BLOODSTAINED: RITUAL OF THE NIGHT is Old School Cool Done Right

Castle….Stainia?

When I Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night received over $5 million dollars from the asked $500,000 goal, I was not shocked but surprised. Kickstarter campaigns have historically been very hit and miss but this time, it’s a definite hit. While still an early release and some polish could be applied, overall, this feels like an update to Symphony of the Night and that is exactly what the fans (and myself) wanted…

Even the first save area is dripping with coolness

Yep, so far, this is a no-frills, fan service galore, Metroid-vania romp that I found surprisingly refreshing after all the fluff some developers feel like they have to put in games today. This feels like it was released years ago but I mean that in the most complimentary way I can muster. While the controls on the PC version are serviceable, a controller, of course is proffered. Graphics are also overall fantastic and art style is appealing but it seems that some of the low res models were rushed. Maybe a fix incoming?

Enemy design, atmosphere, weapons and inventory are all perfect old school cool

Whether you are a hardcore fan or newcomer to the Castlevania franchise, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy Bloodstained. Just slashing through the lanterns hanging above to catch loot was oddly satisfying. I can’t wait to dive in even more..Bloodstained is available now for PC (Steam/GOG), PS4, XBONE and coming next week to Switch.