After playing the demo for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate and the “Thanks for playing!” message appeared, I was reluctant to put down my Nintendo 3DS as I was surprised that my journey had already come to an end. Even though the demo was fairly short, only containing around 20 minutes of game play,I found myself begging for more! One of the most notably impressive features of the game is to my surprise, the use of 3D. Mirror of Fate is by far, in my opinion, the best game to make use of the 3d feature.

In some games that I have played for the Nintendo 3ds, the 3d itself, takes away from the overall experience and can even be distracting to play certain games with it turned on. However, Mirror of Fate  allows the 3d feature to enhance the experience, with creatures flying out of the screen, adding additional layers to the third person perspective camera view, and providing stunning visuals in the background that feel as if they are right in front of you, makes you feel as if you are really there apart of the action.

The controls and the combat are  fluid and rapid just as they are with its console predecessor,  if not even more so, and the enemy AI provides an ample amount of difficultly which keeps the game engaging as well as challenging.

After being accustomed to playing the original Castlevania: Lords of Shadow on a console, The controls did take a little bit of adjusting to get the hang of. In addition, the demo will thrust you instantly into combat with only a general tutorial page during the loading screen, which provides only a small amount of directions to make the combat experience go smoothly.

I highly recommend to anyone who goes on to try the demo after reading this to follow these instructions: at the start of the demo, click on the journal with the words NEW written next to it on the touchscreen, than, click on the third option in the menu. There, you will find a list of all the possible combos that can be utilized while playing the demo; trust me, you will need them as the difficulty much like Lords of Shadow, can prove to be very difficult at certain portions of the game.

Lords of Shadow was a game where you could not simply get by, unless playing on the easiest setting, by pushing buttons at random and hoping for the best. Mirror of Fate, is very similar in this regard. I found myself dying quite a number of times as I learned the new controls and combos. But once I got the hang of it, I fell in love with the new control scheme and it became extremely satisfying to slay skeletons and demons. I did not notice any bugs or issues during my time with the demo, however, as I mentioned earlier, it only consisted of 20 minutes of the game. But I have to say, it is a very promising first glimpse.

The Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate demo, with the exception of the final minute, is pure action. I was a little disappointed that I was unable to experience some of the story to a greater extent. However, with only 5 days remaining until release, the demo served its purpose effectively. Simply put, if you own a Nintendo 3DS, you owe it to yourself to give this demo a try. I was already looking forward to getting my hands on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate, and this impressive demo, made the now only 5 day wait feel like an eternity!