
Sitting here, writing this review and trying to figure out where it all went wrong is difficult, because the game’s primary fault is far too subtle to really nail down. On paper it all looks quite good - this game is one of the better uses of the 3DS’ 3D effect (which is ironic considering it’s a 2D platfomer), and the atmosphere is certainly spot-on. Freed from the cartoonish elements of most Castlevania games, Mirror of Fate is a more serious take on an epic Gothic adventure, and it all looks quite grand on the 3DS’ small screen.
Taking numerous cues from the rather spectacular PS3/ Xbox Castlevania title, Lord of Shadows, Mirror of Fate is also heavy on the action rather than the storytelling or puzzling, and is more interested in being God of War than Symphony of the Night. This too is not necessarily a bad thing; as Castlevania games after Symphony of the Night have shown, that style of game has pretty much reached its peak, but there’s a lot of innovation still going on with the God of War formula, and so there’s room for this game to be more than a shallow imitator of a series’ former glory.

Thanks to a poor blocking system, there’s a hefty delay between pressing the button and executing the action (especially in the middle of the flow of an attack). This would be a flaw, but the developers have worked around it and the game’s combat manages to be fair because most enemies project their own attacks ages in advance. It’s not a broken combat system, but it’s not the ideal way for a combat-heavy game to handle the combat mechanics either as it feels clunky and lacks the kind of rhythm that a game like God of War, or even Ninja Gaiden 3 executes so well. There’s the odd moment where the visual swirl and cracking sound of the whip is as mesmerising as it should be, but players are usually dragged back into reality immediately afterwards when an enemy attack lands and breaks the momentum by sending the Belmont hero crashing to the ground.

It’s hard to explain where the apathy comes from when it comes to a game like Mirror of Fate. It’s a technically proficient game that delivers on what it promises to, without really pushing itself to do more than deliver on what’s written on the back of the box. But, while the decisions that went on in the development of this game can’t fairly be called “wrong,” I can’t rightfully say they have done a good job with building an engaging game here either.
- Matt. S
Editor-in-Chief
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