Castlevania: Lords of Shadow marks a new beginning for the Castlevania series, with Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam working closely with Konami’s respected Kojima Productions studio, led by Hideo Kojima. The title is an incredibly ambitious and ground-breaking title that mixes stunning combat elements, with a fully interactive 3D realm populated by all manner of undead and inhuman denizens.

The game’s as yet unnamed protagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs, is heard to proclaim he will “wipe the name of Belmont from this world… forever”, while a mysterious new Mask adds further to the mystery…

Konami has released a demo for Castlevania: Lords of Shadowvia Sony’s premiere PSN+ subscription service today, giving users an early sampler of a game. The demo will be available exclusively for one week from PSN+, but will be widely available on the standard PSN service from Sept. 29th and will also be released on X360 via Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service, with dates to be confirmed.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is set in a ravaged Europe of the middle ages. The planet has been devastated by a powerful magic. The souls of the dead are trapped on our earthly plane unable to find peace, and inhuman creatures of nightmare now roam the Earth, wreaking havoc. Having witnessed his wife Marie (voiced by Natascha McKelhone) murdered at their hands, Gabriel (Robert Carlyle) pledges revenge against those responsible: the mysterious Lords of Shadow.

Gabriel learns from an ally called Zobek (Patrick Stewart) that each of the Lords possesses pieces of a relic called ’The God Mask’ that, when assembled, can purify the world and has the power to bring the dead back. Thus, Gabriel must face the three factions of the Lords of Shadow and confront them – defeating huge adversaries that dominate the screen, making his way across inhospitable but beautifully realised locations, and using the Combat Cross device to whip, swing, and rappel his way to the Mask’s location.

Gabriel will stop at nothing to see his beloved returned to him but someone has other plans for Gabriel and the mask holds the key. For good or for ill, Gabriel will meet his destiny: what is the secret of the masks and how are the Belmonts involved.