The first thing you need to know before getting this game is that if you expect it to be anything like SOTN or the GBA/DS Castlevania games, you'll be severely dissapointed. Mirror of Fate is classic NES/SNES action with a few small RPG elements thrown in for good measure.



If you want to get a more direct comparison, this game is basically a 2D-perspective version of God of War. The fighting style, down to the QTE-boss-kills, the puzzles, even the mash-button-to-open-chests-and-get-upgrades system is here. If I didn't know about the older Castlevania games I'd say it's a blatant rip-off, but instead I realized that God of War owes a lot to Castlevania.



The second thing you need to know is that this game is dark. Literally, really dark. As in, impossible-to-play-in-daylight dark. But that's fine, because it's best to play this game in the darkness, to get sucked into its world.



If those two things are of no consequence to you, or you actually find them appealing, then this is a game you should play. The gameplay is fun, the art style is magnific, the story is classic and the content is extensive. That being said, there are a few cons that might turn players off.



First, as I mentioned, if you prefer the Metroidvania style, you're bound to be dissapointed. While you can backtrack in this game, it's still more in line with the classic titles. The map, instead of being one big comprehensive page is divided in zones, making it kinda useless, except for one thing that makes it too useful: a red arrow that constantly points you where you need to go, which cheapens the experience.



In fact, that's the main gripe I have with the game: it's too easy. Yes, enemies are strong, and offer a variety of attacks, but when you lose you return almost to the same place. This is specially jarring in boss battles, in which if you lose you'll return in the middle of the battle, and the boss doesn't get his energy back. That reduces the challenge quite a bit, and you have to resort to certain puzzles to find some challenge in the game.



Another thing, but this might be a matter of personal preference, is that you don't feel your attacks have power. In the previous games (most of them, anyway), when you struck and killed an enemy, you FELT it. Your attacks had "oomph". There was good audiovisual feedback that your attack was strong, no matter how much damage you actually dealt. Here, you feel as if you're hitting your enemies with a big straw.



One more thing to mention, and this is not necessarily a bad point, is the style of the cutscenes. Characters move, talk and their faces change expression, but their lips never move. This is obviously a stylistic choice, and, as I said, it's not really a bad thing, I just think it's strange.



Still, it's a good game, I just hope the next one addresses the difficulty issue.