Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 379 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 298 out of 379
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 379
  3. Negative: 35 out of 379

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  1. HonestReviews4U
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a beautiful reminder of the roots of the Metroidvania genre.

    It looks pretty good, even though everything beyond 1080p is just upscaled, but that really doesn't matter. The OST is beautiful. Every song is very atmospheric and fits the environment it has been placed it. Much like with actual Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, there is barely    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a beautiful reminder of the roots of the Metroidvania genre.

    It looks pretty good, even though everything beyond 1080p is just upscaled, but that really doesn't matter.

    The OST is beautiful. Every song is very atmospheric and fits the environment it has been placed it.

    Much like with actual Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, there is barely any story, and the bit that is there is quite interesting. However, this game's main focus is to re-capture the "SOTN-feeling"... does it succeed?

    Absolutely yes.

    The gameplay is phenomenal. It pretty much feels 1:1 like SOTN. You have different spells, movement upgrades, weapons and weapon types, and it all just feels like a newly oiled machine. My only real complaint is that it does feel a bit slower than SOTN, maybe it's because of it being 2.5D instead of 2, but this is hardly ever a problem.

    TL;DR Should you buy this game? What are you still doing reading this review? Get out there and buy this masterpiece!    … Expand
  2. Kamasenin
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    This is the modern take of SOTN that you always hoped for, but Konami was never willing to deliver.

    If you love Castlevania, Super Metroid, and Metroidvania style gameplay, you owe it to yourself to try this game.
  3. Krayvenbr
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    O jogo está fantástico espero que liberem rápido o zangetsu o único problema do game e que ele acaba :(
  4. vassagoraziel
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    This plays and feels very similar to the Castlevania games released for the NintendoDS (which are great games in my opinion), but now with 3D graphics, which are more like cel shaded anime style but still looks good. The soundtrack is still amazing as always.
    I totally recommend it to fans of Castlevania and metroidvanias.
  5. pedromn2
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    O Jogo esta sensacional !! O capricho de toda equipe esta incrivel , imaginem o que o IGA conseguiria fazer com um grande orcamento ? Simplesmente TUDO o que tinha de melhor em SOTN , DOS e AOF estao em Bloodstained , o jogo joga na sua cara a nostalgia e eh uma grande homenagem a franquia castlevania porem com uma roupagem nova . Bloodstained e tudo que sonhavamos ha anos "um SOTN novoO Jogo esta sensacional !! O capricho de toda equipe esta incrivel , imaginem o que o IGA conseguiria fazer com um grande orcamento ? Simplesmente TUDO o que tinha de melhor em SOTN , DOS e AOF estao em Bloodstained , o jogo joga na sua cara a nostalgia e eh uma grande homenagem a franquia castlevania porem com uma roupagem nova . Bloodstained e tudo que sonhavamos ha anos "um SOTN novo com graficos modernos " e ele fez , apesar de nao ter os iconicos personagens da saga castlevania , bloodstained faz com primor tambem . Thanks iga!… Expand
  6. JasonJones
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    This game gives me a lot of SotN vibes. At first i was skeptical, but after playing it for a solid 3 hours i can truely say it's been well worth the wait. The music, enemies, bosses, level design, it's like an evolved version of SotN, including the eerie, gothic vibe. If you had any doubts about this game not bearing the 'Castlevania' name, have no fear. It has more of a Castlevania vibeThis game gives me a lot of SotN vibes. At first i was skeptical, but after playing it for a solid 3 hours i can truely say it's been well worth the wait. The music, enemies, bosses, level design, it's like an evolved version of SotN, including the eerie, gothic vibe. If you had any doubts about this game not bearing the 'Castlevania' name, have no fear. It has more of a Castlevania vibe than everything Konami has put out in the last couple of years.

    And yes, the 'hidden' storage rooms are back too.    … Expand
  7. DrHani
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    The Golden Era of Games is Back , simply put another incredible SOTN is reincarnated, well done Iga
  8. LifeHistory
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    This game was totally worth the wait.

    -Solid controls and gameplay. -Beautiful visuals. -Will make every Castlevania fan or a platformer lover very happy. -Nice music. -Good enemies and level design. -Has replay ability after finishing the game because is such a fun game. -Good optimized. What more can I say. You just won't go wrong with this game what ever type of gender or    This game was totally worth the wait.

    -Solid controls and gameplay.
    -Beautiful visuals.
    -Will make every Castlevania fan or a platformer lover very happy.
    -Nice music.
    -Good enemies and level design.
    -Has replay ability after finishing the game because is such a fun game.
    -Good optimized.

    What more can I say. You just won't go wrong with this game what ever type of gender or gamer you are.    … Expand
  9. Orvar83
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    It's everything a Metroidvania fan would want, the amount of content and care put into this is astonishing, the music is on par with the best titles in the genre, and the visuals are stunning.
  10. HussamOsman
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    Epic game, a worthy successor of castlevania series. Iga touches are really evident. 10/10
  11. SilentSputnik
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    Total masterpiece. I backed this game years ago knowing that Iga would deliver another masterpiece.
  12. ECB19
    Sep 11, 2019
    10
    This kind of games is one of my favorites.
    And I think everyone who liked the castlevania games: Symphony Of The Night, Harmony Of Dissonance, Aria Of Sorrow
    or games like the metroid saga in 2d. They will like this game. it is pretty good in all sections. good screen design, good soundtracks, There are many objects and weapons that you can get, the fragment system resembles that of    This kind of games is one of my favorites.
    And I think everyone who liked the castlevania games: Symphony Of The Night, Harmony Of Dissonance, Aria Of Sorrow
    or games like the metroid saga in 2d. They will like this game. it is pretty good in all sections.
    good screen design, good soundtracks,
    There are many objects and weapons that you can get, the fragment system resembles that of the aria of sorrow's soul system but improved and at the moment I have not had problems playing it in medium configuration.    … Expand
  13. PHDIKOULAS
    Feb 7, 2020
    9
    so you liked symphony of the night and waited in praying some time it would come, while konami was knee deep in slot machines.Pray no more and go buy this game quick fast and in a hurry. This Is symphony of the nights sequel!

    Bravo Iga and thank you
  14. Chop1n
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    I was wary of disappointment when the first demo gameplay footage came out, but all concerns have been allayed. I've been playing for five hours now, and I couldn't be happier with the result--truly, the game is everything a contemporary Metroidvania should be. I'm perplexed by all the complaints about bugs, because I haven't encountered a single one. Everything is perfectly smooth,I was wary of disappointment when the first demo gameplay footage came out, but all concerns have been allayed. I've been playing for five hours now, and I couldn't be happier with the result--truly, the game is everything a contemporary Metroidvania should be. I'm perplexed by all the complaints about bugs, because I haven't encountered a single one. Everything is perfectly smooth, polished, and dare I say slick.… Expand
  15. Seya
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    If you love old school Castlevania games, stop wasting any more time on here just buy the game now! you wont regret it! 10/10 would slay Demons for cool abilities again, and again...and again!
  16. ClowLiReed
    Jun 25, 2019
    9
    Except for a minors bugs, this game i'ts **** perfect. I've really enjoined it. The true and only rightful sucesor of Castlevania Symphony of the Night!!!
  17. ronfar86
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    Não joguei muito ele ainda, mas é um excelente jogo (é muita coisa boa para descrever, e ficaria muito longo se fizesse isso), recomendo fortemente a todos, principalmente para os fãs de Metroidvania.
    Foi um excelente acerto esse recomeço com Bloodstained para o IGA e sua equipe.

