Topic: "The Dragon Returns" - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Sequel (HERE BE SPOILER INFO)

[Flame]

Am I the only one who thinks that stealth section doesn't look so bad?
I mean, was it needed? maybe not, but it can't hurt. breaks up the pace with something different. And as long as the controls are good, I'm ok with it. you people are all overreacting over this.

Flame, you're delusional buddy.

Lords of Shadow has been a God of War ripoff since the very beginning.

I guess lament of innocence went forward in time to rip off God of War then huh?

God of War did not invent hack n slash. it popularized it.

I know you are baiting. But seriously. At least put some effort into it.

Bloodlines had a factory level

(click to show/hide)

And it was really out of place

No it wasn't. Not for the setting. Especially since aside from being a factory, it's purpose in game, is to be a clocktower stage with gears and shit.

[TatteredSeraph]

Am I the only one who thinks that stealth section doesn't look so bad?
I mean, was it needed? maybe not, but it can't hurt. breaks up the pace with something different. And as long as the controls are good, I'm ok with it. you people are all overreacting over this.

You're not the only one, Flame.  Especially when the game lasts what, 20 hours or so?  It mixes things up imo, stops things from being too samey all through the game.  Plus, I also really liked the rats transformation, definitely referencing Coppola's Dracula there imo.  Perhaps those armoured thug guards looked a bit sci-fi-ish, sort of WH40Kish, but they also looked like big burly brutes in modern takes on Medieval armour which also seem to be referencing Coppola's Dracula.  The *massive* guns looked a bit insane, but hey, I can live with that.  The sudden transition into the castle I admit I really liked.  The castle's looking gorgeous.

[e105beta]

Am I the only one who thinks that stealth section doesn't look so bad?
I mean, was it needed? maybe not, but it can't hurt. breaks up the pace with something different. And as long as the controls are good, I'm ok with it. you people are all overreacting over this.

*raises hand*

I just said it didn't look at that bad.

No it wasn't. Not for the setting. Especially since aside from being a factory, it's purpose in game, is to be a clocktower stage with gears and shit.

True, but there were parts like this:



Reminds me a lot of this:



Which is kind of the vibe I was getting from the stealth part. IMO, it's a cool mix of motifs, it just feels a bit odd since it's definitely not a regular setting in Castlevania.

[thernz]

but does the stealth look fun to do

[Rugal]

Lament of Innocence was more like Devil May Cry, however the combo system was pretty unique and fresh. It also actually felt like I was playing a Castlevania game. Lords of Shadow on the other hand is just a blatant ripoff of God of War. How can you not see it?

[thernz]

most of the time in lament, i was flipping around like a mad man rather than doing actual combos
i guess lords is pretty similar in how the optimal style of fighting was to roll around

[e105beta]

but does the stealth look fun to do

It doesn't look not fun.

That's all I can really say at this point. From Edge's review, it sounded like what they didn't like about it was that it didn't allow a lot of freedom, which I can imagine can be jarring since that means MercurySteam is actively disabling your abilities, but if it really boils down to being an environmental design puzzle, then I'm fine with that.

EDIT: If anything, it looks the stealth puzzles in Assassin's Creed that took place in the free running dungeons. You didn't have a ton of "options" but it was a fun little exercise.

[Chernabogue]

AC never had "great" stealth sections IMO, I always felt it wasn't very well-developed, which is a shame.

And the German guys should really get some skill. Seriously.

[Dremn]

Stealth sections look absolutely awful, I was getting some dumb Batman vibes from it.

Seeing Gabe eat and squeeze a heart out of the statue was disgusting.

[TatteredSeraph]

I actually thought that touch of him eating the heart was pretty cool.

[Ahasverus]

It was!

[TatteredSeraph]

It's exactly the sort of thing I would expect Drac to do, as well as reminding me a little bit of a scene in Queen of the Damned.

[e105beta]

What exactly did Enric say to you on Twitter, Ahasverus?

[DragonSlayr81]

To tell you the truth, from that German video, the stealth part didn't bother me as much as the fuckin collapsing floor section near the end fo the video. That looked like a real bullshit section!

[Intersection]

So I've read the Edge review, and I'll admit that I was surprised to find entire pages devoted to criticizing the fundamentals of LoS2's battle system, considering how little they have changed since LoS1. e105beta already mentioned this -- most of the combat elements Edge seems to have found fault with in this review were already present in the original reboot, so I'm lost as to why they they were praised in LoS1 and panned in LoS2.


As far as Stealth sections go, they certainly don't look entirely unenjoyable. But they do seem heavily scripted, with their execution looking pretty clumsy at times.
It's also hard not to notice how jarring they are in context. You're playing as Dracula, after all -- that alone should spare you any need for rat-worthy tactics. You'd at least expect to keep your combat abilities during stealth. I mean, why not just give those guards a good whipping before moving straight on to the next area? That's honestly much more consistent with Dracula's aesthetic...