Topic: What 'Lords of Shadow' did right.

[KaZudra]

Since the LOS2 board is polluted with LOS hate, I wanna share and have other share of the things that LOS did do right, but a few rules...
1. No IGA vs. Cox
2. No LoS Hate
3. No out of your way Cox bashing
we have enough of that shit in other boards


Gabriel is an illegitimate son of the Cronqvist family
Aside from The Necromancer's area, the game is full of color
The Bernhard family is responsible for a pre-Dracula Crisis, and ends with Dracula

Feel free to share more...

[Trevorcard]

This is exactly the thread the doctor ordered! For me anyway.
What Lord of Shadows Got Right:
Beautiful Vistas that evoke a sense of adventure like SCV4 with different environments other then the castle.
Combat is intuitive. It builds on God of War model of combat but adds a lot of depth to it. The Sync Block and White and Shadow Magic make fighting enemies feel like a blast as well as encourage player to play smartly.
Enemy Designs: I have to applaud Mercury Stream for their designs particularly of the Werewolves. From the small grunts to giant wolves to Werewolf Elites these things are badasses. Most of the other designs are top notch and shows the imagination and creativity of Mercury Stream team.
The Book and Knight Scrolls: The Knight scrolls actually tell the plot of Lord of Shadows better then main storyline and is a novel approach. It allows you a glimpse of the world without being fed countless cutscenes. It also complements Gabriel journey into darkness. Also information on the various weaponry and enemies is fascinating.
Boss Battles: Unlike recent action games. Lord of Shadows has a lot of boss battles and most of the Non Titans ones are challenging and intense. I got Ninja Gaiden Vibes from boss battles like the one with "Cornell".

Chapter 4 to end of the Castle levels evoke the atmosphere of Castlevania and I feel are a love letter to the series.
Music: Although Lord of Shadows music has been panned by many fans as not evoking a castlevania sensibility. I personally feel that Besieged Village, The Warg, Waterfalls of Agartha, Ice Titan, Belmont Theme and Final Battle for me evoke the feeling of Castlevan game even though they are so radically different in a hollywood orchestra style to the previous games music.

[Dremn]

It brought back the general image I think of when anyone refers to the Belmonts; manly men slaying the undead with an enchanted undead killing whip.

It attempted to create a fresh start for the series canon, and it provided one of the most interesting takes on Dracula yet.

Monster designs varied, but I really did like what they had to offer in Mirror of Fate. LoS was too Tolkein inspired.

The art direction was above average, probably some of the prettiest visuals I've ever seen in a video game. There are too many gorgeous/breath taking moments in LoS1, I wonder how they'll top that in LoS2.

When the LoS series is finished I hope some of the aesthetics are retained, aside from the questionable gameplay decisions.

[Intersection]

What did Lords of Shadow do right? Among other things:
- Some of the most beautiful environments I've seen in recent gaming history.
- An engaging, well-crafted story that offers ample character depth and excellent voicing.
- An intuitive, varied, and rewarding combat system -- and with a whip. A well-designed dichotomy between direct offensives and efficient crowd control. An exhilaration while fighting that never wears off.
- Some solid and well-handled choices in enemy design and placement; a continuously challenging difficulty that never crosses the line. Some impressive boss battles that always allow for thought and strategy.
- A simple, effortless platforming system that can be quite enjoyable, while it lasts.
The list goes on...

[Maedhros]

That's a really difficult question for me.

The things I love on LoS are:
- The enviroments. Specially the Castle areas. They are fucking amazing.
- Branching paths on the stages. This could be explored a lot more, giving the game more replayability.
- Some puzzles are very well integrated on the game

I can think of tons of things that I don't like. lol

[DoctaMario]

Great thread idea! 

One of the biggest things that LoS did right for me, was engage me in a way no CV game has since Dracula X Chronicles. I've put more hours into LoS than I have in a non-fighting game in a long time. I've beaten the main game on all the hardest difficulties, finished the Trials, gotten all the items, and have only the DLC stuff to finish. The game is FUN!

-The Combat system is excellent. Most moves easily chain into others making it easy and fun to come up with your own combos. There's a couple really fantastic LoS combo vids on YouTube that really show off the engine's potential.

-The platforming and "shimmying" were great, albeit not as challenging as I would have expected. It reminded me of parts of CV64 where you're climbing on the outsides of structures to get around and making jumps that make your palms sweat just anticipating it.

-The atmosphere of the game post-Agharta is stellar. The dark, moody, and in some cases plain depressing locales especially Veros Woods, the Castle Hall, the Clock Tower, etc totally make me think of Castlevania 4's dilapidated levels. The levels, for the most part are well designed and make sense for what they're supposed to be. And there are some cool ideas for levels too like the Music Box and the Titan Graveyard (I know a lot of people didn't like it, but I thought it was cool strolling through a wasteland of dead titans.) But even the levels that weren't as dark like the Dead Bog were still beautiful to look at (especially on the PC version) and interesting to traverse.

