My interpretation of this game's ending (which I love)
I posted this as a reply on another person's post but after rereading it I felt it was something people thinking about this game and reading all these negative things being said about the story and ending needed to read. This does contain major spoilers so I warn you now to advert thy eyes if that's an issue.
I think most people's perception of the ending is too narrow minded. I perceive this game as Dracula's backstory. In past titles we fought Dracula with no real sense of who he was, why he was evil, why he was doing what he was doing, why he had this hatred for mankind. Only that he had once been a mortal himself at some point and had loved a mortal woman.
A lot of people are getting hung up on the fact that Gabriel's last name was Belmont. As others have stated he took the name, he is NOT a true Belmont. The loss of his love and the gods turning their back on him, not to mention the horrible things he did under the influence of the mask left him a broken man. There was good in him but that good seemingly ascended to heaven leaving behind the shadow just like the other lords of shadow, only the tormented broken soul remains and thats what ultimately becomes Dracula (the dlc chapters explain the complete transformation into vampire)
At the end (as Dracul)you see his hatred at the very mention of what he used to be by Zobek. This would set up Dracula's hatred for the Belmonts. Even though Gabriel wasn't a true Belmont (I can't stress enough that he was NOT a true Belmont) the very name is reminder of what he was, what he lost and what wrongs had been done to him.
What we get in the end and what is certainly not a waste of a whole game is a fully fleshed out villain that we can sympathize with and also hate for what he becomes. A sequel to this game could follow Grabiel's complete transition to the evil Dracula that we all know or it may follow a TRUE Belmont and his effort to stop Gabriel (now Dracula). Either way is fine by me and the fact that Gabriel had once used the Belmont name is extra incentive for the TRUE Belmonts to want to put a stop to him once and for all. Just because Gabriel is the protagonist in this game doesn't mean it has to stay that way.
I also highly doubt they'll be taking the next game to modern times. I imagine, if at all, that'd be how they end the new series. After a game or two of you playing as a Belmont or even a few different Belmonts facing off against the Dracula we now know it'd all come full circle back to him still being alive and Zobek recruiting him in a fight against satan with a promise of his chance for mortality again. You'd play as the very character that you started the new series off with a game or two back. THAT my friends....sounds reall *beep* epic to me.
Say what you will about this game but I love it, it's a beautiful thing they've done and I'm excited to see where the franchise goes from here on out.