Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition Reviews

I really really wanted to like this. Castlevania with God of War vibes? Sounds great, but the lack of camera control, dodgy jump mechanics, and bullet sponge enemies just made this a slog.

Combat fun when skills are unlocked, too long. dont go for the achievements

Played it many years ago on release and the the game is still great. There are some bad moments, but they are far and few. Graphics are still beautiful in most cases. The main game still holds to this day, however the 2 chapter DLC is not so consistent. Puzzles are good, but there is a lack of good battles, only annoying ghouls against Laura and horrible skeleton enemies. And the Forgotten One is an absolute BS and trash. Nevertheless, still a great game experience with a great story.

Played it briefly on ps3 when it came out, to this date (2025) its still a gem of a game, has nice gameplay and a very compelling story. The voice acting is superb and the different challenges you unlock make the game very enjoyable while increasing the difficulty in a subtle manner. Despite being basically a reboot and having so much of the lore as a direct reference to other games it manages to bring freshness and novelty to a very loved series. If you haven't played it then youre missing a lot, 100% recommended!!!

a re-imagining of the classic Castlevania series as a 3rd person adventure. this game features environmental puzzles that arent terribly hard, harrowing terrain traversal and-- where the game truly shines-- the swift and agile combat! harness light and shadow magic as well as a number of ancient relics and experience this treasure of a game! what an absolute masterpiece!

This game is more like God of War than Castlevania. It isn't even a Metroidvania game. But its fine. I bought it on sale and I'd recommend other do the same.

As a longtime Castlevania fan, especially of the Igavania games, it pains me to leave a negative review on anything with the Castlevania name. I'm doing a full series marathon since the Dominus Collection came out, revisiting classics and trying out the ones I never played before like the PS2 games, which I ended up really enjoying. I went into Lords of Shadow with an open mind, determined to form my own opinion… but for the life of me, I just can't finish this game. Objectively, it's a well made game, but it just doesn't feel like Castlevania at all. Everything was changed for the sake of being more cinematic and mainstream. The combat is decent, especially once you unlock more moves, but the overall gameplay loop feels like a chore. There are way too many tedious and uninteresting puzzles that serve more as padding than engaging challenges. Even the art direction leans into generic dark fantasy rather than the signature gothic horror aesthetic that made the series stand out. Maybe I'll give it another shot in the future, but right now, it's just not clicking with me. If you're looking for a Castlevania experience, this ain't it.

The best thing I can say is this game is mediocre. From enemies, linear level design, combat, and the story leaves much to be desired. Bosses feel like cheap knockoffs of Shadow of Colossus giants. I'd like to have been able to say I beat this but I'm just not having fun.

I am not saying the game is bad; I am simply sharing my experience. First: Technical Issues My computer is fine—I can run any modern game. However, this game caused my computer to crash repeatedly until I switched to Windowed mode. It was weird. I think the issue might have been my screen resolution (2560x1440). Second: The Game Experience The game's design and art are truly impressive, showing clear love and attention to detail. For example, every combo has a beautifully animated sketch-like effect. There’s no real need to put that much effort into something as simple as a game menu, yet there it is. However, gameplay-wise, it wasn’t for me. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, and perhaps I’ll give it another try someday, but my first impression was not great, and I didn't feel like continuing. The tutorial level is a battle against a wolf. The fight itself is well-designed, and if you play on hard mode, it is challenging. However, the controls are not very refined. There’s no lock-on mode, so landing hits on targets—especially in a 3D environment—can be frustrating. Throwing daggers, for instance, is a pain: you either miss half the time, or the game prioritizes faraway targets instead of the enemy you actually need to hit. Combos can also be overwhelming. Within the first hour of gameplay, you unlock 10+ different combos and button combinations that aren’t exactly intuitive. For example, there’s a crucial move that launches grounded enemies into the air, allowing you to follow up with an aerial combo. But to execute it, you need to press X + A (X + Triangle on PlayStation), which makes my hand feel like this 🫸🫷—not exactly comfortable or intuitive. Back to the game. After the wolf fight, the next level has you riding a horse. Again, the controls feel awkward. You can lean left or right to avoid damage, but with wolves attacking from both sides, it's unclear how to maneuver effectively. Then comes a quick-time event, followed by more wolves to fight. In the next level, you arrive at a swamp. First, you learn that you can throw back grenades when they’re launched at you, but the moment is presented in an out-of-place slapstick sequence that completely breaks the serious tone established so far—it felt weird. Then, you continue into the swamp, and this is where the game lost me. It’s Castlevania, so you expect an exciting adventure—either the freedom to explore the level if you're from the Symphony of the Night era, or a gothic, creepy, action-packed beat ‘em up if you're from the older generations. But you get none of that. The swamp level is a long series of narrow corridors with no exploration, no enemies, and no camera control. It feels rigid and clunky. You just move forward, submerged waist-deep in swamp water that slows you down and constantly triggers quick-time events. You can't jump or avoid these water sections. Occasionally, you encounter a few goblins, but that’s about it. At that point, I couldn't keep playing—it just wasn't for me. Who thought this was a good first level for a Castlevania reboot? Conclusion If you really, really have nothing else to play and are curious about this game, wait until it goes on sale. Even then, I’d still recommend using that money to support an indie developer instead. This was just my experience. I’m sure there are people out there who will genuinely enjoy this game, and maybe it gets better after the swamp. But for me, it completely lost my interest, so I decided to move on to something else.

I played this game in my childhood and at that time i only had pocket money and played this game pirated. Now I have a lot of money and I play legit games only, no more piracy. So decided to buy this fabulous game in order to support the developers and replay some childhood games which are truly gems. Castlevania is a long running series and lords of shadow is truly awesome game.