Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD
MIRROR OF FATE REVIEW
Welcome, again, to another instance of Steam Library reviews by Oniell Ford! (Never mind the altered name and avatar. It’ll go back to normal in due time.) As usual, the blacked-out areas of the review are spoilers, so avoid them if you want to experience the thrills of the game yourself.
This time, we’ll be reviewing “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD”, the second installment in Mercury Steam’s “Lords of Shadow” trilogy. As many of you know, my review for the previous “Lords of Shadow” installment was pretty negative. Unlike LoS 1 and 2, Mirror of Fate turned out to be a much better game. Without further ado, THE REVIEW!
– Real player with 56.8 hrs in game
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate is the second game in the Lords of Shadow Trilogy. After I played the first game- which I found to be a great first step albeit not without some noticeable flaws- I was looking forward to playing its sequels. And when I got to Mirror of Fate, it did not disappoint.
Whereas the first Lords of Shadow was primarily a hack and slash beat ‘em up with Prince of Persia style platforming, Mirror of Fate combines the combat of the first Lords of Shadow, the platforming of the original Castlevania, and the exploration of the Symphony of the Night-style Metroidvanias, mixing them all together to form a playstyle all its own.
– Real player with 26.3 hrs in game
Vlad Voievod Dracula. Episode 1 Manhunt
The events take place during the first ascension to the throne of Vlad III Tepes, the historical Dracula. He claims his throne from the hands of Basarab, who murdered his father, tortured and killed his brother. In front of Dracula’s army, Basarab abandons his throne and flees to Transylvania to save his life, but Dracula takes his best warriors to hunt him down personally.
The game is a slow-paced tactical action-puzzle platformer, where you need to discover and correctly execute the most efficient or interesting strategy. You won’t overcome the obstacles too easily if you don’t give it some thought first. Your main sword attack is not very powerful, and you can’t take on all your enemies head-on. Some are faster than you, and more powerful, so you need to learn their timing, their patterns and movements and strategise your actions accordingly. You’ll need to wisely use the few sub-weapons at your disposal, and sometimes engage in duels. Learn to back down when needed, and strike merciless when the opportunity arrives.
So buckle up and take control of one of the coolest villains in history in his manhunt for judgement and revenge. Use skill and cold-blooded planning to crush the enemies beneath your feet just to raise them back up in pales. Pick up the sword, and let the manhunt begin!
Read More: Best Vampire Retro Games.
Tentoria
Character action game with lightning fast action. Play as the badass femme fatale vampire queen, Lyss, and get ready to yell “This is not even my final form!”. Travel through time, destroy dinosaurs, aliens, robots and undeads with bloody stylish combos! Ride your motorcycle, manage your strip club!
Lyss, the Empress
Evil incarnate!
Lyss, the Demon
Master of demonic magic!
Lyss, the Vampire
Gorgeous, deadly!
Lyss, the Beast
Freak of nature!
Lyss, the Deadeye
Respected leader, dangerous gunslinger!
Lyss, the Slave
Burns with rage, insatiable lust for revenge!
Lyss, the Sacrifice
Poor little girl in a very dangerous situation!
Read More: Best Vampire Female Protagonist Games.
Devoul- Curse of the Soulless
Good story
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
A game to congratulate. The main character pulls you into the game either by the playability or with the story. The scenarios are diverse and wake up your attention - the music also. You can “play” with the time of the game and stay by the small games and quests inside of it. It’s fun. I love it.
I miss the times when games were made to leave something to the player. I miss games like this.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Sunrise Tragedy
Story
After the onset of the Goliaths, humans and vampires take refuge inside an old, abandoned cathedral, where they attempt to live in harmony. The cathedral, once used as a monastery by a long-dead civilization, is not quite as safe as foolishly dreamt.
Gameplay
Sunrise Tragedy is an Action-RPG featuring fast-paced, stamina-based combat. Explore a vast cathedral with interconnected areas full of terrifying monsters. Unlock new abilities, called Vampiric Powers, which can aid you in combat and in exploration.
Engage in brutal combat with powerful foes. Dodge the enemy’s attacks with invincibility frames and make your own attacks when the timing is right. Use different moves depending on the situation to either stun the enemy by depleting their stamina, or go in for the kill by depleting their health.
Level up your stats in whichever way you desire. Use a wide variety of weapons, costumes, accessories, and spells to customize your own way of playing.
Interact with various NPCs to gain upgrades and buy from their shops. Form bonds with them to gain items and hear their philosophies amid the impending apocalypse.
