As the title suggests this video contains massive spoilers for those who have not played Lords of Shadow. You have been warned. If you haven't played the game, go try it. It's bloody amazing.

As we know, at the end of Lords of Shadow, it is revealed that Gabriel became Dracula, presumably from the power of the mask. It was set in the future (or, our current time) and showed Gabriel (Dracula) fighting with Zobek and being blasted out of his cathedral into the busy street. But this trailer seems to suggest that maybe Alucard is involved in the plot and that the game takes place after Gabriel's human life is over but much before the Dracula we are shown at the end of LoS. Hopefully Zobek is still involved as I found his character intriguing.

Also, I love how Gabriel (I guess I should start calling him Dracula) now looks much more in line like the Dracula we have come to know. He has the ravenous features and those eyebrows.

Alas... ready for some Alucard?!

EDIT: THAT MUSIC. I think this is some of the best trailer music I've ever heard!

Really looking forward to this and the 3DS game as well. Still wish I had LoS so I can play the DLC.

EDIT: Also looking forward to see how this new timeline turns out.

This was a fantastic trailer.

@xyzygy said:

THAT MUSIC. I think this is some of the best trailer music I've ever heard!

Agreed! Freaking awesome trailer. Loved the first game, can't wait for more info on this one.

Maybe it's so obvious I'm just questioning it in dismay, but we'll be playing as this white haired dude, who Castlevania connoisseurs seem to call Alucard, correct? I appear to be one of those people who played Lord of Shadows completely new to the Castlevania mythos and have no desire to explore the previous games within that world. I find it unlikely that with Gabriel as powerful as this, we'll be playing as him. As awesome as that could be.

@JonSmith said:

Maybe it's so obvious I'm just questioning it in dismay, but we'll be playing as this white haired dude, who Castlevania connoisseurs seem to call Alucard, correct? I appear to be one of those people who played Lord of Shadows completely new to the Castlevania mythos and have no desire to explore the previous games within that world. I find it unlikely that with Gabriel as powerful as this, we'll be playing as him. As awesome as that could be.

Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the Castlevania timeline so there is no need to play older games. There will be some old characters make a return, but since it's a new timeline they are brand new characters to the timeline.

@JJOR64 said:

@JonSmith said:

Maybe it's so obvious I'm just questioning it in dismay, but we'll be playing as this white haired dude, who Castlevania connoisseurs seem to call Alucard, correct? I appear to be one of those people who played Lord of Shadows completely new to the Castlevania mythos and have no desire to explore the previous games within that world. I find it unlikely that with Gabriel as powerful as this, we'll be playing as him. As awesome as that could be.

Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the Castlevania timeline so there is no need to play older games. There will be some old characters make a "return", but since it's a new timeline they are "brand new" characters to the timeline.

As far as I know from Dave Cox interviews, it isn't a reboot of the Koji Igarashi Castevania timeline but an alternate take on the series. It is why even in the 3DS version, they have the "Lords of Shadow" subnamed attached.

@JonSmith: In addition to what JJOR said, the inclusion of a character like Alucard is also kind of a treat to fans. Alucard is most famously featured as the main character in Symphony of the Night so it will be amazing if we do get to play as him in LOS2. But no you don't need to play the other Castlevanias to experience LOS. Personally I just find it insanely fascinating comparing things like this, one timeline to the next, to see how different the characters are and if they've carried over something.

The revelation at the end of LOS was one of the most satisfying cinematic gaming experiences I've had because of how they had the balls to show that the main character from one timeline turns into the entity of all evil that we know from the other timeline.

@cannonballBAM said:

@JJOR64 said:

@JonSmith said:

Maybe it's so obvious I'm just questioning it in dismay, but we'll be playing as this white haired dude, who Castlevania connoisseurs seem to call Alucard, correct? I appear to be one of those people who played Lord of Shadows completely new to the Castlevania mythos and have no desire to explore the previous games within that world. I find it unlikely that with Gabriel as powerful as this, we'll be playing as him. As awesome as that could be.

Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the Castlevania timeline so there is no need to play older games. There will be some old characters make a "return", but since it's a new timeline they are "brand new" characters to the timeline.

As far as I know from Dave Cox interviews, it isn't a reboot of the Koji Igarashi Castevania timeline but an alternate take on the series. It is why even in the 3DS version, they have the "Lords of Shadow" subnamed attached.

Oh, ok.

@JJOR64: Great. So... whose your money on for the playable character? Dracula Gabriel, or this Alucard guy?

@JonSmith said:

@JJOR64: Great. So... whose your money on for the playable character? Dracula Gabriel, or this Alucard guy?

Wouldn't surprise me if both are playable.

I hope you can turn into a flock of bats in Castlevania:lords of shadow 2 because that was a really cool feature in Infamous festival of blood.

MY BODY IS READY!

That trailer was awesome! Made me wish I played the DLCs even though they're not worth the price.

@xyzygy: Yo the old man's name is Zobek not Zozek!

I still need to get the first one....

I wish they showed "Alucard" up close. I really want to see their take on him. He's one of my most favorite characters ever. I see they're doing their job of keeping you hyped up.

