Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is only a few months from release, and its publisher is already considering it a dead-end for the series in its current format.
Speaking during an interview at Comic-Con, producer David Cox shared that not only will Mercury Stream consider Lords of Shadow 2 its last Castlevania title, but that he hopes the series goes in a completely new direction. He said:
We have to really plan differently and do things differently. And we’ve made mistakes on this one, as well, which we’re going to hopefully improve for the next one. I think it’s a learning process and I think game developers are learning every day how to do things better.
I think it’s time for somebody else; somebody younger, a younger producer to come in and take up the mantle and do what they think would be right for Castlevania and for us to move on to something else.
Mercury Stream has produced Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Mirror of Fate in the past three years, and is close to going gold on Lords of Shadow 2. It managed to sell over a million copies of Lords of Shadow and earned positive scores from press. However, it simply wasn’t enough.
Castlevania is one of the most identifiable series in gaming culture. To some, it was one of the first great action-adventure games. Despite this, it hasn’t been able to break its way the modern era with nearly as much success. Lords of Shadow was regarded as great, but missed a lot of what made the original Castlevania titles so iconic.
Lords of Shadow 2 appears very similar to its predecessor, and that means that once again the itch to play a Castlevania game won’t quite be satisfied. Mercury Stream has given it everything it has, but new vision is needed to bring the series back to its former glory.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 releases later this year for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
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