In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, we find Gabriel Belmont who has become Dracula at the end of the events of the first opus, physically very diminished due to the wanderings that have happened to him, although Robert Carlyle's voice is still vigorous in VO. Puny and clumsy, the prince of darkness is rescued by the ignoble Zobek who offers him a deal: to help him stop Satan who is preparing his return to earth, in exchange for eternal rest. Because the necromancer, in addition to having survived, stole his weapon, the mythical crucifix-shaped stake/whip: the Vampire Killer who alone can kill Dracula forever. We then learn that the centuries have passed, which means that we will have to stuff ourselves with some of the quests in the modern world, as evidenced by the luxurious loft that Zobek shares with his new bodyguard, an unknown soldier stuck in a full armour. With his quickdraw of raisins forgotten on a windowsill, Gabriel will first have to recover his health and an arsenal of powers, just to put Beelzebub in his place.
Vampire State Building
A simple sports session in absolute terms but which will keep you busy for almost the entire game before the final duel, since you will have to walk between the modern world and Dracula's castle, the latter being accessible by special portals which allow you to complete the quests that will restore him to his former power. Numerous quests which, thanks to passages in the contemporary world on the surface and the Belmont castle in the bowels of hell, allow us to find known characters without necessarily bothering with temporal coherence. We will thus come across Tristan, Gabriel's son several times before he became the vampire Alucard, but also the wife of our hero, Marie, who will try to put her husband's prince of darkness back on the right track. In reality, the adventure takes place mainly between the walls of Belmont Castle where the holders of your powers are hidden, representing the majority of the quests. The exterior of the castle is used to go and confront the Acolytes who are the disciples of Satan who are preparing for his return.
On the gameplay side, we find the same combat system as in the previous opus with some slight modifications. Your black and white magic gauges are replaced by the gauges of your two demonic weapons. White magic is replaced by the Void Sword which allows you to regenerate your life bar. Moreover, when you use it, this blade consumes specific magic orbs and can also be used to freeze enemies from a distance. Enough to make authentic hemoglobin sorbets. Black magic is replaced by a second weapon, the Chaos Claws, flaming claws that allow terribly powerful attacks, ideal for breaking shields and other thick doors. Know other than from a distance, the weapon sends napalm bombs on enemies but also on switches to open various passages. Apart from these two magic weapons, you also have Gabriel's classic powers, including the famous Blood Whip, which will be the best way to ward off the angels or demons who come to annoy you on your walk. Obviously, all this arsenal can be improved via a skill purchase menu which gives access to new moves, more and more powerful.
Blood diamond
Vampire requires, we are also entitled to finishes where Dracula will suck the blood of his enemies in order to recover a little – or a lot – of life depending on the type of demon defeated. The movements are very dynamic thanks to a system of dash and jumps which allow you to place your character right in the right place before striking. For a change, platform phases where you are asked to climb different places in the castle are present. We also remember a very nice sequence where we jump from chain to chain suspended from an infernal machinery above a lava lake. New in this episode, Gabriel will have to play it Sam Fisher during certain passages on the surface where infiltration will be required. For this, several mechanisms have been added. Gabriel now has a cloud of bats that can be hurled at enemies to create a diversion. If trickery isn't enough, outright infiltration is the next option on the list since some places on the map allow you to change into a rat, and thus sneak through the smallest mouse hole in order to reach well-hidden places. And if these subterfuges at the Splinter Cell do not seem to suit the standing of the prince of darkness, there remains the possibility of possessing enemies, ideal for opening doors with biometric security. Be careful though, possessing an enemy kills it fairly quickly, and you will have to be quick to use your host before it dies. By coupling these three mechanisms, we manage to get out of a lot of situations that seem blocked at first sight. At the level of the enemies, the game stands out with a wide variety of bosses and super demons that must be zigouled in arenas with hostile decoration. If there is nothing really revolutionary in there, we still appreciate not having to constantly exterminate identical demons. Of course, dozens of items will be present at the merchant to temporarily boost your abilities, including the seal of the Belmont which allows Gabriel to transform into a dragon in order to instantly annihilate all the enemies present in an area.
New in this episode, Gabriel will have to play it Sam Fisher during certain passages on the surface where infiltration will be required. For this, several mechanisms have been added. Gabriel now has a cloud of bats that can be hurled at enemies to create a diversion."
Unfortunately, it's not all just liters of blood freshly taken from the jugular, and this Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 still has a lot of flaws. First of all, the graphics which are far from being folichons, even on the PC version with all the options at the maximum. Proof that recycling a dated graphics engine is not necessarily a good idea. But the real black point of the title lies in its scenario that we would have liked to live up to the first episode. We wonder throughout the adventure how the events that happen to us are possible. And unfortunately, the answer only comes in the last minutes of the game, where we discover a far-fetched twist that comes to explain the why and how. Too bad, because in addition to the final disappointment, it's really hard to take in the story, filled with flashbacks and reappearances of characters supposed to be dead for ages. The sequence of situations is difficult to grasp and the mysterious characters who accompany us do not keep their secrets for long as the scripts are telephoned. Who can believe for a moment that the infamous Zobek has become an ally? In short, a script find that does not really reward the player for his hours spent torturing his controller in search of answers. We also regret that the gameplay does not rely more on the abilities that we recover during the adventure. The Void Sword's ability to freeze is used for a while after picking it up, then nothing at all. Ditto for the bombs of the Chaos Claws or for the Mist ability which turns Count Belmont into a cloud of blood, allowing you to sneak through grates or be carried by a current of air. Why not continue to use these abilities together throughout the adventure? Mystery. Especially since this process greatly facilitates the progression of the game, when you are stuck looking for the last ability acquired and where to use it, the solution should arrive quickly.