@supamon said:

That trailer was awesome! Made me wish I played the DLCs even though they're not worth the price.

@xyzygy: Yo the old man's name is Zobek not Zozek!

LOL. My bad! Fixing now.

@JonSmith said:

Maybe it's so obvious I'm just questioning it in dismay, but we'll be playing as this white haired dude, who Castlevania connoisseurs seem to call Alucard, correct? I appear to be one of those people who played Lord of Shadows completely new to the Castlevania mythos and have no desire to explore the previous games within that world. I find it unlikely that with Gabriel as powerful as this, we'll be playing as him. As awesome as that could be.

We don't actually know if that guy is Alucard though, everyone's just assuming. It's a guess as good as any other at this point.

Also since you came into Lords of Shadow fresh I can imagine that you missed all the weird callbacks to other Castlevania characters that game had, like Cornell, who was a reference to the werewolf protagonist of the Castlevania game Legacy of Darkness, or the suggestion that Gabriel, who was an orphan, originally was abandoned by the Cronqvist family. Mathias Cronqvist being the name of the man who became Dracula in the old Castlevania universe.

@xyzygy: The power of the mask being the thing that changed Gabriel doesn't make sense considering what we know about its powers before the ending (which isn't much, it seems mostly like a mcguffin really), you can't really blame anyone for thinking that though seeing as, well otherwise the ending would be COMPLETELY out of nowhere.

Turns out, the ending just is completely out of nowhere. The dlc "reveals" that it was that young vampire girl Laura that turned him into a vampire and that he gained his other power from absorbing it from some great imprisoned evil, after defeating it.

Really loved the first LOS; great atmosphere, fantastic level design, beautiful soundtrack and interesting story with great ending. I only found the game to be a little bit too long, 2-3 hours shorter would have been perfect for my taste.

I also never played any of the earlier Castlevania games, perhaps that helps in appreciating the game more than those familiar with the original Castlevania games. I remember Vinny talking about this game in a podcast, it was in his backlog but don't know if he actually played the game. I think he'd really like it.

@RockmanBionics: That would make more sense. I remember that Zobek told him that the power of the gods will be usurped by one pure of heart, so I had assumed that he couldn't handle the power as a human and that's why he was changed. But now that I find out Laura was involved makes more sense. I haven't played the DLC so, yeah. Plan on it very soon though.

@Jetpaction: I've played every 2D RPG-like Castlevania and I completely loved Lords of Shadow. It's all your own taste.

@xyzygy: The first dlc is pretty good, it had some decent puzzles, lower production values, with cutscenes being replaced with motion comics, but it reminded me that I didn't completely hate the main game.

The second dlc is a drawn out bossfight with some linear platforming inbetween, you're better off youtube-ing it.

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.”

Anyone know the name of the song in the trailer?

@JJOR64 said:

Really looking forward to this and the 3DS game as well. Still wish I had LoS so I can play the DLC.

EDIT: Also looking forward to see how this new timeline turns out.

The DLC was awful. Such a let down after the brilliant main game.

I am excited as ever for this game. I hope that it does well enough for them to make a 3rd, and that 3rd takes place in current times to follow through on the post-credits scene in Lords of Shadow.

Gimme this fucking game now!!!

This was all I wanted from E3. Well, and Mirror's Edge 2... but that's never gonna happen *cries*

@Nilazz said:

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.”

Well, Konami is bringing a quick end to it now, aren't they?

If this is the conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, I sure hope that they deliver on the post-credits scene in the first one.

@Hailinel said:

@Nilazz said:

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.”

Well, Konami is bringing a quick end to it now, aren't they?

Well the Lords of Shadow saga will have three games to it... I see it kind of like how the Sorrow saga has two.

I loved the first game, so under-rated.

I'm so glad it did good enough to get a sequel.

It was a really amazing game, great visuals, great artstyle, great music, great atmosphere, good satisfying combat, great lenght, a great story, and one of the best endings of this generation.

What an epic trailer, Gabriel looks like a boss, but like other ppl said, i think it's gonna be like Prototype 2, Gabriel got so strong that it wouldn't make sense for him to be the main playable character in the game, unless something happens at the end of the first chapter that makes him loose his powers, that could happen'.

But, i think we'll play as him in the first chapter of the game, with full powers on, maybe fight against Alucard, and then go back in time in the story to show how they got to that point, and we'll probably be playing with Alucard through most of the game, or maybe a new character.

MGS2, DMC4 style.

Anway i can't wait either way.

@Nilazz said:

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.”

Ok, i guess i was half right, we will play as him, and he will loose his powers at the beggining of the game.

@ESREVER said:

Gimme this fucking game now!!!

This was all I wanted from E3. Well, and Mirror's Edge 2... but that's never gonna happen *cries*

It will, might even get officially announced this E3.

@Hailinel said:

@Nilazz said:

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.”

Well, Konami is bringing a quick end to it now, aren't they?

Well the Lords of Shadow saga will have three games to it... I see it kind of like how the Sorrow saga has two.

@Totori: There's a good chance that's what IGA is working on.