    Obs.: Ainda não joguei muito, então espero que o jogo tenha uma duração boa de pelo menos 8~12 horas.
  18. Dco326
    Mar 25, 2020
    7
    The ending was **** inventory was sometimes **** the game is okayish, and I will never play it again.
  19. saffiuddin
    Jun 22, 2019
    10
    This is the metroidvania game we all been waiting for since castlevania:Symphony of the night. The game may have some rough edges but this game really incites you to complete it 100%. Most of the abilities in the game are cool but the most important thing is that this game is FULL OF REFERENCES especially to the older castlevania games and other indie games. The best part about this gameThis is the metroidvania game we all been waiting for since castlevania:Symphony of the night. The game may have some rough edges but this game really incites you to complete it 100%. Most of the abilities in the game are cool but the most important thing is that this game is FULL OF REFERENCES especially to the older castlevania games and other indie games. The best part about this game is the combat and exploration. There is one thing that this game highly delivers- the bonus post game content.
    This is a must-play game for those who want a nostalgia ride or simply want to dive into the game that was once C:Sotn. One particular endgame boss really should be fought as this guy is possibly the best thing in gaming history.(not the IGA fight, the other more criminally referencive fight against a vampire)    … Expand
  20. RocketFR
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    Se SOTN tirou nota 9.3 não vejo motivo para esse não tirar 10, pois ele além de nos trazer tudo que já tinha em SOTN ele ainda melhora e acrescenta dezenas de mecânicas novas, além de ter um gráfico moderno e uma trilha sonora Gótica épica
  21. Leconv
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    You are a nostalgic of castlevania: sotn? You want some more? Then this game is made for you. Yes it has a couple of minor issues, but nothing that will stop you enjoying this gem in the long run.
  22. vXVirus
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    What can I say... For me this was a major success. I can't find anything wrong with the game besides I want more off everything. Tho don't get me wrong here the game got ALOT off stuff still, droves off weapons and spells to collect and upgrade , the story is nice, it wont win awards for the story but it was pleasently and their might be alot off hidden stuff I have not even found yetWhat can I say... For me this was a major success. I can't find anything wrong with the game besides I want more off everything. Tho don't get me wrong here the game got ALOT off stuff still, droves off weapons and spells to collect and upgrade , the story is nice, it wont win awards for the story but it was pleasently and their might be alot off hidden stuff I have not even found yet as well. I played for close to 30 hours so far and I have plenty to do still. I LOVE IT.… Expand
  23. psythez
    Jun 21, 2019
    10
    A spiritual successor to my favorite game in my favorite genre, it goes without saying I had incredibly high hopes for this game. It crushed them. Believe the hype.
  24. Alucard18
    Jul 14, 2019
    10
    Konami have lost both brilliant developers (Koja Igarashi) and (Hideo Kojima).
    IGA made an excellent game based on castlevania games.Generaly speaking he made a great remake of Symphony of the night,for the fans of castlevania,this will surely be the top1 game ever
  25. neyrok37
    Jun 22, 2019
    10
    TL;DR
    1. ROTN is everything good from past Castlevania games mixed together perfectly
    2. It's far from over; 13 free DLCs coming 3. There's Curse of the Moon for old school Castlevania fans 4. GOTY for me Everything good about Castlevania franchise here. This game is the combination of Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, and NDS Castlevania games at its finest. If you played any    TL;DR
    1. ROTN is everything good from past Castlevania games mixed together perfectly
    2. It's far from over; 13 free DLCs coming
    3. There's Curse of the Moon for old school Castlevania fans
    4. GOTY for me

    Everything good about Castlevania franchise here. This game is the combination of Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, and NDS Castlevania games at its finest. If you played any of them in the past, you'll realize this game implemented only good things from them and made it work very smoothly. It's basically all Castlevania games combined together, even story and characters, but done perfectly. The only difference is the name. It does require a lot of grinding for those who run 100% on everything, especially when it comes to perfecting your items and shards, but besides that, I really see no problem in this game. The old lady giving you quests for all those different foods is pretty annoying, but completing all of them will repay you with a super crazy and op item that makes all the effort worth it.

    What's even more exciting is there're 13 FREE DLCs coming. I completed 100% map, quests, and ultimate build for Miriam, but it's still not over. I might have to downgrade her a bit since her build is way too op at this point, but it's still very exciting to see what's coming next.

    If you are more of a retro Castlevania fan like from Simon Belmont to Richter from Rondo of Blood, they already released the game for you last year: Curse of the Moon. It's also another great game for Castlevania fans, especially old school fans, so no worries.

    To put it short, this is the 2019 Game of the Year for me. My only regret is by the time I first found out about this game, Kickstarter backing was already over.    … Expand
  26. elrubeng5ESP
    Jun 25, 2019
    10
    It is simply INCREDIBLE. Of the best games I've played in many years. When I played I felt like I was going back to my childhood playing Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow and Symphony of the Night. Bloodstained is made exclusively for Castlevania fans and for Metroidvanias fans. 100% I have had a lot of fun.
  27. ThePunchmaster
    Jun 18, 2019
    10
    This is like the OoE sequel we never got, it feels like they took what made the previous games great and made it even better, i couldn't ask for more
  28. turtles1234
    Jun 26, 2019
    6
    bloodstained is a huge disappointment for me. this is a game that costs 40 euros and does NOTHING better than symphony of the night.
    Sotn is a better game under EVERY aspect.
    combat, bosses, level design, size of the map, story, enemy variety, for **** sake even graphics are better in Sotn(1997)!! For 40 euros this is not acceptable for me. the only improvements of this game are    bloodstained is a huge disappointment for me. this is a game that costs 40 euros and does NOTHING better than symphony of the night.
    Sotn is a better game under EVERY aspect.
    combat, bosses, level design, size of the map, story, enemy variety, for **** sake even graphics are better in Sotn(1997)!!

