Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Reception

Reception

During its development, Lords of Shadow was placed on several lists for most anticipated video games. GameTrailers ranked it at number 7 for "Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2010." Explicit Gamer wrote "With so many great games in store for us in 2010, you should be sure not to overlook Castlevania: Lords of Shadow when it hits the shelves." Games Radar placed Lords of Shadow at number 26 for 100 Most Anticipated Games of 2010, stating that "This could be a megaton release." 1UP.com's top 50 most anticipated games of E3 2010 ranked Lords of Shadow at number 17. Despite the heavy anticipation, Cox noted there was still a small number of fans who did not like the game's transition to the 3D format. He stated, "Fair enough, some people aren't going to like what we're doing and we accept that but generally what we're trying to do is bring the fans with us ... there's no point in going back and making the same game again – the point is to make a clean break and move forward with the series."

Reaction to Lords of Shadow was mostly positive. 1UP's review praised how the game took elements from other series and executed them well. GamesRadar drew favorable comparisons to other action games it has given a perfect score, including God of War III, Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno, while praising it for being "huge in scope, length, and depth, and it's polished with obvious love and passion". Official Xbox Magazine lauded the size of the game's content, writing "... is big. Actually, big's too little a word. It's monolithic... From the Resi 4 mood of the scarecrow puzzle to the unexpected oddity of the music box level, this is a game that seemingly hasn't heard of DLC – and decides to offer you immense value for money instead." The publication concluded it was otherwise a success. Other reviews noted that it was derivative of other games and that it was unlike the classic Castlevania series. GameSpot's review calls the game "a good start for a series in need of some new blood – so to speak – it's just unfortunate so much of it comes from other games and not an original source." IGN found the combat repetitive but felt the puzzles and platforming provided good pacing.

Xbox World 360 awarded the game the "Star Player Accolade" in 2010. GamesMaster also gave it the "Gold Award."

The game was a commercial success. By November 2010 Konami had shipped one million copies in North America and Europe. Despite not achieving a high rank on the sales chart, Konami was satisfied with the game's sales considering the budget it had and the staff's intentions. The game also became the best-selling Castlevania game, which resulted in Konami's request to produce more titles.