-Gabriel is a bit how I imagine Simon might be if he had dialogue. In a way, Gabriel is the essence of a Classicvania Belmont, maybe a little more brutish, but still real no nonsense in a "my-neck-is-on-the-line" kind of way.

-There were some really cool enemies. The game's take on the vampires was interesting especially, and I liked the werewolves. I hated the titan fights, but the Dracolitch was really cool fight and extremely well done. In fact, a lot of the boss fights in the game were great. I wish they'd seen fit to have a Boss Rush mode in this one.

-Above all, LoS built on the shoulders of previous CV games (largely the 3d ones) in a cool way while bringing something new to the table.

[Flame]

I really enjoyed going through and trying to find the references to previous games. the references I felt were very clever and well handled. particularly rather big ones like the Bernhards and Forgotten One, or there being a stairway to the castle keep, or Carmilla being the master of the castle. Frankenstein's lab really felt great, and I didn't mind the mechanical Monstrosity. Was an interesting new take on the classic monster. The atmosphere very gradually shifts to a more classic CV dark atmosphere once you reach Crow's pass, culminating in the absolutely gorgeous and stunning view of the castle right before the sewer entrance.

Also the stuff other said already.

[X]

The environments, especially the castle segments were very well done. But this is all I can really positively say about this game without going into the negatives.

[Lelygax]

Good graphics with beautiful scenarios, also ends with a cliffhanger.

[Munchy]

-Most of the vistas, obviously. Some were a little too... I dunno... high fantasy or sun-shiny for me (parts of Agharta), and there were some that I found lacking in style (the stone tower, the Land of the Dead). But there were tons of cool looking areas too, such as a lot of the Castle, Veros Woods, and the forest/ranch right after the castle. The ranch and forest areas especially make me hope LoS2 won't stick strictly to the castle and city locales.
-The plot wasn't great, but had a relatively good sense of foreshadowing, and I also like the idea of Dracula and Death having a more complicated relationship.
-I liked the humorous parts. Especially the first skeleton sneaking up, and the first small troll trying to make itself intimidating.
-Some complained how tiny the villagers look compared to Gabe in the first level, but I kind of consider it a nod to how fucking stupid tall Dracula is in pretty much all of the old games.
-I liked other small and subtle homages to the series as a whole. Such as some of the locales, how Gabe has some moves from Richter (like the buzzsaw and rising attacks), and how when you get to that infamous staircase, you just know. Hell, MoF having a "fire bomb" weapon made me chuckle.
-The Castle changing tenants is a nifty idea only tangentially explored in the old games. It was cool to see a lady at its head, for instance.
-As much as I've bitched about the music, there is some of it that I like. Wish I could remember the names of them, but the tune when you fight that big troll in the graveyard, and one that plays as you fight living armors outside the castle.

[Ahasverus]

Artistic Direction: The best in the bussiness!
Also the sense of a journey, it was so lost, I loved the variety in locales, I loved even more the non-combat levels, so good.
Combat: Skeletons are nnoying but it's a satisfying system.
Ending: We know if it was not by the ending we weren't so hyped about 2.

[shelverton.]

Ok, let's see...

- Beautiful visuals.
- Great level design
- Great variety in locales.
- I've really grown to like Gabriel. He's a well-written, well-designed hero/anti-hero.
- The kitchen/butcher boss was awesome.
- Story-line was good, especially the twist.
- Music box level.
- The entire castle section was really good.

[Zetheraxza]

What I enjoyed.

- A realistic approach to the series by having realistic designs and Vast environments that ranged for colourful to dark.
- Having depth in its story by creating their own lore within the Castlevania Lore and additionally scrolls serving as the back-story.
- Although the music is radically different from the original series, the music isn't too cliche or generic especially for those whose ears yearn for Classical genre.
- Lots of fan service from the original series. I loved the rendition of "Simon's Quest" armor that Gabriel wore. Whoever designed the apparel were pretty gifted.
- Making the Iconic Weapon of the series is not just a whip. It is a mechanical multipurpose tool as well. And besides what is "Vampire Killer" without it's Stake? That weapon is worthy of being called Vampire Killer. Gandalfi would be so proud. Hopefully we see more of it passed on to whatever Castlevania series will go after Lords of Shadow 2.
- WHAT A TWIST ending. Well thought out and very jaw-dropping, literally.
- Jean Luc Picard's Great x 42 Grand Father.
- Hideo Muthafuckin' Kojima.

I have positive reception for LoS in most parts. But it is time for the series to make it's conclusion and move on. Dave Cox is doing the right thing to do so.

[Lelygax]

Laura and Gabriel arrive in the deepest cave of the castle and... they find IGA.

I was reading this from Flame's signature since I joined the dungeon with this question popping in my head all the time, this really happens? lol

[Flame]

If you can consider IGA the Forgotten One.

Which actually sounds all kinds of hilarious now that i think about it.