    For 40 euros this is not acceptable for me.
    the only improvements of this game are crafting and shards.
    so dont waste your money,    … Expand
  29. renfred
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    Great game and worth the wait. Pays homage to metrovania style games such as Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Enjoying every moment of the game play!
  30. Bayest
    Aug 15, 2019
    5
    Mediocre
    Nothing new or interesting
    I deleted the game, because I was losing half an hour of the game when dieing, you just cannot save.
    They could've learned some stuff from dark souls or other games.
  31. Hyrule34
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    I've played this game, it is a masterpiece. Great OST, beautiful art and the gameplay is awesome. To anyone who's giving this game a score of 0.
    Just because YOU don't like the game it DOESN'T MEAN that the game is TRASH. You just don't like it and don't even dare to make your opinion a fact. Opinions are opinions. Facts are facts.
  32. kamirik
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    This game turns out to be a tribute to SOTN but at the same time shines by itself as a worthy successor of the Castlevania saga. The gameplay and the music is great and the 2.5D graphics achieve a very beautiful result. Both fans of the Castlevania saga and new players will enjoy this new game, 100% recommended to acquire.
  33. ncnew
    Aug 21, 2019
    9
    Finally a worthy successor to SotN. Grind is a bit cheesy, first couple bosses were disproportionately hard, rest was a modernized blast from the past.
  34. Atx777
    Jun 20, 2019
    9
    I’m not a Kickstarter backer (my money went to Shenmue 3), nor have I always been a Koji Igarashi (IGA) fan: I often accused him of being lazy and repurposing assets from his past games to make “new” ones. I now know that was a lot more due to Konami not having faith in the series in the first place; you hear a lot of war stories now about how bad it was to be a creator for them (F—-I’m not a Kickstarter backer (my money went to Shenmue 3), nor have I always been a Koji Igarashi (IGA) fan: I often accused him of being lazy and repurposing assets from his past games to make “new” ones. I now know that was a lot more due to Konami not having faith in the series in the first place; you hear a lot of war stories now about how bad it was to be a creator for them (F—- Konami!). Yeah, I didn’t back the game, but ironically I’m a huge fan of Castlevania (was there for the original NES game), and Symphony of the Night is one of my all time favorite games: its gorgeous, rich art direction; its sublime soundtrack; intriguing lore; memorable main cast and enemies (with a lot of personality), and most importantly its wild replay value due to the intricate, engaging RPG systems... It was a 2-D Platform/Action dream come true, birthed from the stride of the Playstation, 32-bit era. The amount of talent and luck it takes to concoct such a masterpiece meant it was a rare gem indeed. And IGA and his team would spend the next decade trying to recapture that lightning, but Konami never really gave them a chance. Under budget and furloughed, almost purely, to Nintendo’s handhelds, the series was doomed to stagnate because it didn’t have the ear of its owner or the tech to really let the idea shine (Konami cared much more about its blockbuster baby, Metal Gear). That’s not to say we didn’t get some fantastic Castlevania afterwards. Though not an IGA game, Circle of the Moon mostly successfully mashed the classic style Castlevania combat with the open castle of SotN (running was annoying); Aria and Dawn of Sorrow both injected the addictive souls-stealing system and equipment swapping, and Order of Ecclesia and Portrait of Ruin brought with them the Bethesda-like approach to frequent-use progression. But with every new IGA release we were seeing a weardown of the same base formula and much of the same recycled art, animations and background elements. As great as Order of Ecclesia was, the series felt like it could no longer surprise us. Konami must have felt the same too (whose fault is that), because they essentially fired IGA and his team and handed the series overseas. Despite that Lords of Shadow is an absolute classic in its own right (due to the incredible talent at Mercury Steam), it begs the question of what a fully staffed and budgeted, 3D, console IGA-vania could have been. Then the sequel to LoS flopped and, all of a sudden, Konami killed off the series. 20+ games over just as many years and not an ounce of appreciation for the passionate fanbase that made that possible, then five years of complete, ignorant silence. Castlevania has inspired so much in the industry. How could they let the series die so unceremoniously?

    I preface with all that back history because I want to underline not just the incredible hard worker that IGA (and his team) is, but the incredible person he is. Despite all the counter crap his former employer threw his way to make his job harder, he persevered to bring us his vision anyway. You can tell in how he dresses up for the Bloodstained trailers: the man is a true fan of Castlevania. So to have a spiritual followup to Symphony planned at his newfound company... we knew it was in the right hands, finally detached from the oppressive Konami. Yes it’s had some rough development, but we finally get to see what an IGA-vania would be unleashed on modern hardware.

    Bloodstained is a complete love letter to the series that indirectly spawned it and to its longtime, hungry fans. From the beautifully detailed castle corridors; to the pumping melodies that serenade each new, distinct area; to the same soul-stealing-swapping-experimenting RPG-element gameplay... Castlevania is back in a big way, even if it never gets to actually call itself that. Though gone is the vampire lore, you still have blood filled fountains; though missing is the legendary Belmont clan, a new cast of stalwart survivors has gone to war with the evil Alchemist Guild that threatens the land. The dramatic pieces are all in place to set up a grand new story to tell, hopefully over several new games.

    As amazing as it is to see this series revived off-brand, it does bare some of its development problems through its bugs (drop items unreachable, nothing major) and its lack of distinct personality. The music (composed by the legendary Michiru Yamane) though lovely, literally sounds like B-sides leftover from Portrait — it’s a little too familiar but it’s definitely Castlevania. However, I haven’t heard a standout track yet, the likes of “Dracula’s Castle” or “Forest of Jigramunt”. Only passable cutscene animation.

    The gameplay remains as addictive as ever and there’s a wide berth for experimentation with the almost overwhelming variety of subweapons. But you’ll have plenty of time because the castle is huge. Superb voice acting and UX design    … Expand
  35. curzon_dax
    Sep 13, 2019
    6
    meh, overrated; the gameplay has very clunky animations for the physics of the player, the maps are chaotic and generally not rewarding to explore and very repetitive.
  36. CzarSquid
    Feb 27, 2022
    0
    Capturing that lighting in the bottle really only happens once. Leans too hard into copying Symphony of the Night
  37. MCSorry
    Jun 20, 2019
    6
    Coming from Hollow Knight I have to say that the best words that come to mind when thinking of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night are as follow: lack of polish.

    The gameplay is rough, to say the least. The backstep ability is essentially a dodge which doesn't give you invincibility frames (although it sometimes does). Plus, since it acts as back-stepping, it means that you must face away    Coming from Hollow Knight I have to say that the best words that come to mind when thinking of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night are as follow: lack of polish.

    The gameplay is rough, to say the least. The backstep ability is essentially a dodge which doesn't give you invincibility frames (although it sometimes does). Plus, since it acts as back-stepping, it means that you must face away from the direction you are trying to escape to. The slide move also doesn't change your hitbox (talking about those, the second boss' second phase is cluttered with attack that are far too big for how they are presented). This exact same boss is also way faster than you and his attacks aren't well telegraphed, which means that every decision is a gamble.