That being said, while I am most excited to see a Year 2000 Iga timeline based game, I /really/ want to see a Mercury Steam game taking place in the time period they show in the post-credits scene from Lords of Shadow. Beating up Lucifer in current days with Patrick Stewart Death besides me would be pretty great. I hope they don't "Conclude" the game without that.

I find it strange how much people seem to like this game. It does have some decent production values and the combat is fairly competent. But there is so much dumb design ideas in that game too. They somehow manage to make Patrick Stewart boring to listen to. How do you do that? The man has the best voice in all of Tamriel. But, here's to hoping this one is better.

@Jetpaction said:

fantastic level design

WHAT? That game had partly some of the worst level design in gaming history.

@Pezen said:

@Jetpaction said:

fantastic level design

WHAT? That game had partly some of the worst level design in gaming history.

To your WHAT? I say WHAT? Really? I fully enjoyed the level and environments of LoS. I even thought the Music Box was amazing. The game has one of the most distinctive gothic designs of this generation and it really adds to the excellent atmosphere, along with the music and characterizations. I even liked Patrick Stewart, and Robert Carlyle really helped play up the tragedy of the character that no one had any idea was coming.

I assume we'll play as both Alucard and Gabriel. Does anyone else remember maybe four or so years ago when Konami showed a trailer for a Castlevania game starring Alucard and then never spoke of it again? Wonder if that became this or if that game was entirely cancelled. Ah I have found it on Youtube. 2008 TGS trailer. Never heard from this game again.

@xyzygy: Maybe we're using the words "level design" in different contexts. I'm not arguing the looks of the levels (or the game) by artistic merits, but I'm saying the game was really horrible at pointing you in the right direction a little too often, even having you sometimes completely miss where you were supposed to go because the level design and camera angle didn't you do any favors. I remember a friend and I having to resort to a guide just to find out that an entrance was "around a corner" that you didn't see exist unless you actually ran around the corner, even that walkthrough we found noted that it could be hard to find. And it wasn't the first time, or last, that the game's level design left a lot to be desired. When you almost hide your "main path" as if it's a secret, you're doing something wrong. The music box was actually pretty fun, albeit annoying when you messed up.

So that's why Gabriel was on and off sporting a Scottish accent, I never looked into who voiced Gabriel.

@Pezen: Well, I'm the type of gamer who likes to explore the environment so I was never at a loss from what to do. It was a fairly linear game so I never ran into that issue, I was always looking around.

And I never noticed how his accent was "on and off"... Robert Carlyle has a Scottish accent anyway so how would it be on and off? He has a natural Scottish accent. It sounded excellent to me.

@xyzygy: I rarely run into that issue in any game, that's why it sticks out to me. Be glad you apparently avoided all of that.

The entire game through, it sounds as though he's trying to down-play his Scottish accent and not really succeeding.

@Raven10 said:

I assume we'll play as both Alucard and Gabriel. Does anyone else remember maybe four or so years ago when Konami showed a trailer for a Castlevania game starring Alucard and then never spoke of it again? Wonder if that became this or if that game was entirely cancelled. Ah I have found it on Youtube. 2008 TGS trailer. Never heard from this game again.

I'm assuming that this game was canned in favour of making Lords of Shadow a saga starring Alucard in LoS2. Good choice on Konami's part IMO. But really though, the graphics in that trailer look like bad CG from a PS1 game.

I feel like that guy at the end HAS to be Alucard. Especially when you compare him to the Alucard revealed in the Mirror of Fate trailer. White hair, same black armor, fights with a sword, and (spoiler alert) has a beef with Dracula? C'mon - who else could it be?

I don't really care. I'm just happy to get more Lords of Shadow! I LOVE this vision of the Castlevania universe. The heroes are just as gothic and romanticized as those in Symphony of the Night, yet they're still manly men like in Super Castlevania and Bloodlines. And the monsters! Holy sh*t. Coolest creature designs in all of gaming, far and away. It's about time they brought some "scary" back into this franchise. The locales too are fucking gorgeous - best looking game all gen. I can't believe this developer made that sh*t-sandwich "Jericho" shooter before Castlevania. They got, literally, about 400% better at what they do!

@JJOR64 said:

Really looking forward to this and the 3DS game as well. Still wish I had LoS so I can play the DLC.

EDIT: Also looking forward to see how this new timeline turns out.

I ended up just watching the DLC on Youtube. Some stuff happens, but it was pretty puzzle heavy and I don't feel like I missed much. I didn't feel bad burning 2 and a half hours on it.

Glad to see one of my favorite games getting a sequel. Lords of Shadow led to me playing Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin so I'm a sort of backwards Castlevania fan.

@xyzygy:

@Wong_Fei_Hung: Hohoho, what do we have here? Is this the first shot from the new game? Or is this LOS1?

@Wong_Fei_Hung: WTF That looks awesome! What do you mean you can say no more? DO YOU HAVE INSIDER INFO

I NEED IT

AHHHHH

Lords of Shadow is one of my favorite games. I seriously cannot wait for LOS2. Are you a developer?