Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 demo impressions thread

Some screens, max settings (even motion blur) 3200x1800 downsampled.

12463431953_c50ecc6d5c_o.png


12463429273_6bc29825c6_o.png


12463259075_4899c1fa81_o.png


12463423463_108a8c82eb_o.png
I am buying it for the PS3, but seriously we need a PS4 version.

The PC version looks to be so great.
 
Seems to me that the option to turn them off is an admission that their implementation is shit anyway, so why have them at all? The way they work here is 100% non-challenging and just a waste of the player's time, and it interrupts the flow of the action to boot.

Some people enjoy them, I guess? I don't understand it either :S
 

TentPole

Member
Will try this later. No orbs, light/shadow magic? good stuff, I hated that system.

It is still in. That is the system that fuels the sword and claws, which replace the magic from the first game. It is just disabled for the demo/tutorial.
 
So.. why do u need a PS4? -_-
Truth be told, my PC can't run this awesomeness, nor do I know my way around PC to upgrade it, actually I am not that much of a PC gamer -I am missing alot, I know- my PC is mostly for watching stuff and doing work, so a PS4 version would be as close to PC as I could get.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Wow the developers really wanted to make sure everyone could play this and get it in the laziest way possible. Is there really a need for 3 layers of path hinting (the environment, the bats and even a straight up toggleable highlight)? Need to open a door? Have the camera hang on the flashing object for a while and have text tell you to mash the B button when near it. Then do the same thing again for the next time it pops up, just in case some one somehow fluked their way through the first one. It's almost insulting.

For a game that has a trailer highlighting their voice acting talent and supposed narrative focus, the really didn't bother to integrate the (cinematic) gameplay elements in a way that didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Gotta agree that the little cinematic interruptions were really poorly paced out. The camera lingered on whatever it was trying to hint at or explain for twice as long as should be necessary.

I think the art and graphics go a long way to obscuring the fact that Mercury Steam are b-level designers. They just make so many mistakes (mainly speaking from my experience with LOS1) that no one should make 9 or so years since the advent of character-action games.

Maybe they're stubborn and want to do things their own way, maybe they're extremely concerned about being called on their obvious sources of inspiration, but when they're so far behind the action game curve, they need to take a much closer look at the games they are competing with and figure out how to add that extra level of polish to their own game.

Maybe their producer doesn't even know these things are problems...
 
That being said, really enjoying LoS1, even chapter 2, lol. Why did people dislike this chapter again? I am having a blast by simply going through the area. The art direction is downright beautiful.

Wait until you get to Agharta. It's a pretty level but kinda boring, so I can see where the criticisms come in. But yeah, I'm in the same boat as you--really enjoying the first one so far. Like I can't wait to get home and play it.
 

yatesl

Member
Jumped in on hard mode (completed the first on hard), but it's been so long since completed the original on release, it turns out I'm rubbish at blocking.

That being said, decent demo. Loved the first, been looking forward to this. Will definitely turn off QTEs.
 

Uraizen

Banned
Well... it was pretty. Is there any real reason to utilize his entire moveset sans switching weapons to break shields and using the sword to regain life? I found myself press X, block cancel, X, block cancel, X, block cancel, etc. For the majority of the fights. It's safer than doing strings, seems to kill the enemy quicker, and I usually get an accidental parry whenever the enemy magically gains armor.
 
Oh yes, definitely getting this on PC. The demo was quite decent, other than the tearing with Vsync on and not being able to play the game maxed out and maintaining 60 fps... though I was playing it a 2560x1440 ;)

Put some vids up on Youtube for those on the fence about the PC version.

*Edit - Apparently Youtube is being slow on processing the vids and only part one is in actual HD*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfSbaV0IK8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZhSKZ7YvMU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcH9rZBBuBE
 

JoeFenix

Member
Not really feeling this demo, it's not horrible or anything but the platforming is boring and the combat seems like it's going to rely on enemies only being weak to a specific weapon which is lame.

Not a big fan of all the SOTN quotes either, sounded really forced and out of place. On a more positive note the art design is awesome, the throne room at the beginning is absolutely stunning.
 

glaurung

Member
Mashed my way through the PC demo. I like the art direction, the voice acting, but the combat with multiple opponents was a little messy. Hard to see who is doing what, some attacks you can block, others you cannot. Felt misleading.

Also, the QTE timings on the big wrecking bot were... odd? I had to pace myself and press the button only after the normal rate of the circles overlapping had elapsed. Bah.

If there are multiple instances of this crap in the full game, I will be disabling all QTEs.
 

Sanctuary

Member
Is GoW that series which cloned pretty much everything it has not only from pre-existing Castlevania games but also games like 'Rygar: The Legendary Adventure'?

Don't forget the most obvious series: Devil May Cry. But of course GoW invented that gameplay. Still, chains = totally unique, so any game using a chain like weapon is a GoW "clone".

Mashed my way through the PC demo. I like the art direction, the voice acting, but the combat with multiple opponents was a little messy. Hard to see who is doing what, some attacks you can block, others you cannot. Felt misleading.

The basic enemies at least, have a giant flashing tell when they are about to do an unblockable.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
ROFL at those lines.
"What is a man" comes out completely randomly. Man these guys try too hard.