    The leveling system is completely passive, only adding more numbers in a static way rather than giving you build options (those are accomplished throughout shards, and is actually a menu where you can choose build perks, abilities and stats increase).

    Finally I wished the world was more interactive. Killing barbers should fall to the ground when attacked while holding on the ceiling, seen are some weapons can't reach them and you'll have to pause the game, change your weapon only to score enough hit, which breaks the rhythm of an already slow game.

    It's not bad, and certainly will appeal to old-school fans who grew up with IGA-vanias, such as Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow, but these days, they are game who accomplish the metroidvania trope in more wholesome ways: Guacamelee, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, Axiom Verge, Gato Roboto to name a few.

    So, a bit disappointed (that'll teach me to pre-order games). A neat experience alone, not so good when compared to other recent metroidvanias. Play Curse of the Moon instead, that one's a MASTAPEECE!    … Expand
  38. Sbiritou
    Aug 21, 2019
    7
    A good game, but not good enough to rival Symphony of the Night. Very nostalgia heavy, it can't justify the lack of proper side quests, the absence of collectibles outfits, the light difficulty, and a heavy grinding that detracts from a solid main story and an impressive variety of skills and weaponry.
    The flow of the story and the good combat sequences make the game quite pleasant to    A good game, but not good enough to rival Symphony of the Night. Very nostalgia heavy, it can't justify the lack of proper side quests, the absence of collectibles outfits, the light difficulty, and a heavy grinding that detracts from a solid main story and an impressive variety of skills and weaponry.
    The flow of the story and the good combat sequences make the game quite pleasant to play despite it shortcomings.    … Expand
  39. Tetsuo_Shima
    Jun 21, 2019
    5
    Alors, par quoi débuter, le jeu n'est pas mauvais de base, il y a de quoi à faire niveau contenu et après 20 heures, il ne me manque plus grand-chose pour terminer le jeu (80%). Les graphiques sont jolis sans plus, la personnalisation des Shards rend les possibilités de gameplay très variés voir peut-être un peu même trop.

    Là où ça bloque, c'est le gameplay... je venais tout juste de    Alors, par quoi débuter, le jeu n'est pas mauvais de base, il y a de quoi à faire niveau contenu et après 20 heures, il ne me manque plus grand-chose pour terminer le jeu (80%). Les graphiques sont jolis sans plus, la personnalisation des Shards rend les possibilités de gameplay très variés voir peut-être un peu même trop.

    Là où ça bloque, c'est le gameplay... je venais tout juste de passer une semaine de fou sur Hollow Knight à me fendre le crâne sur Nightmare Grimm et j'ai adoré ce jeu, un vrai coup de coeur. Alors j'ai voulu continuer sur ma lancée plateforme avec Bloodstained, tout de suite la prise en main semble sorti d'un jeu des années 80. On donne un coup d'épée et le personnage bloque à chaque coup donc la fluidité des combats est horrible. Le backstep est inutilisable 1 fois sur 2 tu te retrouves à face le mauvais côté et donc tu te retrouve à backstep dans ton mob. Les mobs sont répétitives plusieurs itérations des mêmes créatures à répétition sous différentes couleurs, des têtes de chiens immenses et des chats qui contraste totalement avec l'ambiance du jeu. L'IA est mou dès que tu réussis à trouver l'épée Flying Edge dans le jeu, tout devient un jeu d'enfant... je me suis retrouvé à faire les 6 premiers boss sans même mourir puisqu'on peut mettre le jeu sur pause en plein combat et utiliser ses potions, plus aucune stratégie juste du burinage en regardant les HP tomber.

    L'histoire est boff... aucune attache au personnage... tu as une fin rapide, mais au lieu d'avoir un mini ending, tu te retrouves avec 2-3 lignes de dialogue et BAM le screen GAME OVER that's it..

    a très déçu, je voulais le terminer, mais j'en ai même plus envie.    … Expand
  40. Yeliazar
    Jul 10, 2019
    2
    I can't believe they spent $5.5m on this! The game looks like crap. The control is unresponsive, there are micro-pause between each actions and sometimes the character just doesn't do what you want. It's especially noticable during the boss fights. It doesn't feel like your skills were put on test, it feels like you're fighting with awful control. The game is lacking in phase. It's simplyI can't believe they spent $5.5m on this! The game looks like crap. The control is unresponsive, there are micro-pause between each actions and sometimes the character just doesn't do what you want. It's especially noticable during the boss fights. It doesn't feel like your skills were put on test, it feels like you're fighting with awful control. The game is lacking in phase. It's simply too slow and awkward. There's no pleasure and satisfaction like in Hollow Knight when you avoid enemies attacks in the last nano-second and punish them with your sword. It's painfully unresponsive and clumsy.

    The enemies are just mishmash of random polygons and sometimes it's hard to say what you are fighting.
    The dialogs and the store are not impressive. And the background is just simply ugly.

    I am very VERY disappointed. This is NOT $5.5 budget game from creator of SotN!
    This is even worse than some indie low-budget metroidvanias.    … Expand
  41. AceAscendus
    Jun 18, 2019
    0
    Extremely bad game, full of bugs and glitches. This is unacceptable even for an indie product. Even if they fix all these bugs and glitches, they won't be able to fix the terrible art style, 2.5D graphics style, animations and aesthetics. This is just an abomination and an overpriced one at that! Do not waste your money on this garbage, Iga has proven to be hack and a conman. There areExtremely bad game, full of bugs and glitches. This is unacceptable even for an indie product. Even if they fix all these bugs and glitches, they won't be able to fix the terrible art style, 2.5D graphics style, animations and aesthetics. This is just an abomination and an overpriced one at that! Do not waste your money on this garbage, Iga has proven to be hack and a conman. There are much better Metroidvania games out there that are cheaper, such as Hollow Knight and the upcoming Blasphemous and Hollow Knight: Silksong! Avoid Bloodstained or you will regret wasting your money, thank GOD I could refund this piece of trash.… Expand
  42. Figaro79
    Jun 19, 2019
    0
    Бледная и карявая пародия на Symphony of the Night. Ни стиля, ни вкуса, ни графики, ни музыки, ни сюжета не завезли - всё на низком уровне качества.
  43. georgerock89
    Jun 24, 2019
    10
    Muito bom. Um ótimo trabalho. Aguardava esse jogo a bastante tempo e atendeu minhas expectativas.
  44. deuxdoom
    Jun 18, 2019
    1
    Although w8ing for 4years, Very disappointed things that Poor 3D Graphics & Acting Motions.
  45. JonsGone
    Jun 23, 2019
    8
    Basically a Castlevania game.
    3d is a downgrade compared to the smooth pixel art of games like SotN or AoS.
    Makes the game look slightly amateurish in that regard. Several bugs, few of which actually softlocked my game. Controls are needlessly convoluted which is even more baffling given that the B button (Xbox) is not used. A tad too short. Keeping the warp points and save points    Basically a Castlevania game.
    3d is a downgrade compared to the smooth pixel art of games like SotN or AoS.
    Makes the game look slightly amateurish in that regard.
    Several bugs, few of which actually softlocked my game.
    Controls are needlessly convoluted which is even more baffling given that the B button (Xbox) is not used.
    A tad too short.
    Keeping the warp points and save points separate makes no sense.
    Grinding for materials and upgrades is ultimately useless given that there isnt much of an endgame content and NG+ does not scale with your level, meaning you just steamroll everything on your second playthrough.
    Great game overall.
    Very pleasant to play.    … Expand
  46. niallaptz
    Apr 10, 2021
    4
    This game isn't as great as people say it is. It isn't even that good. It's ugly, clunky and feels paper thin. I don't understand how the developer asks a whopping $40.00, what a joke. Once again I'm duped by the "gamers" stating that this is a great game and best of the "Castlevania" -type games, but if it is then these games are truly going down the gutter. It isn't new, refreshing,This game isn't as great as people say it is. It isn't even that good. It's ugly, clunky and feels paper thin. I don't understand how the developer asks a whopping $40.00, what a joke. Once again I'm duped by the "gamers" stating that this is a great game and best of the "Castlevania" -type games, but if it is then these games are truly going down the gutter. It isn't new, refreshing, inventive. So if you want to play an average side scrolling game that is similar to Castlevania, here you go. That's all it is.… Expand
  47. hypelord
    Jun 26, 2019
    10
    However you look at it, Igarashi-san has more than delivered on the promise. The thoughtful and engaging combat, as well as the addicting RPG elements have been distilled into heroin level satisfaction, while the exploration, secrets and the stylish humor binds the player even more strongly to the game's world.

