Lords of shadow was something I enjoyed, but would never play again.

I realise I was sold on trailers, the world seemed aged, filled with creatures so ancient that evil acts and deeds had lost whatever lustre they had and they simply endured because they were immortal and clung to life.

Villains who had a sadness to them, as if they had made bargains to endure forever and acquire inhuman power and realised too late their folly. A hero who defied them all for love.

The story seemed adult, by that I mean the motivations of the lead character was primarily selfish and saving the world was secondary.

The music was transcendent, it spoke of legend, facing down the beasts of the night, the triumph after hard won battles, the driving away the night and the creatures within.

The game world was spectacular, all around was a environment lived in, filled with wonder, the forests seemed alive with magic and magical creatures. Cities abandoned to ruin and filled with dangers and unspeakable horrors. It is a game world weighted down by history that has affected all the characters that live in it and it was glorious.

It held a sense of wonder, of new vistas to see, of enemies to be conquered, of love to be re-kindled.

The gameplay....

Was repetitive, endless backtracking, Boss fight life resets for missed quicktime button presses, clunky and not entirely accurate controls. It was a complete chore to play through.

If I had a choice of playing it as a game, or reading tales based from the world, or watching it as a movie Lord of the Rings style, I would never choose the game version.