Definition of Reverie (per Merriam-Webster dictionary)
1: Daydream
2: The condition of being lost in thought
Origin of REVERIE
French rêverie, from Middle French, delirium, from resver, rever to wander, be delirious
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With the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow’s DLC ‘Reverie’ upon us, speculations are flying wildly both on Rely on Horror and throughout the internet as a whole. David Cox, the game’s producer, has frequently teased fans with screens, tidbits of information and even talks of an upcoming trailer to encourage fans to speculate. But what do we actually know about the DLC? Judging from the screens that have been released, there will be a lot of castle-treading fun, which is good because while Lords of Shadow was great, it had only a little in the full release. Also, there is a very amazing concept drawn up as a teaser about a time machine that Gabriel comes across which leaves fans to question even more what to expect in this upcoming endeavor. My goal here in this article is to break down the title of the game, and perhaps offer another perspective in what to expect, you know, stir the pot a little.
Reverie is a word that describes a dreamer, or extreme vision that will never be. With the screenshots released, one could easily assume that what we experience could be a detailed dream of what he could have done before his descent into madness. With the presence of a time machine, anything is possible; it is a fact that time travel is a wonder and dream to every man both today and of years past which would include the age Castlevania takes place, so the idea of Gabriel dreaming of such a machine is believable, something that could aid him in saving his wife and stopping the events that led to her death.
More realistically the DLC will not be a dream though. What I imagine it to be is the overwhelming realization that what Gabriel is going through is inevitably going to overcome his “reverie” of an alternate reality, the one he wishes he had. We know how devastated he is that Marie died and even more-so when he found out it was he who killed her, and dreaming of a better life (one that included his beloved) would only be realistic. I think the title of this DLC is an explanation of Gabriel’s thoughts and wishes and the game itself will show us why that cannot be. It is an excellent title for a game that is as detailed as this. Usually titles do not reflect what the game is really about, (a lot are for show), but I truly believe this one identifies what we are going to experience.
