Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Very shocked I haven't given this one a review yet but I suppose that's likely because I spent much more time with the console version than the PC port. Overall IGA fully delivers on his promise with a metroidvania of equal quality to Castlevania's best. I do have a few issues: I think the presentation is a bit lackluster (the graphics can't possibly compare to the gorgeous spritework of Castlevania's past and some of the music while very catchy and well-composed sounds poorly mixed), the story and dialogue aren't terribly standout, the end game feels a bit weak, and there are certain small moments where the progression felt unclear. That being said, I consider all of this minor and outside of that the core gameplay is fantastic. Basically: if you're looking for more Castlevania-like goodness you won't find better than this. Personally as a diehard Castlevania fan I feel incredibly lucky to have such a worthy ongoing spiritual successor to an otherwise neglected franchise. Even outside of comparisons, I think this holds up well among the best metroidvanias in the market right now, and certainly proves the most content-packed.

[h1] Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Worthy heir to Castlevania! [/h1] In the world of video games, the genre Metroidvania remains one of the most favorite among fans of non-linear adventures. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, developed by ArtPlay under the direction of Koji Igarashi and released by 505 Games in 2019, is a vivid example of how classic elements can be combined with modern enhancements. This game, created thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $5.5 million, was a real treat for Castlevania fans and attracted the attention of new players.

Great game, no complaints other than the fact that it made me want to play Symphony of The Night every time I started it.

It's intriguing and it's art style is mad flavorful but the combat isn't tuned enough for what it demands of the player. Straight up, it's just not. Button presses are often unresponsive in the worst goddamn times (they seem to work just fine and are crisp AF doing low level enemy encounters but f*cking become retarded and hit-and-miss doing boss encounters), and it drives you crazy. Not in a Dark Souls, "gut gud" kind of way (trust me, I know a lot about those gems, check my library and hours put into Souls-esque games), it's just dumb and frustrating after a while. This s*it doesn't work in a rigid, 2-D, side-scrolling platformer, the devolpers failed completely to implement a balanced combat system, though the choice and customization you have is impressive and multifaceted, I'll definitely give it that. Props where it is due, the art-style is effin gorgeous; stunning at times. Music (soundtrack and SFX) is top-notch) and if your a masochist (but, like I said, not in Dark Souls kind of way, this game can only look up at the stomach of those masterpieces) this should be right up your alley. I also really enjoyed the VA's, particularly the Female protagonist, but, to me, it's not fun or fufilling to play after a certain point. Should you buy it? Do I regret my purchase? Honestly, the answer to the second one is 'No', and the first is....IDK? Maybe? I like to support very creative, visually pleasing, and outside of the box and mainstream titles like this; even if the gameplay falls below average. I may try other titles from this dev, and if the moves are crisper and crunchier, and the gameplay is more fluid than this, that could be the start of a beautiful relationship. I like having BloodStained: Ritual of the Night in my library, I honestly do, but I cannot in good conscience recommend it if you're after an solid gameplay experience.

I have played this game on multiple platforms and got every single achievement. It's a pity that these platforms don't share progress across each other.

GenX gamer here - this is the most fun I've had in years, for my-pocket-money prices back in the day. Awesome graphics, the usual corny back-story, but lovely gameplay that's a little challenging but also, lots of fun. Cool soundtrack also. You can play it in "bursts" too, I don't have time these days to devote whole evenings to playing games. Just buy it, you'll love it!!!

I love castlevania, and I really REALLY love SOTN as it was a childhood game. This game was recommended by my friend and I gave it a shot. Now I will say: Bloodstained is not a perfect game, but it -IS- a good metroidvania game. If this game were to be called Castlevania, I would believe it. I have some complaints about the game, but the good outweighs the bad. 7.8/10

The main game was a delight & truly a special metroidvania experience. I enjoyed the graphical style, combat, boss fights, and exploration. The Dominique's Curse DLC was okay, although I found myself wishing that the player character moved around the map a little faster. I guess they were trying to capture an old-school experience where your character wasn't able to run, but it felt a bit goofy to me.

Solid gameplay, sweet graphical effects, epic soundtrack, yet to finish my first run and find it delightfully challenging. Made with love for the craft, not the buck.

Having the recent Dominus Collection as my only experience in Metroidvanias, I gotta say this one's really good, IGA really made sure this game felt like the last Castlevanias we got before he left Konami. There's a bit of jank in some aspects and some things feel grindy as hell (like collecting 500K gold), but overall it was a very pleasant experience. Fully recommeded. The game also has a lot of different game modes besides the main campaign (there are campaigns for 2 more characters too) so if you really like playing this kind of games a lot, you're well covered. Note: I know it's not directly related but I hope Konami ports Symphony of the Night to Steam one day.

