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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was one of 2010’s best games. Despite the reluctance fans may have had to accept a new 3D entry in the classic franchise, Lords of Shadow proved to break that 3D “stigma”. We reviewed the game and gave it the highest possible rating due to it being a complete package and offering one very memorable quest. But as we learned soon after the release of the game, that quest would be far from over.
Now we have the first of two announced DLC packs released and the question is: Does ‘Reverie’ deliver what fans have been expecting after the very memorable epilogue the main game ended with? Find out below.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow ‘Reverie’ Add-on (PS3*/360, $9.99/800 msp)
‘Reverie’ brings with it the promise of an “unruly evil” that serves as the main reason for Gabriel aiding Laura upon his return to the Vampire’s Castle. While we do get the reveal, fairly early on, it may lead to one getting their expectations up at a level that may or may not be realized by the time ‘Reverie’ comes to a close. Despite this, ‘Reverie’ brings with it 3 levels worth of very satisfying and clever scenarios that even rivals some of the chapters seen in Gabriel’s main quest.
One thing becomes apparent right from the very beginning of this add-on, and that is Mercury Steam’s strong emphasis on puzzles. Sure there’s a good amount of action with battles being fought against enemies you’ve faced from the main game, but there’s a lot of puzzles packed into these levels. That may either excite you or draw you away from the potential stops you’ll be faced with when you can’t solve one of the puzzles. They’re feasible, though, and you can always opt to purchase the solution as you would for a regular main-game puzzle. But there’s a satisfaction found in solving these brain-teasers on your lonesome.
‘Reverie’ also brings with it a good dose of clever platforming, though I must admit that I can see how these segments would be annoying for some. Whether you’re running across water to avoid this game’s apparent rendition of the classic mermen monster, or scaling along walls trying to make contact with specific runes; ‘Reverie’ will not dissappoint you if you’re a fan of the main-game’s platforming mechanics. It almost feels like a full-blown sequel at times, seeing Mercury Steam take their initial mechanics and expanding upon them to deliver challenging but yet satisfying segments throughout the add-on’s three nicely balanced levels.
We also get some new moves to perform when in control of Laura. Laura already serves as a central figure in this piece but playing as her adds yet another layer to the initial game-play mechanics. She, being a vampire, is able to perform some tricks that Gabriel can’t at his current state (but as was foreshadowed in the trailer/images this could change).
Her moveset is based primarily around electric attacks and she is able to cast lightning at nearby foes. She can also suck blood from dying enemies once you’re able to grab them for the killing blow. Doing this will replinish her life, or lack thereof, and this move is actually used nicely in one of the add-on’s puzzles. One notable move Laura is able to execute is the transformation into mist to get through certain gates. This is very reminscent of Alucard’s form of mist from Symphony of the Night and it’s very fun to use in actual combat; you’ll see once you’re zig-zagging your way around enemies stopping to cast lightning on them.
While this all paints a very positive picture in terms of game-play for ‘Reverie’, how does the story pan out? And does it do a good job of following from the excitement brought about by the main-game’s stunning end-sequence and epilogue? Yes.
Lords of Shadow was a really superb journey throughout it’s whole duration and it ended on a really high note. No spoilers here, but the epilogue scene proved to definitely peak many people’s interests toward a potential future follow-up. We’re getting two follow-ups in the form of DLC for Lords of Shadow that’ll definitely give better insight towards what players saw in said epligoue; and ‘Reverie’ definitely served to do just that.
The story in ‘Reverie’ is presented through minimally animated art and there’s a lot of good scenes within this chapter. When Gabriel returns to the castle we get a very classic pose that will bring back many memories of the classic Castlevania titles. And while the cut-scenes may have been better if they used the in-game graphics, the art-style used instead definitely enlightens each scene. Especially the final sequence where we witness an “ending” and a “new beginning” all at once.
At times, combined with the very focused and balanced game-play, ‘Reverie’ even feels like the early levels of a full-fledged sequel. Mercury Steam did a good job of offering a piece of DLC that not only expands the original story but also feels like the beginning of a new chapter in Gabriel’s story
While the in-game graphics may have been something fans would’ve preferred for the style of story-telling here, there’s no denying the prowess that Mercury Steam is portraying in ‘Reverie’ not just with the story but with the game-play as well. And while the ending does a really good job at making the wait for April’s ‘Resurrection’ even harder it still was missing something. It’ll be obvious once you’re experiencing the ending for yourself, especially if your expectations have been really high thus far for the big “unruly evil” in ‘Reverie’. The duration of this DLC might also prove to be a negative aspect for some, clocking in at around a little over an hour depending on the player’s skill or how often and for how long they got stuck trying to solve the game’s puzzles. Despite these drawbacks, ‘Reverie’ is a solid add-on to an already amazing game and one can’t help but be extremely excited for ‘Resurrection’ and whatever may come beyond. Oh and don’t feel bad about making it a crucial mission to track and retrieve each of Frankenstein’s fingers, poor guy!
9 out of 10
