Battling the Toy Maker in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 for what seems like an eternity. In reality, it’s only been just north of three years, but Lords of Shadow left such a strong mark on me – mostly because it was the first truly successful transition of the series from 2D to 3D – that I was left anxious to see what developer MercurySteam had up its sleeve next.

When Lords of Shadow 2 launches in late February, what MercurySteam hopes gamers notice is how much their take on Castlevania has been expanded, fleshed-out, and more fully realized. But there’s a specific section of the game that Konami wanted to focus on when talking with IGN, and that section has to do with a mysterious foe known only as the Toy Maker. You can learn more about the Toy Maker – and see him in action – in our exclusive, 10 minute-long video below.

“The Toy Maker is a character who was trained under Rinaldo Gandolfi, who forged the Combat Cross which Gabriel used in the original game,” Lords of Shadow 2’s Producer Dave Cox explained. “Gandolfi was an esteemed member of the Brotherhood of Light, and the Toy Maker was his best and brightest pupil. The Toy Maker was a skilled creator of gadgets, weapons, and incredible technologies used by the Brotherhood in their battles against the Lords of Shadow.”

Lords of Shadow 2 – which is a meaty game purported to be about 20 hours long – introduces players to the Toy Maker about halfway through the campaign. He’s unveiled “through a puzzle that tells the history of the character,” Cox explained. As Dracula scours the massive castle for fragments of the Mirror of Fate (an item which you may recognize from the 3DS spinoff), the Toy Maker makes himself known and conducts a terrifying assault on the player.

“We wanted to have a very flamboyant, theatrical character representing the Toy Maker,” Cox said. “There is a clear distinction between the Castle and the city [players will explore in the game], and we’ve tried to make the characters in the Castle feel very different from those that you encounter out in the city. The Toy Maker is a much more light-hearted character when you first meet him, and yet his story is very tragic. We wanted to depict him in such a way that players would feel some empathy for him.”

“In many ways,” Cox continued, “his story mirrors that of Gabriel himself. The design has elements of French couture fashion around the time of the [French] Revolution. You might also notice a few influences from Oswald Cobblepot, sometimes known as the Penguin [in Batman].”

Dracula has a litany of skills at his disposal halfway through Lords of Shadow 2’s campaign, but it’s his mist ability that will prove the most useful in your fight against the Toy Maker, along with the Shadow Whip, Freezing Bolts, Void Sword, and Chaos Claws, depending on which form of the Toy Maker you’re fighting. After all, this boss battle has three distinct sections for players to work their way through: Knight, Dragon, and Mech. Only by slaying all three iterations of the Toy Maker will he be permanently vanquished.

For more on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 – including more of our talk with Dave Cox and, ultimately, our full written and video review – keep it locked on IGN. You can also see a bunch of new, exclusive art by clicking here.

Colin Moriarty is IGN’s Senior Editor. You can follow him on Twitter.

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