Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
A reboot of Castlevania following Gabriel Belmont's quest against the Lords of Shadow.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and published by Konami. It serves as a reboot of the Castlevania series, set in Southern Europe during the Middle Ages. The story follows Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light, as he seeks to defeat the Lords of Shadow and resurrect his murdered wife. The game was originally announced without any connection to Castlevania, a decision made to keep plans for a radical change to the series mythos secret and to avoid upstaging another release, Castlevania Judgment. Hideo Kojima helped produce the title, and the music was composed by Óscar Araujo.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- MercurySteamKojima Productions assisted on development. Climax Studios ported the Windows version.
- Publisher
- Konami
- Director
- Enric Álvarez
- Producer
- Jose Raluy / Dave Cox / Hideo Kojima
- Artist
- Juan Antonio Alcázar / Jose Luis Vaello
- Writer
- Enric Álvarez / Dave Cox / Eddie Deighton
- Composer
- Óscar Araujo
- Series
- Castlevania
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3 · Xbox 360 · Windows
- Genre
- Action-adventure, hack and slash
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was developed by MercurySteam and published by Konami. The game was initially announced as simply Lords of Shadow, with no mention of the Castlevania franchise. This secrecy was intended to conceal Konami's plans to radically change the direction of the Castlevania mythos and to prevent the announcement from overshadowing another series release, Castlevania Judgment. Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series, served as a producer on the title. The music was composed by Spanish composer Óscar Araujo, who received acclaim for his work on the game. Konami later requested that the development team produce more titles related to Lords of Shadow, leading to two sequels: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
Reader's Guide
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sold well and received positive reviews from video game publications. It was praised for the new elements it brought to the franchise, with particular acclaim for its story, combat, visuals, music, and art direction. The game is a third-person action-adventure title in which the player controls Gabriel Belmont, using a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross. Combat involves up to forty unlockable combos, a Light and Shadow magic system, and secondary weapons such as knives and holy water. The game features large-scale titan bosses that can be grappled and climbed. Platforming and puzzles are key components across fifty levels. The developers aimed to reach new audiences by distancing Lords of Shadow from previous Castlevania games, while retaining some elements—such as vampires and werewolves—to avoid alienating franchise fans. The story is expanded in two DLC packs, Reverie and Resurrection, which see Gabriel becoming a vampire and eventually being referred to as Dracula.
Did You Know?
- The game was originally announced as Lords of Shadow with no connection to Castlevania to keep the reboot plans secret.
- The story is expanded in two DLC packs titled Reverie and Resurrection.
More in Adventure Games of the 2010s, Part 1 1-24
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