Hello all!
Mitch and I are back to talk more Castlevania this week with Lords of Shadow 2. A few months ago we discussed the first Lords of Shadow which I feel is a mixed bag but overall enjoyable for what it is. What held my interest is the anime-ending of fighting Satan one on one and then seeing Gabriel/Dracula in a modern city. That cliffhanger ending opened great possibilities!
Sadly, that ending was not delivered on.
Taking criticism from the first game, Mercury Steam tried to differentiate itself from the “God of War Clone” comparison and added stealth segments that grind the game’s pacing to a halt. The fact that Dracula is capable of taking down massive bosses but can’t take out thicc guards is beyond me. Sneaking around as a rat? I’m the Prince of Darkness!
Even with those horrible moments aside, the 2nd game fails to deliver after the first amazing hour of gameplay. It puts its best foot forward with the intro sequence and then we take control of Dracula in the modern city. I had visions of Blood Omen 2 where we would be able to run around the city and feast on innocent folks. But no, we are thrown into bland corridors and parking garages.
I was ok with the game until the end when I was getting frustrated with the pacing. It took its toll on me.
With that said, there are great set pieces such as the Puppet Master boss sequence. It makes zero sense why we are fighting him but it was memorable so that’s something!
Even though Lords of Shadow 2 did OK with sales, Konami shut it all down. Dave Cox, the producer, was let go and he went on to work at 505 Games.
Mercury Steam, the developer, was contracted by Nintendo and ended up making Metroid Dread. Good endings for everyone!
You can read a post-mortem-esque interview HERE which is rather transparent about the development of Lords of Shadow 2.
I also recommend checking out this video about the game as well.
Don’t forget to catch Mitch over on Divided by Werewolves.
Until next time - enjoy dem games!
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