Disclaimer: I haven't played the game, but I want to.
People don't see the larger picture with the IGN review. I'd like to take a moment to defend Colin here. First off, Colin did not review the original Lords of Shadow for IGN (which scored a 7). He has stated numerous times on podcasts that Lords of Shadow is one of his top games of this generation. He thinks it did a phenomenal job at harkening back to the old NES & SNES Castlevanias. It brought the tight gameplay and platforming of the old, along with beautiful and interesting environments. The story was also interesting, with one hell of an ending.
Colin is also an expert when it comes to Castlevania. Just take a look at all the FAQs he wrote in his teenage years:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/users/CMoqwerty/contributions/faqs
So if you're saying he doesn't understand what Castlevania was before SOTN, you're flat out wrong. His comparisons to the IGA titles are merely to show the high expectations of quality in gameplay and environments that come with the Castlevania name.
Is he being too hard on it? Don't know because I haven't played it. But I certainly respect this guy's opinion when it comes to Castlevania. I'm sure he went into it with excitement and expected to like it given his affection for LOS.