Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 3

"I am the Dragon, great and terrible to behold. I have slain Gods, Monsters, even the Devil himself. Now my wrath has brought the End of Days. Two armies battle over the Earth as I stand alone. I will draw them to me. They will face the Prince of Darkness. And all will die."

ABOUT
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 3 is the final chapter in the tale of Gabriel Belmont. A warrior of God who fell and was cursed to became the Prince of Darkness - Dracula.

STORY
At the conclusion of Lords of Shadow 2 - Dracula had finally succeeded is vanquishing Satan once and for all. With the devils death complete Dracula had thought that his fate was now his own, however this actually started the Apocalypse. The armies of Heaven and Hell appeared on the Earthly plain and while the righteous were saved during the Rapture, those left behind waged a devastating war with the Angels and the Demons. Centuries have passed and now the final battle will be fought on the last stronghold on Earth, the Immortal City, Dracula's Domain - Castlevania.

From his Castle Dracula watches the world as the 7 seals are broken. The 4 horsemen ride out, humanity suffers violent deaths, a great meteor strikes the world and the archangels arrive to cleanse the Earth.

Says Azreal "I told you we'd meet again" Death approaches Gabriel and places a hand on his shoulder "Forgive me brother, I did not see. How do you save the souls of the soulless? How do you reap those already dead?" "Through Gods wisdom, a Man whom holds the fate of all those who would be denied an everafter".

MAP
Geographically destinct zones are often connect in unique and organic ways.

Incentivied to backtrack and explore through clever shortcuts

Designed to evoke an Escheresque labyrinth Castlevania is a deeply interconnected world similar to Lordoran from Dark Souls. This is to encourage exploration and facilatate meaningful backtracking which is a hallmark of the Castelvania series since Symphony of the Night.

Gabriel Belmont/Dracula
Gabriel Belmont, later known as Dracula and Dracul, is a knight from the 11th century and the main character of the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow saga.

He was originally a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protected and defended the innocent against supernatural threats. But after defeating the ultimate evil, losing everything he loved on his quest, and obtaining immense power from an ancient demon, he became the most powerful vampire in history, known as Dracula, and started a war upon the world and the God he had once served. Together with his vampire son, the two of them hatched plan defeat his two greatest enemies, Zobek and Satan. Dracula killed Satan with the Vampire Killer and in doing so rid the world of his evil but started the chain of events that would lead to Armageddon.

BLOOD WHIP
Dracula's main weapon is a whip made from his own corrupted blood which crackles with a supernatural energy that hardens on impact.

VOID SWORD
The Void Sword is the physical manifestation of the cold, dark void that fills Dracula's heart. It has the element attribute of Ice.

CHAOS CLAWS
Forged from Dracula own rage and hatred the Chaos Claws manifest as a pair of gauntlets that run from his fists to his elbow. They have the element attribute of Fire.

STORM HAMMER
Dracula channeled his raw, uncontrollable power into a great and devastating weapon known as the Storm Hammer. It has the element attribute of Lightning.

DEATH SCYTHE
Defeat Death and steal the reapers scythe to use in your arsenal. It possesses the Holy element attribute.

SHADOW DAGGERS
Dracula can shape his darkness into deadly daggers of limitless supply

SOUL OF THE BEAST
Unlocks magic abilities of the Beast
 * Giant Wolf: Transform into a massive black wolf. transformation form, Rabid Slash(Thousand Edge),
 * Rabid Slash: Strike the enemy with a flurry of dangerous blows
 * Howl: Paralyze enemies through a powerful roar.
 * Blood Rage: Buff to attack damage

SOUL OF THE CURSED
Unlocks magic abilities of the Cursed
 * Bat Colony: Transform into monstrous bats.
 * Bat Swarm: Summon bats to blind enemy
 * Wing Smash: Summon demonic wings to send weakened enemies flying
 * Siphon: Bleeding enemies restores health

SOUL OF THE DEAD
Unlocks magic abilities of the Dead
 * Deadly Mist: Transform into an intangible mist.
 * Raise Dead: Summon the soul of a vanquished enemy to fight for you.
 * Soul Scream: Restless spirits surround you and attack enemies.
 * Teleport: With this soul selected, dodging now teleport Dracula through a black cloud.

