--Trevor Belmont, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD
Mirror of Fate combines the side-scrolling style of traditional Castlevania games with the aesthetic and lore of the Lords of Shadow reboot. As a self-contained story told out of sequence that spans three generations of Belmonts, it is more consistently somber and more narratively creative than its follow-up Lords of Shadow 2, despite the drastic simplicity of the first act with both story and gameplay. The more direct and tragic overall narrative makes its plot points some of the strongest in the entire reboot franchise. First released on the 3DS, Mirror of Fate's HD version brought it to a generation of non-portable consoles with enhanced graphics and a boss rush mode.
Production Values
On a larger screen, Mirror of Fate does look like an older handheld game magnified for standard consoles. What looked excellent on the 3DS is sometimes only passable for an HD version of an aging game on the Xbox 360 (though I played this on an Xbox One, it is a 360 title). Very quick loading times and a strong art style do help the visuals and general performance. Even more than this, Richard Madden, Robert Carlyle, and more do phenomenal with their voice acting, something that at its best was one of the best parts of the first Lords of Shadow. Some of the most authentically emotional moments in this alternate canon of Castlevania are found here in this once handheld-only game.
Gameplay
Overall, Gabriel, Simon, Alucard, and Trevor play very similarly, the latter three, whom are played after the brief prologue, share the same move set and experience point progress. Each has their own unique versions of ranged or magic attacks, but the overall functionality is the same. They all have their whips or combat crosses and they all can perform the same unlockable combos--unlocking them as one character literally makes them available for the others. The more elaborate puzzles types that truly translate well from the third-person Lords of Shadow games to the side-scrolling format start with Alucard, however.
As Simon, Alucard, and Trevor, there is also the option of leaving up to 50 notes on the map to not only make places to return to, but which abilities are needed to acquire them through custom messages. It nonetheless does not require anything more than basic backtracking and item use to find the collectible upgrades and bestiary entries the actual exploration is by far secondary to the story and not especially developed compared to the genre's best examples.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
The game starts with Simon Belmont seeking to kill Dracula for the death of his parents, traveling through the castle to confront the figure who has devastated the land. Once he reaches Dracula, the game shifts to Alucard, Simon's father Trevor resurrected as a vampire. Trevor had ventured out to slay Dracula knowing that he is supposed to be the son of this once-human being, and he had set out to avenge the killing of his mother (though Gabriel was wearing the Devil Mask and was not in his normal state of mind when he killed Marie). Presented in reverse, the story grows more tragic as the conflict within Dracula and the supposedly fated nature of Belmont lives are revealed.
Intellectual Content
Mirror of Fate does not mean into its pseudo-Christian theism as much as the prior and following game, yet it is consistent with them. For example, the very unbiblical afterlife of disembodied ghosts returns from the first Lords of Shadow as early as when Simon gains the spirit of Belnades as an ally, though the Biblical doctrine of what follows death is unconsciousness (Ecclesiastes 9:5-10) until resurrection (Daniel 12:2) to eternal life or permanent annihilation (John 3:16). What the game does do better is emphasize the tragic, allegedly unavoidable "fate" of these Belmont generations as they grapple with the darkness Dracula has unleashed. More than some parts of Lords of Shadow 2, the game even uses the finale of Trevor's act to show just how conflicted Dracula really is as God's chosen one who has descended into evil by exemplifying his remaining love if his family.
Conclusion
With each act of the game, Mirror of Fate offers an increasingly substantial story that grows more personal for the characters. As a spin-off of the Lords of Shadow series, it has a far more focused plot than usual. As a Metroidvania, it is very minimalistic compared to something like Metroid Dread, but the aesthetic and the story are what the game really stands on. By the time it ends, some of the simplicity of the story has given way to greater thematic and emotional complexity, and Lords of Shadow 2 is set up well, as jumbled as some of the follow-up turned out to be, by this side-scrolling game. At its best, the combat is a 2.5D version of the classic God of War style and the story is atmospheric and potent. Mirror of Fate HD is a strong title when it comes to its key pillars that could have been elevated even more by more complex mechanics and exploration.
Content:
1. Violence: Blood and gore are fairly prevalent, such as when a boss has its body cut in half after having its hands removed.
2. Nudity: There are what appear to be nude corpses in background in a portion of Alucard's part of the game. Later on, a group of witches wearing only masks and a covering for their genitalia summon the Daemon Lord, though there is nothing sexual about either of these examples.
3. Sexuality: At the final part of Simon's act, a succubus and several female companions engage in lesbian interactions.
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