Leveling up was actually always a stupid mechanic in Metroidvanias anyway, it makes game balance a basically impossible task. I like finding and collecting stuff in Castlevanias, but leave leveling up out of it. Metroid doesn't have leveling up, it just has finding upgrades, and it's great.
All that said I have absolutely no idea what Lords of Shadow is so I have no idea what this is going to be like but I'm not really thrilled.