Free camera and QTEs that can be turned off is nice, though. Overall it seems pretty similar to the first one. I hope the final game isn't so horribly hand-holdy, with all those cut scenes showing the rivets, ugh... just stop that shit and let me play, grrr.

Not sure the demo would be enough of an indication, but I hope to god they cut down on the puzzles and platforming. I don't dislike either, but I hated the way they were implemented in the first game. Plus, I finally played the DLC for the first time, and Reverie was nothing but the worst aspects of the first game.
What? Reverie had the best puzzles of the entire game... if more puzzles are like that, the game will be much stronger for it. Most of the puzzles in the main game were completely insipid.
 

Mr. RHC

Member
Played through the demo, and I can gladly confirm that LoS2 picks exactly up where LoS1 ended gameplay wise:

You will feel immediately at home with the combat system, many moves you learned in LoS1 will come in handy in LoS2, it will surely add some extra layers with the Void Sword and the Block breakers, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to spice up your moves! Soundtrack is promising and I'm also happy with the camera.

At first I wondered why they would highlight every edge you can climb, but in a dark environment this might be rather cool and if you jump quickly you will hardly notice it, it makes for a fluid transition.
The lovely artwork in the lore is back as well, so I don't think much can go wrong from here. Since there'll probably be no chapters anymore, I will have to live without Patrick Steward's epic intros, but it seems there'll be some Dracula narration!

From here on out, it will be interesting to see where they go with atmosphere and areas and if the bosses deliver like they did in LoS. Demo boss surely is one stylish fella!

I think it will be a good game, a game as Mercury Steam intended. So just expect an epic conclusion and possible GoTY contender for this trilogy, nothing less nothing more!
 

rjc571

Banned
No, they're not.

Weird that the game would perform so much worse during cutscenes than gameplay, then, considering that the cutscene graphics aren't noticeably better than the in-game graphics. I thought cutting the the framerate in half was supposed to allow for massive graphical improvements? At least that's what the 30 fps apologists keep telling me...
 

Salih

Member
As a lifelong fan and enthusiast of stylish action games, i am not shocked to find out how shitty the gameplay was. The first game was a decent but lazy copypasta of different games in the same genre but this one is just uninspiring and downright boring. You would think the devs would sit down after the first game and think about how to advance the battle system, how to improve it not by just making it playerfriendly but actually adding depth to it. I can't say i am disappointed, because my expectation were already incredibly low. But what we got here is so simple, one dimensional, flashy but no substance - literally a case of been there, done that. It brings nothing new to the table.

It's a fine game for people who are new to the genre, but for those, who grew up with this genre it's a dull and bland piece of shit.
 

jett

D-Member
The return of the Parkinson's camera. I don't understand why these people implement this, it annoys the heck out of me personally.

I think it's honestly a poor demo to release. It's a giant tutorial, and when you replay it, it replays its tutorial indications. It's a real hindrance if you want to exploit the combat mechanics of the game.

That aside, it's okay. It's really similar to the first one. There was something off to me about the controls, as if there was a lag to them, they don't seem all that responsive. It feels slow. Graphically it's all right, lighting is improved from LOS1 I think. I hate the camera. Overall I feel kinda meh on it. Again, not a good demo. A demo needs to be more than a tutorial. The MGR and DmC demos were perfect compared to this.
 

GavinUK86

Member
Uh, are the cutscenes limited to 30 fps on PC for some reason? In game runs at 60 fps for me but the cutscenes never go above 30. As a result, I'm forced to immediately skip every cutscene so that I'm not subjected to the horror that is 30 fps. Can't be due to VSYNC either cuz I'm forcing triple buffering with D3DOverrider

Weird that the game would perform so much worse during cutscenes than gameplay, then, considering that the cutscene graphics aren't noticeably better than the in-game graphics. I thought cutting the the framerate in half was supposed to allow for massive graphical improvements? At least that's what the 30 fps apologists keep telling me...

I'm not sure if you're aware but putting DoF on Medium instead of High stops the framerate from dropping during those cutscenes.

A comparison of DoF settings would be nice.
I did flick through the settings to take a look and I really couldn't tell a difference between the choices.
 

Sanctuary

Member
What? Reverie had the best puzzles of the entire game... if more puzzles are like that, the game will be much stronger for it. Most of the puzzles in the main game were completely insipid.

I don't dislike puzzles or platforming in general, but I don't play action/adventure games to do a bunch of bullshit puzzles that aren't actually challenging and that are there for padding. The puzzles might have been "better" in Reverie, but that was almost the entire fucking game, with maybe 10% of it being action. You also must have somehow read "Reverie had the worst puzzles". I said it focused on the worst aspects of the first game, which was the platforming and puzzles.

No thanks.
 

Firebrand

Member
Maybe you need to adjust the Gamma. Seems like you have a case of crushed blacks.
Yeah. I did the in-game gamma adjustment and I actually left it a bit above the recommended "two objects visible". Could be this crappy BenQ monitor.
 
well, couldn't resist and pre-ordered it. Loved the way they changed the Castlevania lore(gabriel being dracula, etc) in the first one, so i'm pretty hyped for this game.
 

Ragus

Banned
How do you guys go beyond 1080p? The max setting in the menus is 1920x1080 for me, and I use downsample quite regularly.
 
Top Bottom