Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Made by the same producer that made Castlevania Symphony of the NIght and Order of Ecclesia, this is a new mythos with a mixture mechanics of both in 2.5D environment. Much like those two games, the hints are few, and the exploring can be punishingly hard if you are used to modern hints, so be advised. Otherwise this runs great, has great sounds and colorful visuals. Just be warned that it's an exploration heavy action/RPG, and the best items require completing quests and item hunting, so if that's not your cup of tea, try before buying.

I have never played the Castlevania games, and haven't had the chance. So, on a whim, I picked up a pre-order of this game, and was pleasently surprised. It is a fun game, with an okay story, and a variety of actions to choose from as you fight your way through the castle, before destroying it. However, it loses a star, as it has a few one and done things that require you to have specific items to get the proper drops. Otherwise, you will not be able to 100% complete that aspect of the game. In addition, it has a bit of grind, which has a bit of an inverse relationship with difficulty; the easier the game, the harder the grind is. If you wish to enjoy the game, and not worry too much, then beat it on normal. If you get stuck, read some of the key items and they will give you a hint on what you need to do next. If you wish to lose several weeks of your life, beat hard, then take on nightmare.

Im a great fan of Castlevania havin played al the NES, SNES, PSX(CSotN), Genesis, Saturn, GameBoy Advance, PSP, PC(Steam) ones, also I have played a lot of Metroid and Metroid Prime, Hollow Knigth, DeadCells, Steam World Dig, Ori, Hob, Elisian Tale, and another truckload of MetroidVanias having been disappointed by a few of those games, I can say without any doubt that this game is great Fun, and one of the very best! (CSotN always at the top, sorry) Im absolutely loving this Castle... ...err, MetroidVania game, if you love or like any of the games I have mentioned, there is a a very high chance that you will love / like this game too. Now excuse me I have to continue playing BloodStained.

It's a journey through time. A time travel into my young years. I had so much fun with the Castlevania parts. Especially Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the night were and are masterpieces. Unforgettable their music and level structure. Now Bloodstained starts to continue this tradition and although it is not officially Castlevania, it is obviously his descendant. At first I missed the cartoon style of my beloved predecessors, but after a short time I was convinced of the playing feel and the outstanding soundtrack. A perfection and precision in control that is rarely achieved. Jumping with pinpoint accuracy and navigating in the air. Wonderful. There are few games that I play 100 percent through. Bloodstained - Ritual of the Night is one of them. A pleasure through and through.

If you want a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night by it's very creator this is it. Not only is the game fun and long it has plenty of references to Castlevania, Easter eggs and some very hard to find demons to keep you invested in searching the castle. Some people have reported crashes but in my whole experience with the latest patched version I only had this issue once.