Handheld Castlevania has returned, but is it any good?
I'm heading to sleep, so I probably won't be able to update again until the morning.
Reviews:
IGN: 4.7
Edge: 7
Eurogamer: 7
CVG 8.4
Godisageek: 8
GIGA: 8
Nintendo Life: 8
ONM: 92
GamesRadar: 3/5
GamesBeat: 25
EGM: 6.5
VideoGamer: 9
Game Informer: 8.5
Metacritic: Link
Excerpts:
I'm heading to sleep, so I probably won't be able to update again until the morning.
Reviews:
IGN: 4.7
Edge: 7
Eurogamer: 7
CVG 8.4
Godisageek: 8
GIGA: 8
Nintendo Life: 8
ONM: 92
GamesRadar: 3/5
GamesBeat: 25
EGM: 6.5
VideoGamer: 9
Game Informer: 8.5
Metacritic: Link
Excerpts:
IGN said:The greatest shame with Mirror of Fate is that its heart is in the right place. As far as I can tell, MercurySteam did its absolute best to chart its own course with handheld Castlevania, one that borrows from the greatness that came before it, but without copying it outright. But in going off the beaten path, the studio ended up diluting what has made Castlevania so great in the last 15 years. Its emphasis on fragmented exploration and shallow leveling is the exact opposite of what Castlevania fans like myself love, want and have come to expect.
Stranger yet is the fact that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow got what Castlevania was all about a lot more than many people gave it credit for. But that understanding hasn’t at all segued to the Nintendo 3DS version. I beat Mirror of Fate in just under nine hours with an 88% completion rating, and it wouldn’t take me more than an hour more to get it up to 100%. I simply don’t want to play anymore, which should tell you all you need to know. Because even the worst of the GBA/DS Castlevania games are more than worth seeing to statistical completion, but Mirror of Fate isn’t worth playing at all.
Eurogamer said:The specific toys that Mirror of Fate's characters wield give each act its own peculiar tilt, even if the basics of the combat never really change. Bosses, meanwhile, slowly grow reliant on camera stunts (some of which, when coupled with the 3D effect, are really lovely) and QTEs (which generally aren't lovely at all). It's a reminder that, as fighting systems go, Castlevania's isn't particularly deep, but it is punchy and bluntly thrilling. Even when creativity fails, you've still got a beautiful game to look at, stereoscopic 3D working with the golden glow of torches to turn the gothic real estate into little pools of light, each one depicting an artful tumble of stones, a lofty crenellation or the antic zap and fizz of an ancient laboratory bubbling away in dormancy.
Stones, crenellations, laboratories! Castlevania, for all its moody horrors, has always been a comforting sort of experience, and while Mirror of Fate might willingly fumble the classic structure somewhat, it's still got a touch of that familiar vampire-hunting charm to it - a charm that comes to the rescue whenever the developer's invention or polish fall short. This 3DS outing can't match the smart assurance of the first Lords of Shadow, then, but it remains a decent action game with some lovely art to keep it chugging along. It's something of a makeweight, as handheld games far too frequently are - but there's just enough here to satisfy until the true follow-up to Lords of Shadows is ready.
CVG said:While it's not without its flaws, Mirror of Fate pushes the 3DS to its limit and packs an impressive amount of variety into its eight hours of gameplay (or longer, if you go back to attempt 100% completion to earn the right to view the final cutscene). Most importantly, it captures the sense of wonderment and discovery that all good Castlevania games should have, as the eerie secrets of Drac's abode unfold in front of you like a granite origami puzzle.
The 3DS scene has been as quiet as a graveyard over the last twelve months; a title of the scale and production values of Mirror of Fate can only give it a well-needed shot in the arm. Or should we say 'in the neck'? Superb stuff.