Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Message Board older than one year ago

#dlc Castlevania: Lords of Shadow left many unanswered questions lingering after the credits rolled, and Konami plans on answering them with a double dose of downloadable content coming next year to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. More »

Ready to return to the castle? Konami has finally detailed the long-promised DLC packs for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The first download pack, entitled "Reverie," sees protagonist Gabriel aiding Laura (the creepy mini-Winehouse you see above) in "destroying the unruly evil" that was kept in check by the vampire queen, Carmilla.

The second download pack, "Resurrection," continues the story after the end of the game and "gives some insight" into "Gabriel's ultimate destiny." According to the press release, "this will be larger in scope than the first add-on" and include a "final showdown with a very notorious enemy." Oh no, it's not the flying Medusa head, is it?

Reverie will be available in February, while Resurrection will launch sometime in April. While no pricing details have been offered yet, we're bound to find out more in the new year.

• Game Informer (90/100): "This polished, action-packed adventure has me ecstatic to see not only what's in store for the next 3D Castlevania, but also what talented developer MercurySteam does next. Don't let the deluge of fall releases or the 3D Castlevania stigma keep you from this amazing quest."
• Eurogamer (80/100): "In the future, we can only hope that a developer finds a way to deliver more of the core series components - of buildings that you piece together through exploration, of back-tracking that never seems like a chore. For now, though, even with a missing piece of that magnitude, MercurySteam has managed to deliver a game that's heartfelt, handsome, and quietly distinct."
• Gamespot (75/100): "The combat is great and the boss battles are quite memorable, but it degenerates when those core ideas clash--when Castlevania ignores what it does so well (action) for the sake of creating a more diverse experience."
• IGN (75/100): "Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Castlevania game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun if they can excuse a lot of mindless button mashing and a couple technical issues."
• 1UP (B): "This won't replace Symphony of the Night as the oft-argued greatest Castlevania, but it should finally at least put to rest complaints that there are no good 3D Castlevania games. If Lords of Shadow sees a sequel, there are lots of important, obvious improvements that need to be made, but Mercury Steam proves that they're at least on the right track."

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!