This game also features an elaborate alchemy system, allowing you to brew potions that fit your build. You get a set amount of potions per spawn, and you decide the effects of the potion by choosing the ingredients. For example, a magic build may want to trade some health regeneration for MP regeneration, or in some areas you may want to include a cure for poison.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Oh Rats! No I’m serious actually…and bats as well. Just like a bat out of hell Dracula has furry friends in both low and high places. Awaken from an extremely long eternal night and find some nice necks to chomp on. Whip your blood back and forth (Whip it real good). Explore Dracula’s back to the future adventure. Talk about a miserable pile of secrets. You are the prince of darkness! The dragon Dracul! What a terrible night to have a curse.
This is the direct sequel to Lords of Shadow 1, which was one of my favorite Castlevania games. It feels like you are playing a medieval version of God of War. If you liked the GBA/DS SoTN style Metroidvania ones you might not enjoy this one.
– Real player with 62.1 hrs in game
I think I need to add this to the “games that most people hated which I actually enjoyed” list. Admittedly, I’m biased because I really dig Castlevania, enjoyed the first Lords of Shadow and Mirror of Fate, and am a sucker for the idea of playing as Dracula himself. But even at its most frustrating moments, Lords of Shadow 2 isn’t nearly as bad as Edge Magazine (which gave it a 4/10) or any of the other mainstream reviews would have you believe.
Bloodsucking awesome stuff:
- I feel like combat’s speedier and more responsive than it was in the first Lords of Shadow, and there’s less reliance on quicktime events. This might have to do with the fact that I’m just more experienced with the combat system after playing through the first game and Mirror of Fate, but I had a lot of fun beating up some of the bosses, which leads me to the next point…
– Real player with 42.0 hrs in game
Castlevania Advance Collection
pretty good collection all 3 of castlevania gba games and Dracula X super nintendo game rewinding and save stating your game.
– Real player with 58.9 hrs in game
Simple collection with all Castlevania GBA games. It’s the same games you know and love from that era, perfectly emulated. If you want to revisit them, this is the best way to do it.
– Real player with 37.1 hrs in game
Realm of Divinos
Realm of Divinos is a beautiful single-player 3D adventure game with heavy visual novel style storytelling. Customize the appearance of your main character, and start off your adventure to forge your own story. Your destiny is your own. You may choose to help the villains, or the heroes, and in the process become someone the world reveres, or fears. Grow closer to your companions as your story unfolds. Take up your sword to fight any enemies that stand against you, and obtain items to restore your health.
Castlevania Anniversary Collection
I purchased this title when it was on a discount and I believe that’s how everyone should go about getting this collection.
It’s clear that not a lot of time was spent on making this package. It’s very basic, there’s only one available save slot for every game, the default 4:3 resolution is too small and the other options won’t give you anything close to what is possible on a normal emulator. That said, it’s not a terrible collection either. It’s just meh. So why the recommendation? Well, as I said, I got the game during a price drop for €4.99. This makes recommending the game a lot easier, less so for its standard pricing.
– Real player with 69.0 hrs in game
I forgot how frustrating some of these Castlevania games can be…. but that’s all part of the fun right? 😁
Konami also included Kid Dracula, a game I’ve never heard of before playing this collection but was actually kinda fun.
The only thing I can nitpick about this collection (as well as the Contra one) is the fact that you have to use ALT+Enter to fullscreen and ALT+F4 to exit.
– Real player with 28.0 hrs in game
Shikari Rising
Better prepare yourselves to die!
Shikari is tagged as “souls-like” and although I have only played a few of the Dark Souls games, this is the first game in the “souls-like” category in this graphical look that I have played.
You had better keep your focus here as one too many wrong moves and you will die, enemies in groups are brutal and some lone enemies are quite formidable, and bosses hit heavy and can hold their own no problem.
This is in early access and although I have not made the best progress over 12ish hours in game….the current development of Shikari Rising as it is now seems very stable, I have had no crashes, no bugs big enough that I have noticed to alert me, minor things that with time could be sorted out “looking below” is the only action that does not seem to do anything for now or yet, but that is not game breaking at all, and there is quite a bit to enjoy here for a early access game, despite a lot of dying, I am enjoying the game!
– Real player with 23.3 hrs in game
Both the visuals/animations and music of Shikari Rising are already really lovely. As a fan of monsters, I love their design.
I’m not too good at these kinda games, and still need to practice more, but I’m enjoying it a lot; it’s very fun and quite difficult. I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a challenge. :)
I’ve also encountered no bugs so far, and that’s a huge plus.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game