Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 61 | 9 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 67 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 85% | 78 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 80 | 23 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 94% | 88 | 12 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 34 reviews sampled · 28 total reviews in window · weighted 23.4 up / 1.6 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (80)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case, the developers seem more to be compensating for a lack of anything original.”
read full review ↗ - 72
“Lords of Shadow 2 shows it's best intentions, surpassing the first part, but neglects some points. Ups and downs in the story and graphical issues affect the experience, even when it offers good combat mechanics and a great soundtrack. ”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The game is as confused as its protagonist, and it's hard not to wish that the studio could have conquered its inner conflict and found its wings.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“n 2010, the rather enjoyable Castlevania: Lords of Shadow ended with a major plot twist revealing that Gabriel Belmont was alive during modern times and was now called Dracula, taking on the famous vampire’s persona and visage. This left fans to wonder how the sequel would continue the story, either as Dracula or fighting against the protagonist from the original game. Four years later, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 answered the question, but it’s a question that probably was more interesting to think about than how Konami approached it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Lords of Shadow 2 falls short of the high bar set by its predecessor, with niggly control issues, a somewhat empty open world, and frustrating stealth sections sucking a bit of life out of the experience. Fortunately, fans of the original release will undoubtedly enjoy the exciting combat and stellar graphical design on offer here.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The solid combat mechanics and quality voice acting are the only things that this game has going for it. Everything else feels either disjointed, shallow or out of place. Lords of Shadow 2, as a whole, feels as a mediocre product with some graphical hiccups. In the end, the sequel destroys the good memories we had from the first iteration.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The lack of anything not done before and the run of the mill story still leave the game a decent gaming experience, there's still plenty to see and plenty to kill, and, as mentioned before, there is a great sense of games and level design competency which oozes from the seams. For third person action veterans it probably won't quite cut the mustard, but for Castlevania fans who are still digging the reboot this will be another good title in the reimagining of a classic series.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a study in contrasts with wildly fun combat levels separated by monotonous stealth levels.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is about as much of a step backward as a direct sequel can be.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 looks gorgeous and could have been wildly original, but it squanders its polish and potential on archaic contrivances, banal writing, and an overall shallow experience. It's fine if you want a factory standard combat game, but in the year 2014, it's just plain dreary.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The first Lords of Shadow was a sweet surprise. The follow-up is a hostage to a story it tells badly, and a prisoner within a dull urban maze that refuses to become a characterful exploratory playground. To live on but to be diminished - that's the fate of the vampire in Castlevania's lore. Sadly, it's a bit of an epitaph for this well-meaning but bloated game as a whole.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Lords of Shadow 2 should have been a much shorter game. Still, though the game's stealth sections and drab modern settings represent the worst elements of the three-part saga, the tail end of the game contains the best of every aspect that the series is currently known for.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
The A.V. Club
Kinglink Reviews
Push Square
LevelUp
GameWatcher
PCMag
Worth Playing
The Escapist
Eurogamer
GameSpot…and 68 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
No patch announcements found on Steam yet.