Developed By: ArtPlay
Published By: 505 Games
Date of Release: June 18, 2019
Price: $40
In the year 1997, a legend was unleashed upon the night. A masterpiece of 2D platforming with nonlinear exploration and RPG-style progression, it took the gaming community by storm. It was Castlevania: Symphony of The Night for the Sony PlayStation, by Koji Igarashi. Featuring superbly fluid sprites, glorious paralaxing backgrounds, and a sweeping score by Michiru Yamane, it was the pinnacle of the franchise and led to the term that would be used to describe it's genre for the decades to come, "Metroidvania". And now it would seem that a worthy successor to this legendary title has been born. And that successor is Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night. After a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign and a lengthy development time of around 4 years, it has finally been released. But does it truly live up to the hype?
The first thing noticeable in Bloodstained is the fluid cel-shaded 3D graphics. Though a major departure from the sprites of yore, the new look adds a vast feeling of depth to the games aesthetic. Levels have a true feeling of 3 dimensions as you explore them despite the game being confined to the traditional 2D plane. As for the sound design, Michiru Yamane has returned with a score that invokes feelings of the Castlevania series, and cements Bloodstained as the true successor to the franchise. The voice acting is also on point, with excellent performances from all the cast, and even appearances by some fan favorites.
But how does it play? Well, Bloodstained feels quite like Symphony of The Night for sure, but through the shard powers that the protagonist can use it feels a lot like the soul system from Castlevania: Aria/Dawn of Sorrow. In the end it becomes a wonderful blend of fine-tuned gameplay seasoned with ample amounts of fan-service. If you have ever been a fan of the Castlevania series, then Bloodstained will feel like coming home after a long time away. And for newcomers to the genre, it really is a good starting point as well. All in all, Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night is proof both that Kickstarted games can be good, and also that Koji Igarashi has not lost his touch.