    The voice acting also aptly supports Igarashi's specific bland of sweet    However you look at it, Igarashi-san has more than delivered on the promise. The thoughtful and engaging combat, as well as the addicting RPG elements have been distilled into heroin level satisfaction, while the exploration, secrets and the stylish humor binds the player even more strongly to the game's world.

    The voice acting also aptly supports Igarashi's specific bland of sweet melodrama. What I did not expect was how logical the story is. I always wondered things like "what is the justification of there being a castle at all?" and the answers to those are more satisfying than I could have thought for a game in this genre

    The OST nearly matches SOTN levels of epic feeling, and Igarashi even occasionally uses the 2,5D to perform unexpected tricks that blow the enjoyment of the game sky high. On the PC platform at least, the performance and visuals are a thing to behold with lovely effects and physics livening up the action. There are also great looking pixel shaders and lighting effects here and there. Some textures could be a little bit more higher res, but who cares.

    The default difficulty is occasionally way too easy though, most people should enter the hard mode once possibleOverall, I would say 95%100.    … Expand
  48. uberhans
    Jun 21, 2019
    10
    All I can say is I'm having a great time and it far exceeded my expectations. Great game.
  49. GAMEVILLER27
    Jun 24, 2019
    10
    As a fan of iga's works I am greatly satisfied with the story and game play of bloodstained it honestly was above my expectations and I recommend you buy the game if you haven't bought it yet.
  50. pedro2mneto
    Jun 26, 2019
    10
    Este jogo e incrivel ! nao tenho mais o que dizer alem de INCRIVEL ! valeu a pena ! ty iga!
  51. eugeneel
    Dec 5, 2019
    2
    Created an account just to review this terrible gaming experience.

    + Great start to a game, first few hours are enjoyable. + HUGE variety of moves, both spells and weapons and a great system for leveling them all up. + Better graphics than most metroidvania games - GAMES BECOMES INSANELY EASY after the first boss. Even when playing the game on hard difficulty for the first time, I    Created an account just to review this terrible gaming experience.

    + Great start to a game, first few hours are enjoyable.
    + HUGE variety of moves, both spells and weapons and a great system for leveling them all up.
    + Better graphics than most metroidvania games

    - GAMES BECOMES INSANELY EASY after the first boss. Even when playing the game on hard difficulty for the first time, I would beat every boss (besides the first one) on the first time. With all the moves available, it is possible to tank through every boss losing less than half HP by mashing the attack button. I just can't believe people who give this game favorable reviews don't have a problem with this. It must me a younger generational thing...

    Hollow knight is the game you want if you're looking for something similar which offers a challenge.    … Expand
  52. Not_too
    Apr 12, 2023
    9
    One of the best in the genre from an absolute legend of the genre. One of the few metroidvanias I could not put down until I had gotten and done everything
  53. xetelian
    Aug 29, 2019
    9
    9/10
    -1 point for level ups and skill upgrades feeling lack luster compared to just getting a stronger equipment or a better skill. Kill 100 monsters level up, what I think its just 1 point of strength and little health/mana where as with the games it is paying homage to you felt like you got stronger as you went along not just from equipment.
    Otherwise stellar experience and one I    9/10
    -1 point for level ups and skill upgrades feeling lack luster compared to just getting a stronger equipment or a better skill. Kill 100 monsters level up, what I think its just 1 point of strength and little health/mana where as with the games it is paying homage to you felt like you got stronger as you went along not just from equipment.

    Otherwise stellar experience and one I would recommend to people who like Symphony of the Night specifically. If you're more of a Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight kind of person this may be a step backwards for you.    … Expand
  54. TitaniumDragon
    Jan 28, 2020
    1
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a 2.5D Metroidvania – or more accurately, Castlevania clone. Set in a demonic castle, the game centers around Miriam, a woman with the power to take the powers of demons for her own, who is fighting to defeat an old friend with the same powers who has been overwhelmed and possessed by them.

    The core gameplay consists of wandering around a large    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a 2.5D Metroidvania – or more accurately, Castlevania clone. Set in a demonic castle, the game centers around Miriam, a woman with the power to take the powers of demons for her own, who is fighting to defeat an old friend with the same powers who has been overwhelmed and possessed by them.

    The core gameplay consists of wandering around a large castle, killing demons, and trying to find demon bosses who give you new abilities to access new areas. In the process, the player unlocks a number of powers from ordinary demons and finds a variety of materials which can be crafted into weapons, armor, and accessories to make them better at fighting.

    The game actually has a very large number of weapons, which fall into about half a dozen broad classes – swords, katanas, knives, great swords (which includes big axes and some polearms), whips, spears, and guns. Each of these weapon types has their own attack speed and damage arc, with a few special weapons having unique ones (like a sword that you throw at your enemies, which returns to you like a boomerang). Unfortunately, as I was playing, several things resulted in me almost always using the “great sword” type weapons. First off, they were the only weapons that struck above my own head, and they also swung in a wide arc in front of me, ensuring that short enemies would be hit. Secondly, because of the game’s skill system, I enhanced a passive skill which gave me a large bonus to using those weapons, including increasing their attack speed, and it would have taken a large investment to drag anything else up to the same level (and potentially quite a lot of grinding).

