I think Castlevania : Lords of Shadow's IP kind of worked against it. It's useless to non- fans of the series, and it's jarring to those who are.

It's like it is constantly wondering if it's a new take on the universe, or just a whole new one with useless, random references thrown in. There are lots of people completely displaced from their original time and background, and I am not talking about the game's big spoilery reveal, but completely random ones with no point.

One example among many : in the main series there is a character who is a 20th century German artist who tragically turned mad because he lost his family during WW2. He is "reimagined" into a random bat-faced vampire general in the 11th century. His name is just mentioned in narration before a short fight and he's never seen again.

Despite all of that, the game is great. Mostly linear, definitely has some pacing issues, but it's pretty good at telling its story, it's a decent spectacle fighter, and the environments are great.

Sequels... Yeah, not so much. But I really liked the first one. I just feel the Castlevania name only set it for something it wasn't though.