Not long ago, Konami Producer Dave Cox dropped by the PlayStation.Blog to set up the premise of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a re-imagining of the classic whip-cracking, vampire-slaying series PlayStation fans know and love. In many ways, Lords of Shadow is a radical departure from previous installments. The combat is more visceral, the visuals are more cinematic, and the scope is more epic.

These qualities are on display in spades in the latest Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Developer Insights video, which Konami has kindly passed along for your viewing pleasure. Not only will you learn about the combat benefit of fairies (no, really), you’ll catch a glimpse of several new boss battles, culminating with a series of Titan encounters that will make any Shadow of the Colossus fan quiver in anticipation.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow arrives today on the PS3 in North America, on Blu-ray. If you picked it up already, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below. Later today, I can confirm that the playable demo will hit PSN — stay tuned to the PlayStation.Blog for the full PlayStation Store update later today. Happy vampire slaying!