    As a result, the wide array of weapons ended up not really mattering at all, and while I tried out the others, I mostly found them kind of disappointing.

    And frankly, the game in general was disappointing, because the game screwed up on what a metroidvania is supposed to be at its core – a game where you gradually explore an area, uncovering secrets and new movement/attack abilities/immunities that open up new areas to you.

    Instead, the game ended up being a grindfest, as the game encourages you to kill enemies over and over to get “shards” from them, with each enemy having a new unique ability to give you, and also often having unique or near-unique drops that you use for crafting.

    This is not what a game like this wants to be. You should be rewarded for exploration, not for grinding, but the game does the opposite.

    Moreover, many of the abilities that you get are very narrowly tailored for very small areas, rather than being generally useful. In games like Hollow Knight, you get a bunch of neat abilities like the air dash, double jump, wall jump, ect. that make you more agile and fight in a new way.

    You don’t get that here, and as such, the gameplay feels like it evolves too little, and the enemies don’t end up feeling all that fun or interesting to fight in the long run. The boss fights try to mix things up a bit, but you often feel overpowered relative to the enemies later on in the game, making many of these fights a bit trivial. And the overall clunk of the core gameplay never really goes away, with a surge forward in a field of energy type dash appearing at the very end of the game being too little and too late.

    I was excited to play this game going into it, but in the end, I was left feeling like it was redious and unfun. I got the first (bad) ending after 18 hours or so (which you do just after 50% completion), and completed the whole game after about 34, but in the end, I looked back and it, and felt like I should have probably quit after my first evening playing it and not finding it fun. I kept on going because I was hoping it would become better as I unlocked more abilities, like many metroidvanias do, but it simply never happened.

    Don’t fall into the trap that I did; this game isn’t worth your time or your money.    … Expand
  55. Cyber_Angel
    Jan 11, 2020
    9
    Excellent metroidvania all-around. A true spiritual successor to the Symphony of the Night.
  56. TangoFan
    Aug 12, 2019
    10
    Um excelente Jogo do mesmo criador do SOTN.

    FORA BOZONAZI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  57. l3g10nw
    Jun 22, 2019
    10
    This game is majestic! Exactly what ive been expecting! love it so much.
    thank you iga! we love you :D
  58. Aaargh
    Sep 21, 2019
    9
    This is the second Bloodstained game. The first was considered an 8-bit gem much alike Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Both those games were made by Koji Igarashi. It seems he reached a new level with this masterpiece. Respect. True master of the genre.
  59. nitorita
    Oct 12, 2019
    9
    Bloodstained is a breath of fresh air from modern AAA titles. I wasn't sure what to expect when I began playing since I've never played an Igavania game before; I expected it to be some sort of JRPG. Clearly, I was wrong. After what I experienced, I'm officially an Igavania fan now.

    This game feels like a 2.5D version of NieR: Automata. You know, like those side view scenes in the game.    Bloodstained is a breath of fresh air from modern AAA titles. I wasn't sure what to expect when I began playing since I've never played an Igavania game before; I expected it to be some sort of JRPG. Clearly, I was wrong. After what I experienced, I'm officially an Igavania fan now.

    This game feels like a 2.5D version of NieR: Automata. You know, like those side view scenes in the game. Really, it does. For people like me who have never played an Igavania game before, this is the closest comparison I can make to a modern game. If you've played Automata, you'll have an idea for how this game plays out.

    It's hard to describe my experience playing this game. There's just something really special about it. The compelling exploration, the deep story, the extra bosses, the stuff available for you to collect, etc. The most mysterious feeling is when you're starting to near the end of the game, and there's a part of you that just doesn't want the journey to end so it keeps finding reasons to stay involved.

    I can't rate this game less than a 9 because of the effort and passion put into it and its ability to keep me hooked. The map is absolutely exquisite and detailed too. Personally, I would give this game a 9.5 if I could, because it's not absolutely perfect, but it's damn near perfect. It just has some minor balancing issues which are largely negligible.

    Again, the issue with Bloodstained is balancing. You can play the game in a simple manner, and this is probably recommended. There's a lot you can ignore like combat moves and non-restorative items and so on. There's also a lot you can abuse to cheese the game. This kept the game from being too complex, and I would've preferred a bit more micromanaging to be necessary. The game started off difficult in the beginning (just like Automata), but once I got past the first boss, the rest of the game wasn't that difficult.    … Expand
  60. TheHambro
    Nov 16, 2019
    9
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is what I consider to be the true successor to the Castlevania series; a love letter and homage to Symphony of the Night. There is so much passion, care, and attention to detail making this one of the best Metroidvania titles out there.

    Everything from the graphics, music, gameplay, items, bosses, areas and enemies are all so incredibly well done and    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is what I consider to be the true successor to the Castlevania series; a love letter and homage to Symphony of the Night. There is so much passion, care, and attention to detail making this one of the best Metroidvania titles out there.

    Everything from the graphics, music, gameplay, items, bosses, areas and enemies are all so incredibly well done and really captures that feeling of past Castlevania games. The music, more specifically, captures that feeling the most and gives off that sense of nostalgia and is just so good to listen to. Areas are distinct and varied, and enemies/bosses are fantastically weird. The amount of different weapons and shards (spells) you can find and collect offers so many different ways to play. To the completionist, this is a dream come true: weapons, armor, accessories, shards, upgrades, ingredients, enemies, and more to collect and achieve that 100%.

    My critiques are really only very small complaints, and in no way takes away from the core game. My first one is that you can toggle the mini-map on and off, but every time you die or restart the game, you have to re-toggle, which can be annoying. My second one are the cutscenes; they’re very lackluster and not of the same quality as the rest of the game.

