Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

This game is absolutely fantastic! 11 out of 10 from me. So, an interesting thing happened to me last night (minor spoilers ahead?). I’ve been playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night for about a week now, and I’ve loved almost every second of it (that’s a rare enough feat in and of itself). I got to a point where I was unsure of how to progress. On the one hand, I could fight the main bad guy, but then I get a pretty underwhelming game end. On the other I only had roughly 50% of the map discovered, so there was clearly a lot of the game left to explore. Well, at one point I killed a monster for a quest (optional quest), and happened to unlocked a shard which gave me the ability to travel underwater, not swim mind you, so I couldn’t access the underwater chests; this told me there was another ability I needed to unlock. At this point I used my new skill to explore the underwater areas I could now access, but I kept thinking to myself: “Is this an area I’m supposed to be visiting/accessing now, or am I doing something unintended and skipping ahead? I mean, that skill was only a 5% drop chance.” After I farmed and crafted all the weapons/etc. that I wanted, I had nothing else to do, so I explored the last underwater area I had been putting off. This led to a new area, and the same train of thought as above. After fully exploring this area, I fought a boss, and unlocked the ability to fully explore underwater (not just push myself around). This is where I stopped for the night, but it gave me an interesting feeling, and caused me to think about game design a bit (I’m not a game dev.). I wanted to share this experience, and the feelings this game has brought me. I’ve played video games since before I could walk, but lately that “magical” or “wonderous” feeling hasn’t been one I’ve experienced from games. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some games I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, but this game just reminded me of that something extra I used to feel from games when I was younger.

Game Boy Advanced Series + some cool stuff, prettier graphics and High Frame Rate ... That's all there is to say... Good stuff That's it... Blood Lady Boss is 55% through... When you reach her, you can end it, or back off an go beyond 56%... That is the best non spoiler review I can give. Good Stuff! :)

If you ever fell nostalic for the metrodvenia Castlevania games then this is the game for you, it's what 10 year old me dreamed future games would be like. If you have never played a Castlevania game this the perfect place to start.

If you like Castlevania and metroid-vania style RPG games, this is a MUST-BUY, trust me, it is worth completely it´s price. Many weapons, with a polished gameplay, marvelous soundtrack, great graphics and high replaybility, and now with difficulty selection, (normal, hard and nightmare).

5 bosses and 30% of the map in, I have to say this: I had no idea how much I missed an authentic, Koji Igarashi produced, Castlevania. Other games have successfully adapted the formula, but there is something in the flair of his games, that only this director can apparently add. But my feelings aside, Bloodstained is the best we could have wished for. A great explorative platformer with good movement and hitboxes, diverse weapons, an almost hilarious amount of different attacks and a wonderful soundtrack. I don't even mind the Kickstarter portraits in the game, since they add to the slight level of camp that has always been essential to the great mix of gothic horror and Hammer Studios cheese that made Castlevania its own thing. Bloodstained fits in marvelously and if anyone liked Castlevania or any Metroidvania, buy without regret. And David Hayter is in it, so... bonus star!