse to get health back. Or you're got focus going and orbs are pouring out of everything.....and as you stop to collect them, some little shit comes at you from your back where the camera isn't letting you look and hits you, and your focus ends. Oh, and did I mention Magic Orbs only stay around for like 15 to 20 seconds, and you have to standing completely still to suck them towards you?
I want to like what's going on here, and at times, I do. If this game has like a battle arena option somewhere, I'll enjoy it. But it feels like it's getting in its own way too often. Too many restrictions and overarching conceits that hamstring its own ability to be fun.
I'm just glad the fucking Titans are supposedly done with. Someone dearly wanted to do what Shadow of the Colossus and other games since have done, and frankly I didn't enjoy the climbing boss fights in SoC very much. There isn't even really a justification in the story for why they are there, they just are and you need to fuck them up. (Which is no great sin in Castlevania, that describes plenty of bosses through the years. But none of those bosses had an entire level dedicated to them, and for a game that seems to care so much about it's story, "activated by Dark Magic" is a pretty thin reason to blatantly insert this kind of gameplay in.)
With all of LoS's issues, the inclusion of these fights just added more frustration. To me there's nothing fun about having 4 seconds to figure out where to go/what to do, before being smacked off and having to repeat a stupid series of QTEs so I can climb back up and do it again.
I'll probably keep playing this one through, as it is actually a fairly meaty game and has continued to expand as I play, sort of surprising me (although I think maybe it's about to taper off). I feel like I've been playing way longer than what Steam says.
If you really, dearly love Castlevania, consider what your like of it is based on. Because there's lots of things Lords of Shadow does that are in the opposite direction. There are hints of the game eventually delivering the things most fans expect: the openness, the heavy emphasis on the gothic look, from the environments to the enemies. (I haven't seen a single fucking bat, skeleton or zombie yet. Just Goblins and Trolls and Giant Spiders and Faeries and all the shit you expect out of a fantasy RPG. If it weren't for the "Lycans" and Werewolves, you would be hard pressed to call anything in this game gothic. All of Chapter 2, 3 and some of 4 take place in some sort of weird non-European tropical ruin.)
Castlevania Lords of Shadow has other ideas, other things it wants to do first. If you lack the patience for that, or if you're a Bayonetta/DMC/Ect... aficionado, this game can and will piss you off. If this is your first introduction to either Castlevania or games of this nature, you might find a lot to like. But if you've played a lot of these games, and a lot of Castlevania, certain things are going to stick out like a sore thumb, repeatedly jabbing you in the eye, throughout game.
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Topic: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Now on PC) (Read 1377 times)