SOUL OF THE DRAGON
Unlocks magic abilities of a True Dragon
 * Dragon: Transform into a powerful Dragon
 * Hellfire: Throw an intense ball of magical fire.
 * Meteor: Call down a meteor to deal massive damage.
 * Immolation: Gain a fiery shield that buffs defense and causes damage to enemies.

Marie
Marie is the deceased wife of Gabriel Belmont. Initially believed to have been murdered by a vicious creature that stalked the lands it was eventually revealed that Gabriel murdered her under the dark influence of Zobek and the Devil Mask. The ghost of Marie is believed to have been sent by God to guide Gabriel and to be a witness to the end of days.

Aeon/Prophet
Aeon is a religious zealot and defacto leader of the remnants of humanity. He often advises Dracula on where to strike next against his enemies claiming visions show him the path. While he knows more than any mortal man should it is all a facade. In reality he is thrall who is sworn to do the bidding of his most terrible master - The Dark God Galamoth.

Archangel Michael
Michael, whose name means 'he who is as God', is most often thought of as the angel of protection and the most powerful of all the angels. He is considered a leader within the angelic realm and the patron of righteousness, mercy and justice.

Archangel Raphael
Raphael, whose name means 'God heals', is the archangel designated for physical and emotional healing He is the patron of travelers, watching over them to ensure safe and harmonious journey

Archangel Gabriel
Gabriel, whose name means 'God is my strength' acts as the messenger for God. He weilds the holy trumpet that hearlads the apocolapyse and is the patron of teachers, writers and artists.

Archangel Jophiel
Jophiel

Archangel Ariel
Ariel, whoses name means 'Lioness of God', is the archangel of the earth whose duty is the proctection of all its natural resources ecosystems and life. She is the patron of

Archangel Uriel
Uriel, whose name means 'Fire of God', is the angel of repentance.

Archangel Azrael
Azreal, whose name means 'whom God helps, is often referred to as the 'Angel of Death'. Azreal meets souls and helps them to transition.

Cornell
Once a great warrior and founding member of the Brotherhood of Light. After decades of struggle against the forces of evil, Cornell ascended into heaven and became a spiritual being. Unknown to him, his physical remains became a Lord of Shadow in the guise of the Lord of the Werewolves.

Gabriel and Cornell fought where he was slain. However with the influx of monsters into Castlevania, Dracula resurrected him and gave him the Soul of the Beast to control them. He may have been the most pure in soul among the founders and proud to serve.

Carmilla
Along with Cornell and Zobek, Carmilla founded the Brotherhood of Light and imprisoned a powerful demon. As reward she ascended into heaven Leaving her physical body behind that corrupted into a Lord of Shadow. As a Lord of Shadow she became the Queen of the Vampires. Gabriel killed her yet her presence never really left him. As more dark creatures escaped Armageddon to Castelvania, Dracula chose to entrust the Soul of the Cursed to Carmilla as a way of controlling them. She is intelligent, manipulative, seductive and deceptive

Zobek
Zobek was once a member of the Brotherhood of light. Holy trio purified themselves of all darkness and accended to heaven leaving behind there darkest natures. As a lord of Shadow Zobek became a necromancer and the Lord of the Dead. He manipulated Gabriel into killing Marie and was instrumental in his fall into Dracula. A thousand years later Dracula eventually exacted his revenge on Zobek finally killing him and ending his schemes but it was not the end. Dracula resurrected Zobek as a vassal for the souls of the Dead. Unlike the others entrusted with a soul, Dracula stripped him of all power and autonomy and bound two demons to torture him forever as a fitting punishment for all the pain he had caused. While chained and weakened Zobek remains as intelligent, manipulative and ruthless as ever.

Galamoth
Leading the forces of hell.

Revelations cast of characters

The Lamb - Jesus - Susan

The seven churches - Church of God

144,000 - christian souls - Remaining humans

Great Multitude - People converted - Legion

Two witnesess - Servants of God - Alucard and Marie

Four Horsemen - Death, War, Famine, Pestilence - Death, War, Fury, Strife

Seven Angels - Archangels - Michael, Raphiel, Gabriel, Uriel, Ariel, Jophiel, Azrael

The Dragon - Satan - Draculs

The Beast - Roman Empire - Galamoth

False Prophet - false leader - Aeon

200 million Man Army - armies from asia - the enemies

Flamelurker
Doppelganger

Abyss walker

Storm Lord

Leviathian

Grave King

Chronos

Goliath

Belial

Galamoth

The Horsemen: War, Blight, Calamity

Alucard

Michael

Gabriel

New Game +
First time completion of LOS3 unlocks a variety of gameplay modes - including New Game Plus. New Game Plus allows the use of alternative characters, alternative character skins, ability to play through game with all abilities unlocked and more extreme difficulty modes.

Alternate Characters
After completion you can unlock other characters to play as including Alucard, Gabriel Belmont, and the Archangel Gabriel. Each with there own weapons, attacks, magic and outfits. No cut scenes play while using alternate characters, instead the games plays as one long, continuous run.

Alucard

Main Weapon: Crisagramm

Secondary Weapons: Masamune, Shadow Daggers

Magic: Alucard possess the same magic as Dracula - just with different visual effects

Gabriel Belmont

Main Weapon: Vampire Killer

Secondary Weapons: Axe, Silver Daggers

Magic: Holy Water, Holy Cross, Holy Bible, Stolas Clock - Belmont magic is reference to older castlevania games sub-weapons.

Archangel

Main Weapon: Crusader Sword and Shield

Secondary Weapons: Lance of Longinous, Angel Blades, Trumpet

Magic: The Archangel is able to call on the forces of the Four Horsemen - Calamity, War, Blight & Death

Dracula

 * 1) Default
 * 2) Lord of Darkness: Dark knight clad is draconic armour
 * 3) Belmont: Gabriels true human form with original armour from the Brotherhood of Light
 * 4) Hammer Horror: Tribute to the classic horror movies of the 1940's
 * 5) Symphony Attire: Modern remaking of the outfit worn in Sympony of the Night
 * 6) Nightstalker: Tribute to the outfit worn in Vampire Hunter: D
 * 7) Ancients Curse: Wild and crazed and desperate for blood

Alucard
Gabriel Belmont Archangel Speed Runs
 * 1) Default
 * 2) Belmont Legacy: Trevors human form and outfit from Mirror of Fate
 * 3) Symphony Dress: Modern remake of the outfit worn in Symphnoy of the Night
 * 4) White Knight: Sleek, futuristic white outfit
 * 5) Daywalker: Hommage to blade from the marvel comics
 * 1) Default
 * 2) God's Chosen: Modern day clothing with Belmont insignia
 * 3) Simons Quest: Outfit based on Simon Belmonts armour from Mirror of Fate
 * 4) Vampire Hunter: Outfit based on Richter Belmont from Symphony of the Night
 * 1) Default
 * 2) As Above: Glittering Gold angelic armour
 * 3) So Below: Corrupted fallen angel armour

Part of the fun of any Castlevanina game is through Speed running. The game has been designed so that players can take advantage of unconventional playstyles and intelligent use of abilites to access areas as fast as possible.

Revelations
To those who are aware of the New Testament, Lords of Shadow 3 is a very loose adaption of the Book of Revelations which deals with the end of the world and creation of the new. Castlevanian characters have been placed in the roles of the Book of Revelations cast such as Dracula as a substitute for the Dragon and Susan as the Lamb of God. While the bible is an inspiration for the story of Lords of Shadow 3 it is not a faith recreation.