When Castlevania's reboot was unveiled back in 2010, it caused controversy for a whole host of reasons - see the long, long list below. But fast forward three years, and it's clear that Konami made the right call as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3 amply shows.
But first, that list - when the fans first saw the reboot's screenshots, they decried the switch from 2D to third-person; they turned up their noses at the linear experience while tut-tutting the game's entirely new timeline that ignored the series' existing 'canon'; and hissed at the game's po-faced storyline about an avenging knight.
On actually playing the reboot though, the shock of the new quickly turned into pleasant surprise as you took on the role of Gabriel Belmont, a knight who must slaughter the Lords of Shadow. And mark our words, slaughter has never been so rewarding.
A mass of menace awaits the hardy knight from vampires and werewolves to towering titans and weird naked flying lady beast, erm, things that stick in the memory long after completing the game. To bring these suckers to their knees, you use a fantastically versatile 'combat cross' that can be powered-up along with your character over the course of the game by purchasing moves and combos plus magic.
When not ripping out the hearts of demons via QTEs, you'll traverse an epic amount of quite staggering vistas too, from swamps and deserts to, yes, castles solving simple puzzles and uncovering secrets. And the reboot's somewhat linear nature is actually a blessing, offering a more channeled, focused experience to pile your way through.
Two fat slices of DLC, Reverie and Resurrection, are also included that provide a meaty epilogue to the main event while Mirror of Fate HD is a remastered version of the 3DS side-scrolling game released this year. But that's not all - also included is a demo of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, the full fat sequel to the original reboot due in early 2014.
It all adds up to a generous testimony to a series that hasn't been scared to move with the times - and remains as engrossing as the original that debuted way back in 1986.