Having finish Castlevania: Lords of Shadow I was intrigued enough by it to keep going down the series. The next game on the list was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD by MercurySteam. This game, however, is no longer a 3D platformer and has moved the franchise back into the 2D realm. My first impression is that this game looks enjoyable.
The Experience:
Mirror of Fate was obviously meant for a lighter platform like the Nintendo 3Ds. You will notice the drop in graphics quality as they use realistic 3D cartoon style for the gameplay and the cell shaded 3D style for the cutscenes. The levels and characters are by no means bad they just are not as polished. It looks ok but having not actually looked into the origins of the game I was a little surprised.
The main hero is now Simon Belmont who is the great-grandson of Gabriel Belmont. They spend the prologue of this game showing you that there was a baby on the way and Marie hid this child from Gabriel after seeing what he was to become of him. She apparently sees it in some mirror. It feels a bit like an "oh by the way" type of plot but it's not bad and the fact that Simon has no idea yet is pretty cool.
Simon starts off armed with a whip and you are quickly given a throwing ax that you can use 5 times until you reload it. In the first hour, I was able to get a spell as well that absorbed damage through mana, which really helps in a fight and was necessary to progress past parts of the map.
Like in the previous iteration of the game you will have the ability to use a single target attack or a group attack with your whip. The group attack is kind of weird because you are on a 2D plane but it serves the purpose of being able to attack the ground and air at once. The combat has also felt a bit easier as you are able to dodge and roll, which is far more manageable when enemies are coming from just two directions. You get additional combos to chain attacks together by leveling. I kind of like this more than having to buy the moves.
The map screen was pretty cool as it allowed you to mark if you found a secret. You can literally leave a note for your future self to come back after you unlock abilities. The way the map on the main screen is displayed is the classic Castlevania style where boxes will be placed on a grid for the rooms you can go into. It's a nice callback to the original titles.
The one issue I do have is the movement feels a little of clunky. There are some jumps that defy the in-game physics. For example, you will be jumping to the ledge and it will look like you are going to miss but for some reason get a small upward bump in your movement to catch it. The block isn't very reactionary either as it feels like it comes out slow. You have to anticipate attacks a bit more. It's not game breaking. Just doesn't feel very clean for modern platformers.
Maybe it was the classic style or how your character feels a little heavy to control but a lot of this reminded me of the classic Castlevania. Since I just got into this game I cannot tell yet if I am enjoying it for that nostalgic feel or the fact that I like the way the game plays. The combat so far has been ok and the one boss fight I was in had an interesting fight mechanic, which leads me to believe I can look forward to more of those. This game has a good first hour and I am hoping the rest can deliver on this promise I feel has been made up front.
TL;DR:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD is a 2D platformer made in the light of classic Castlevania games. The animation and music are ok so far but the movement feels a bit clunky. The gameplay is still fun enough to compel me to go forward it just doesn't feel as smooth as a lot of 2D platformers out today.
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