    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is such a fantastic game, and I had an incredible time with it. I simply can’t rant and rave about it enough. This is a quintessential Metroidvania, and any fan of the genre would be remiss not to get this.    … Expand
  61. SynysterSoulz
    Jun 24, 2019
    10
    The game is beautiful, fun, and challenging. I definitely think it's something to pick up. It's one of my favorite games of the year.
  62. mcsw712
    Jun 26, 2019
    10
    Amazing game. I'm only 15 hours in, but it's perfect. And for the price you really can't beat this. Better than any COD or AAA game out there.
  63. mr-NachoMen
    Oct 12, 2019
    8
    I really like Bloodstained, I like the Metroidvania classic gameplay style reminiscence from Castlevania from which this game is a spiritual successor and the combat, but some other aspects like the visual style was a little mixed... there are some areas and enemies that fit perfectly in a shared universe with Castlevania and some other enemies like a dog head, a big cat and some girlsI really like Bloodstained, I like the Metroidvania classic gameplay style reminiscence from Castlevania from which this game is a spiritual successor and the combat, but some other aspects like the visual style was a little mixed... there are some areas and enemies that fit perfectly in a shared universe with Castlevania and some other enemies like a dog head, a big cat and some girls with electric guitars felt out of place with the game.
    I still believe that the game need a bit more polish or detail... I know that it looks better than it looked back when the first trailer drop but still... i really had times were i doubt that the game was built in the Unreal 4 engine.
    The game relies a lot from exploration, which is mandatory, you cannot just go and beat the game doing little exploration because there will be areas that you need to go if you want to progress into the story line, you will need to collect shards that are like powers to reach the areas you need to keep progressing the story, and this affects the ending.
    Bloodstained has like...4 endings or so... i haven't seen them all, but, the more areas you explore the more chances you'll get to see the good ending, that and do some specific stuff to not altered the ending as well... and that is something i really personally don't like about the game.
    Bloodstained is a hard game like, well,a Castlevania game, and it can be as long or short as you wan't depending at how good you'll get into combat during the game and how often you die.
    Probably i will not play it again, but overall is a good game and if you read this and haven't play it yet... well, go now and try it.    … Expand
  64. Maeglyn
    Jul 26, 2019
    9
    After the disasterous kickstarter campaigns Yooka-Laylee and Mighty No.9, Bloodstained ROtN feels amazing. Igarashi and his team has done an amazing work bringing back the classic castlevania formula back. The games doesn't do anything to push its genre forward by any means but it does everything right. If you are missing igavania games this is something you will definitely enjoy.
  65. wolfe_707
    Jun 30, 2019
    10
    Beat it 100% really enjoy playing it so much and definitely one the best game this year.
  66. Leontorres7
    Mar 8, 2022
    9
    Amazing game! For me it felt like playing Symphony of the Night 2, while the story is not as good and the characters are not near as cool as SotN, the game stands as an incredible Castlevania game and all the exploration and combat elements are there, so much to discover and enjoy, this game is a success while the story is not the best it is ok and the gameplay more than makes up for it.
  67. IoVideogioco
    Jun 25, 2019
    9
    Ritual of the Night is the true come back to the origins of the metroidvania genre.

    For those unfamiliar with the gameplay of the genre: think of Dark Souls (especially the first) but in 2d. Remember exploring firelink shrine the very first time and going right to the cemetery only to find out that you were not prepared for that area and at some point you probably couldn't even    Ritual of the Night is the true come back to the origins of the metroidvania genre.

    For those unfamiliar with the gameplay of the genre: think of Dark Souls (especially the first) but in 2d.
    Remember exploring firelink shrine the very first time and going right to the cemetery only to find out that you were not prepared for that area and at some point you probably couldn't even progress because you lacked the right item? That's basically what a metroidvania is: a big, maze-like einvironment with lot of secrets, plenty of diverging paths that sometimes are simply dead end until you obtain the item you needed.

    In the metroidvania case we are usually talking about an item that in some way modify the way your character moves.
    It's like a lock and key system but much more interactive, interesting and entertaining.

    Beside exploration you have an action RPG system with a plethora of weapons, combo and magic, all accompanied by exquisite backgrounds, great enemies design and beautifully composed music.

    Ritual of the Night is this and much more. Right now the game offers a great adventure of at least 10 hours (but still it took me 18 to get a 100%), customization, new game+, boss rush mode, speed run mode, 2 unlocked difficulties after the first game completion and the creator of the game promised 13 free DLC with new characters, multiplayer mode and much more.

    The game isn't without flaws. To be fair, I could talk about how little innovations there are from IGA's previous games or how the shard/soul system is all in all less appealing than the simple yet greatly effective SOTN system where upgrades were built on top of the others but all in all these are all minor flaws in a truly great game that comes so close to being an absolute masterpiece.    … Expand
  68. DJKrimson
    Jul 15, 2020
    8
    A good metroidvania game. Fun combat with and amazing music. Definitely worth a go if you're into this genre. Some minus points to the character models that look terrible (when in conversations) and it being way too cryptic at times.
  69. alza2
    Mar 12, 2023
    9
    I haven't been hooked to a game for a long time. I stated Bloodstained on the Switch as a successor to Sotn and I was so disappointed by the lag and the blurry graphics. The lag was supposed to be fixed but it was still tangible and ruined the experience.

    I gave it another try on PC and the problem was not the game at all. It was 100% because of the Switch port. The PC version is    I haven't been hooked to a game for a long time. I stated Bloodstained on the Switch as a successor to Sotn and I was so disappointed by the lag and the blurry graphics. The lag was supposed to be fixed but it was still tangible and ruined the experience.

    I gave it another try on PC and the problem was not the game at all. It was 100% because of the Switch port. The PC version is incomparably better than the switch one.

    I played it "portably" on my Steam Deck. The switch is still great device for Nintendo exclusives...    … Expand
  70. Babutto
    Jul 21, 2020
    9
    Pros.:
    - Castlevania fans will love the game.
    - The game is user friendly.
    - Metroidvania.
    - Characters.
    - Easter eggs.
    - Encourages to explore the castle and craft.

    Cons.:
    - Can't find any except maybe difficulty at the beginning.
  71. karyuudo
    Jun 20, 2019
    9
    While I did not back this game during the Kickstarter campaign due to the bad taste that Mighty Number 9 left, I am happy to say that Koji Igarashi and his team have stepped up and delivered a wonderful new game.

    Bloodstained: ROTN delivers to fans of the Metroidvania genre a new game which satisfies and challenges the player. While I've only played approximately 3 hours at the time of    While I did not back this game during the Kickstarter campaign due to the bad taste that Mighty Number 9 left, I am happy to say that Koji Igarashi and his team have stepped up and delivered a wonderful new game.

    Bloodstained: ROTN delivers to fans of the Metroidvania genre a new game which satisfies and challenges the player. While I've only played approximately 3 hours at the time of writing, the game looks gorgeous and plays wonderfully as you hack and slash through hoards of demons. Controls are tight and I have no complaints considering my expectations were met as being a SOTN fan.

    Music is what you'd expect from composer Michiru Yamane, who's composition sets the tone of the world that they've created. Some sound effects come off as very familiar to those from the Castlevania franchise, too.

    The story and interaction between the various characters is engaging also. Bosses are very difficult to defeat to the point where you will need to grind Miriam's stats to ensure she has a fighting chance against them. Even saying that, beating bosses is satisfying to know you earned it, rather than it being a walk in the park.

    The game also offers a variety of different side quests / hunts that Miriam can complete which will net her rewards. This is a nice way of changing things up and bringing more variety to the game. Miriam can also craft different weapons / items and even food to assist her on her journey. Eating food will increase her overall stats, so you'll want to get your figure out which meals provide the best at improving her stats.

