After replaying LoS over the last several nights, I've revised my opinion of the game a bit. At first, I was bothered by the non-canon story reset, the prevalance of goblins and trolls, the negation of Mathias/Vlad/Dracula as we know him, the idea of the Belmonts potentially being corrupted, the GoW combat controls, the linearity of the whole thing, and the general mainstream nature of the game's design.
Now, I tend to look at it as a "what if..." that occurred before Leon or Mathias were even born, an examination of what would have happened if the Belmonts had been consumed by the darkness instead of warring against it endlessly. A few of the same things still bother me, but I actually really enjoy the game's structure. It pays tribute to the construct of classic linear CVs like Super IV and maintains similar aesthetics in a next-gen style, but it also allows re-exploration of previous levels to cover a bit of that Metroidvania open-worldness that hardcore fans crave. Branching levels and upgradeable skills add some depth to the experience, and the ability to swing around and rapel using the whip hasn't been done well since SCIV anyway. The storytelling isn't bad either.
Overall, I'm not sure that LoS is the direction I'd choose for the future of the series, but taken as a 3-episode "what if...", it's a pretty good entry. Still, what I want to see most is an anthology or two to consolidate the series before moving forward, and maybe we'll get that from Konami once MercurySteam is done with their contributions.