RipTen DLC Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Reverie (PS3)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was the first 3D reboot of the long standing franchise to sell just well enough to be considered a success. I certainly liked it even and gave it a 9 out of 10, so it would be right to say that I looked forward to the Reverie DLC. After all, Lords of Shadow had one of the most surprising endings of any game in recent history. One that would require more of an explanation than the initial game had given. Mercury Steam and Konami promised that the Reverie and later Resurrection DLC would help explain and flesh out the events leading up to this epic ending and in this respect they do not disappoint. But where it will disappoint is in it’s length (2-3 hours) and platform heavy gameplay.
The events in Reverie take place just after Gabriel’s final battle in LoS. Upon achieving a bitter-sweet victory, Belmont hears a telepathic cry for help from Laura. Owing her a debt for sparing his life – he answers, returning to the cursed Bernard castle to seek out the young vampire. And this is where Reverie begins.
Reverie is presented differently than LoS – gone is the talented narration from Sir Patrick Stewart which is replaced by the more subdued Robert Carlyle, and gone are the beautiful cut-scenes replaced by a Graphic Novel type art ala Metal Gear PSP. Other than these differences, graphics are equally as detailed and stunning as LoS, complimented with an equally impressive musical score.
Gameplay in Reverie is much less centered on combat and more focused on platforming… and that’s a major stumble. Platforming was not the strong point of LoS and certain areas in Reverie can be down right god damn mother f**king frustrating. And I’m not exaggerating either.
There’s a subterranean section where Garbriel is required to use his magic boots to run over water from one platform to another while avoiding young Leviathan. Merely touching a Leviathan will knock you in the water and trigger an annoying death animation which you will undoubtedly see over and over again.
Furthermore, in the very same level you’ll need to climb quickly to avoid crumbling scaffolding and you’ll come to a section where Belmont has to turn around and flip to catch a hold opposite of where he’s facing. Instinctively, I held the analog stick back and pressed the jump button to perform the maneuver only to die again and again and again! As it turns out, you merely have to press jump and he’ll do it automatically – please remember this or use our guide, as it will prevent much frustration.
When you do engage in combat, it’s exactly the same as LoS, except for a few small instances where you have to play as Laura. Laura has distinct abilities so it’s kind of refreshing, except her character’s attack set is quite limited and includes a lightning Sith Lord type strike, a mist form teleportation dodge, and a vampire bite life drain.
Unfortunately this DLC does not provide any boss battles. Yep, you heard right. Boss fights were easily one the the strong points of LoS, but Reverie is merely a set up for the final Resurrection DLC.
Besides the platforming and combat, Reverie is also very puzzle heavy. However, the puzzles are enjoyable. Sure, they will take time, but they are not particularly difficult.
I can’t help but feel disappointed by Reverie, not because it’s necessarily bad, but because of what it could have been.
Lords of Shadow was one one of the games I enjoyed most from 2010 and it was because the game had the total package – great graphics, action, combat, puzzles, story and 20+ hours of solid gameplay. However, Reverie can be seen as Lord of Shadow’s ghost – it has many of the same elements that made the disc game great, but also lacks much of what made it solid. It’s short, lacks meaningful combat and really skimps on the cutscenes which made the full game so epic. Sure, it continues the story, but it’s hard to justify the $9.99 pricetag for DLC that merely sets up for Resurrection.
Here’s The Rundown
+ A Continuation of Lords of Shadow
+ Interesting Puzzles
+ Good Story that makes you look forward to Ressurection DLC
- No Boss Battles
- Short
- Platform Heavy
Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Reverie was developed by Mercury steam and published by Konami. It was purchased and reviewed via PSN. It costs $9.99 for PSN, 800 MSP for XBLA and is available now.
