10 Ways "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate" Blends the Old with the New

There have been lots of Castlevania games over the years, but Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is somewhat unique. It blends multiple graphical and gameplay styles from throughout the series' history, most notably mixing elements from 2010's 3D console departure Castlevania: Lords of Shadow with more traditional, 2D Castlevania gameplay.

It's not surprising that Mirror of Fate borrows from the console version of Lords of Shadow, given they share part of a title. But what is surprising is the new way these elements blend with classic Castlevania gameplay to create something unique. Read on to find out why.

I sat down to play Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate at a hotel about a mile away from the San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con, and I didn't really know what to expect. I've been playing Castlevania games all my life (though I've admittedly missed a few here or there), but for some reason I hadn't yet paid much attention to Mirror of Fate.

So I was immediately comforted when the demo opened with a familiar scene: our hero, Trevor Belmont, running right toward an ominous, looming castle. That set the stage adequately, but some differences from older Castlevania titles immediately presented themselves.

Most enemies in a classic Castlevania title, including those on the Nintendo DS, die after one or at most a few strikes from a whip, sword, axe, or whatever other weapon you happen to be wielding.

But even the most basic enemies in Mirror of Fate took more than a few hits to bring down, and larger enemies (especially those with giant tower shields) withstood a great deal of pain before toppling. Over the course of the demo, I died more than once from underestimating how much damage some enemies could take. Of course, I kept forgetting to use Trevor's magic form, which is also making a return from Lords of Shadow.

Speaking of those big enemies—they're nothing new in and of themselves. Castlevania games have always had plenty of bosses and mini-bosses. With each enemy given a huge amount of health in Mirror of Fate, though, even slightly difficult ones tended to feel like mini-bosses.

But the real excitement came at the end of the demo, when I was confronted by a sort of spiky, blind executioner beast that stood head and shoulders above Trevor. Now this was a boss.

The game took that opportunity to introduce me formally to another concept that it borrows from the first Lords of Shadow, the 2010 console game: dodging. Rolling around can help avoid enemies' attacks, I had already figured out, but as the largest enemy I had fought thus far charged toward me, the game paused briefly to explain that dodging could also help trip large enemies.

Sure enough, rolling under its feet at the correct time caused it to fall over and be momentarily stunned, allowing me time to whittle away at its massive health bar.

Another important move during this battle (and every other fight, come to think of it) was the ability to block incoming attacks. I normally don't block very often, but I found myself relying on it quite a bit when bigger enemies took longer than I expected to bring down.

Trevor couldn't block everything, of course, and when the boss swung its enormous weapon down, he took damage regardless. Still, the move proved useful more often than not.

One thing that definitely helped out during the fight was Trevor's secondary weapon, the boomerang. Of course, it would hardly be a Castlevania game without a wealth of different alternate weapons, and the boomerang is certainly just one of many.

But it was great to experience a familiar touch in the middle of all this new gameplay, and especially one as useful as the boomerang. After all, what could be more nice than hitting enemies twice?

Even though many of these elements aren't exactly new, they feel that way because of the 3DS game's unique blend of gameplay and perspective. It's a 2D sidescroller, of course, but the graphics are all 3D.

So when I say you can dodge around, I mean you can dodge left or right, not fully around like in the first Lords of Shadow game (which played more like Devil May Cry or God of War).

That unique perspective allowed for plenty of fun with the camera, though, which proved surprisingly mobile during the Comic-Con demo. It pans, tilts and zooms in and out with player movements and even brief cut scenes, as well as during the finishing moves you'll use to dispatch some enemies.

When I entered a ruined cathedral, for example, the camera pulled back and inward slightly to reveal the altar I was approaching, even though Trevor could still only run one direction. When he grabs the boomerang from the altar, the camera zooms in, then follows the weapon as he throws it for the first time. It's a nice effect that should prove quite immersive, especially with some nice, glasses-free 3D thrown in.

Sprawling maps

In spite of the new graphical style and dynamic camera, Mirror of Fate should prove just as engrossing as any past 2D Castlevania game, largely due to the sprawling nature of its environments.

I only got to explore a small part of the map during the demo, but what I did traverse spanned multiple floors, with long corridors, large, open spaces, tight passages connecting everything up, down and sideways, and more. Castlevania games are known for these sprawling 2D maps, and Mirror of Fate should prove no exception, although the ever-present mini-map (replete with easy-to-follow objective markers) might irk those averse to hand-holding. You can even draw notes on the map on the 3DS's touch screen.

And it wouldn't be a true Castlevania game without a buttload of secrets. In the demo alone there were multiple secret passageways to uncover, and there's always the chance that I even missed some during my single playthrough.

One chamber prompted me to travel to the left and swing over a gap, but when I missed the jump and went the other way instead, I discovered a hidden area I would have never otherwise seen. Exploration junkies are sure to get their fix in Mirror of Fate, objective markers or no.

Have you seen anything else in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate that struck you as particularly innovative or old school? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter.