In May 2012, a website opened with a timer countdown, showing the door leading to Dracula's throne room. The website was called "The Dragon Returns", and the countdown ended on May 31.
On May 31, 2012 during Konami's Pre E3 2012 Press Conference, the first trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 premiered, featuring an older Gabriel who displays full ownership of his vampiric powers. This trailer focused on the Castle Siege, and used full CG.
On December 7, 2012, during the Video Games Award, another short trailer was broadcasted, giving more information about the story and gameplay. This was the first trailer using the new in-game MercurySteam engine.
On June 6, 2013, during Konami's Pre E3 2013 Conference, the demo of the game was playable. A new long trailer was shown, showing gameplay and story, mostly focusing on the Castle Siege (which was the demo chapter). Zobek, Carmilla, and Marie were confirmed to be part of the game.
On August 21, 2013, at Cologne's GamesCon, Victor Belmont was revealed to be the new Belmont character. A trailer focusing on the Void Sword and gameplay was also shown.
On Halloween 2013, a new short trailer ("Dracula's Vengeance") was shown, giving new details about the plot.
In January 2014, new screenshots, concept arts, and renders were released. Demo versions were sent to various gaming professionals, and previews started to appear. In general, most previews were positive about the game's quality. New footage from both eras (Castle and City) was shown.
Gameplay
Players will take control of Lords of Shadow's protagonist Gabriel Belmont, who now has taken on the moniker of "Dracul", as the game's main protagonist. He will traverse both his own castle and a modern day city, while battling both the Brotherhood of Light and the forces of Satan.
The combat system is based on the previous game. Gabriel's Combat Cross has been replaced with a new weapon called the "Shadow Whip". However, combos are still strung together with strong direct attacks, and lighter attacks with more range. [3] Dracula can collect blood from the enemies he fights. He can channel it into "Void" and "Chaos". When the former is activated, Dracula's weapon will switch to the Void Sword. This weapon allows him to regain health when enemies are struck with it. Chaos switches Dracula's weapon to a pair of claws that will help him break through enemy defenses. [4] This system is highly reminiscent of how Light Magic and Shadow Magic were put to use in the previous Lords of Shadow. Each weapon also has its own skills, such as void sword having 35 exclusive combos available, instead of being limited to the whip and switching between weapons mid-combo is possible. Additionally using a combo repeatedly will allow Dracula to master that combo, and once mastered its power can be siphoned into the weapon itself, making it more powerful, granting extra abilities and increased damage. [5]
Other powers Dracula at his disposal are controlling enemies and turn into mist in order to get past unseen or enter certain areas. [4] Secondary weapons also return in the form of Relics, such as the Seal of Alastor-which unlocks all of Dracula's skills for a short period of time; the Stolas' Clock, which functions similar to the Stopwatch of classic Castlevania, and the Dragon Form, which is akin to the Dark Crystal of the first Lords of Shadow.