The game is beautifully made, the controls are very good, the visuals, audio and storytelling are super strong. I strongly recommend even if you haven't played any other castlevania type game.

Second time i've bought this game. First time was the kickstarter i paid 200$. i wanted to play it on my PC after i gave away the multiple keys they gave me for supporting the kickstart. GREAT game. you don't just spend 250$ on a game you don't like.

Completed it on the switch. I’m a massive castlevania fan especially SotN and aria of sorrow. I didn’t care much for the 2.5D art style and the over all look. I felt it should have been pure pixel art like prior games like the above mentioned. It ran poorly on switch but I did enjoy the game. It doesn’t invent anything new it just takes aria of sorrow soul system and throws in some tropes of each game for nostalgia. It’s enjoyable but I’ll be Frank i think Record of Lodoss War Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinth despite being short is a true love letter to SotN and a much better game and what I wanted bloodstained to be. I think the spin off classic ones are much better too be honest. Still enjoyable and good performance on pc for the most part 7/10 game.. at the end of the day it scratches the itch but it doesn’t last too long.

As a fan of Aria of Sorrow, it was fun to play Ritual of the Night and it gave me that same experience of Aria of Sorrow. Spend an entire week just 100% the main game.

The second half being very much a boring grog and palette swap of the first half of the game. The presentation of this game is what keeps a below average game from being at the very least mediocre. Animation looks eh, the model don't blend with the backgrounds, foregrounds and or anything in the enviroment really, the combat feels Circle of The Moon stiff but I still finished Circle of The Moon. The music is there. It's a game that you can purchase and play. It exist I guess. Almost all Castlevania is on PC now through Steam or other methods like PSXC2. There are Metroidvanias being everyday than Children being born. Buy the other game you might be considering brother.

Long time fan of the series including some Metroidvania titles. Didn't like this game. The 2.5D looks pretty but makes platforming and combat frustrating due to imprecise hitboxes. Attack animations are delayed and sluggish, combat is easy to the point of being boring, except for boss fights where you can't avoid damage. Most of all, there's SO MUCH side questing and mini gaming - fetch quests, item crafting, waiting for crops to grow. I was stuck a really long time because it turns out the silly "photo booth" thing isn't just a dress-up-and-share-to-social-media feature, but absolutely required to progress at one point.

The difficulty spike forces a series of unwanted and unfun backtrackings just to upgrade stuff so instead of 100 times hits needed to kill a certain end game boss you need 50 instead. Some Bosses have really bad battle design and unfair (no cue) Animations and execution of animations. The game forces a RPG approach instead of Skill oriented approach, which really made me just give up as i noticed i'm losing my fun. The game has a really good start but boring end game that just punishes your favoured playstyle. The game still has good overall design but really not worth it considering there are enough top tier Metroidvanias out there. It is better than Blashpemous tho, so there's that.

Idk how this game got any good press or reviews honestly. Holy shit this game hits the trifecta of looking, playing, and sounding awful. The stiffest combat in the genre meets the worst cell shading I've ever seen with for some reason, all of the sound and menus from the ps2 devil may cry era. Truly bizarre that i've heard such great things about it.

Good old perfect Castlev...Bloodstainia! Discount buy is highly recommened for everyone!

Spiritual sequel to Castlevania made by Koji Igarashi. Instant Classic!!

I played for a few hours and it didn't click for me. Even though I've enjoyed immensely other metroidvanias in the past, this one just wasn't for me. I read online that the start and/or first playthrough is slow but I don't want to invest so much for a game to start being fun so I'm passing on that.

As normal player who really loves Platformer games. Avoid this unbalance nightmare of a gameplay experience. But if you're a hardcore gamer—good luck!. 💖 How unbalanced? - Clunky player mobility. - Unfair end-game boss fight, Too much combo that demand perfect dodging. so easy back to last save in 10 seconds. To be fair, this game is good but it's for hardcore player. And it doesn't even come close to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. (if you expect)

Don't put a bossfight early in your game that actually requires mechanics if your game hasn't given you the chance to actually collect the interesting mechanics for your combat system, and shopping still requires backtracking. Seriously, keep it easy until the challenges can be interesting, and more then jumping and spamming the same attack over and over.

amazing game. Highly recommend if you play metroidvanias

A true spiritual followup to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Game is similar to symphony of the night.

Was very fun

GIT GUT

Yes