    Overall I highly recommend this game if you're a fan of the Metroidvania genre, or if you're looking to jump into a new franchise which is engaging and challenging.    … Expand
  72. AlpinDale
    Jun 21, 2019
    10
    Awesome game. Feels much like Symphony of the Night + Order of Ecclesia, with only the good things about them included.
  73. Gabytomas
    Jun 23, 2019
    9
    Fantastic game, worthy successor of Castlevania Symphony of the night, magical music and perfect stage structure. It happens to be one of my favorite games. Fantastico juego, digno sucesor de Castlevania Symphony of the night, música mágnifica y perfecta estructura de escenarios.
    Pasa a ser uno de mis juegos preferidos.
  74. Kadotus
    Jun 23, 2019
    10
    If you like Metroidvanias / iGAvanias, you will like this game. I still often play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid and I can see myself playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night after 22 years. I currently have 32 hours played on Steam and haven't had any crashes, just a few minor bugs that have had no real impact on the gameplay.
    Looks nice, the controls are very    If you like Metroidvanias / iGAvanias, you will like this game. I still often play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid and I can see myself playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night after 22 years. I currently have 32 hours played on Steam and haven't had any crashes, just a few minor bugs that have had no real impact on the gameplay.
    Looks nice, the controls are very good and responsive and the soundtrack is absolutely amazing. More (free) content is coming and I can only see this masterpiece getting better.    … Expand
  75. SkyeRequiem
    Jun 24, 2019
    10
    I have currently played the game for 32 hours on GoG.

    This is a fantastic spiritual successor to the old school castlevania games that builds on the mechanics from some of the best of them in very fun way. The three games that feel like they contributed the most to the design of Ritual of the Night are Symphony of the Night, the Sorrow series, and Order of Ecclesia. If you liked any    I have currently played the game for 32 hours on GoG.

    This is a fantastic spiritual successor to the old school castlevania games that builds on the mechanics from some of the best of them in very fun way. The three games that feel like they contributed the most to the design of Ritual of the Night are Symphony of the Night, the Sorrow series, and Order of Ecclesia. If you liked any of these I would recommend this game to you. I had no problems with bugs or glitches despite what a couple people are saying below, however I had to wait a couple days to begin playing due to work and by the time I started the 1.02 patch had been implemented which was the one that caused some glitches on the first day and once I finished the True Ending on Normal Difficulty the game was up to version 1.05 with no observed problems in my game.

    The 3D graphics give a different feel than the old school sprites, but overall I enjoyed them. There is customization for Miriam, and some accessories are also visible which is a nice improvement from old school castlevania games which had fixed sprites.
    The music is very clearly castlevania inspired and is merely legally distinct.
    The handling and the combat systems are tight and a lot of fun, though being restricted to Normal difficulty to start means that castlevania veterans may find the first run too easy, but since you retain most of your stuff in New Game+ it's a good opportunity to try to push towards completion before starting your playthrough. I've found that you also have to complete Hard difficulty before starting Nightmare, if the game weren't so fun, and I wasn't sure that I'd be able to speed run this playthrough this would have been a demerit, but in the circumstances I don't mind, as it means I'll be able to collect more things before the truly challenging run.    … Expand
  76. carlosAlberto
    Jun 25, 2019
    9
    Un gran juego el soundrack desde el primer momento te recuerda a los clasicos castlevanias, escenarios bien diseñados, nivel de dificultad aceptable, gran mapa por explorar, además de los clásicos lugares ocultos, de verdad un gran juego, lo unico que no me agrado es que algunos lugares se notan algo pobres de monstruos, pero se entiende es un juego indie.
  77. PAPPAP
    Jun 26, 2019
    8
    This game is a textbook example of core gameplay carrying what's otherwise an unpolished mess. Tons of bugs, including some pretty severe ones (such as items getting stuck in geometry and becoming unobtainable, or falling into water after taking damage making it impossible to attack without taking *more* damage); audio levels are all over the place, with character voices routinely andThis game is a textbook example of core gameplay carrying what's otherwise an unpolished mess. Tons of bugs, including some pretty severe ones (such as items getting stuck in geometry and becoming unobtainable, or falling into water after taking damage making it impossible to attack without taking *more* damage); audio levels are all over the place, with character voices routinely and randomly being drowned out by the music; the cutscenes are, with some rare exceptions, total hackjobs, with absolutely schizophrenic camerawork; and input detection for special moves seems to require either perfect precision (which many fighting games, e.g. street fighter, give players some slack on by "guessing" what a player was trying to do if the inputs are close enough) or work at random.

    But for every issue the game has with its clumsy presentation, scripting, and even programming, there's something to love for anyone looking for what the project was aiming to be. Tons of customization, collectibles, and exploration; an excellent soundtrack overall, with a smattering of intentional motivic/instrument callbacks to the Castlevania series, and very few questionable compositional choices (some of the shorter cutscene/dialogue accompaniments seem out of place); light, unintrusive RPG elements; colorful, varied environments and enemies; and a couple big, often nostalgic surprises from certain parts of the map to the bosses to the characters and their voice actors/actresses.

    Ultimately, there's not much new or innovative about this game. But it's a great supplement to the Metroidvania genre; and for how blatantly obvious it is that the developers were either a little too fresh or a little too rushed, there's a wonderful core experience here, and if they ever get around to polishing everything up, RotN would easily be a 9 or a 10 for me. Really wish I could give this an 8.5 to emphasize that there's a TON of jank, but it rarely outweighs the fun.    … Expand
  78. Chain_Affinity
    May 22, 2020
    7
    This game should be called Bloodstained: Farming of the Night, because you'll be farming well into the night. Or Bloodstained: Ritual of the Farming, because it'll become a ritual every time you play. There's so much farming in this game, it's practically a farming simulator. I've never farmed so much in a game, and I've played some pretty intense MMO's throughout the years. You get theThis game should be called Bloodstained: Farming of the Night, because you'll be farming well into the night. Or Bloodstained: Ritual of the Farming, because it'll become a ritual every time you play. There's so much farming in this game, it's practically a farming simulator. I've never farmed so much in a game, and I've played some pretty intense MMO's throughout the years. You get the point.

    Bloodstained should be a good game. It has all the elements to make a pretty engaging Metroidvania styled game. Here's the problem if you would like to get the most out of the game: It's 1% story, 6% actual gameplay, 15% exploration, and 78% farming.    … Expand
  79. furyohfury
    Sep 24, 2021
    5
    -1 for 3 screens between death and respawn
    -1 for whoever's idea of separate save points and teleports
    -1 for difficulty spike in bosses after abyssal guardian
    -1 for absolute misunderstanding how much damage you should deal to bosses
    -1 for dumb double last boss
    5/10 it is then. Good job, it was too hard to think about all of this, right?
  80. Gamemeister
    Sep 23, 2019
    10
    successor to a beloved game from the good old days.
    gameplay 10/10
    soundtrack 10/10
  81. NotContra
    Oct 1, 2019
    9
    Thankfully not another Mighty no. 9.
    The delays sucked but it was worth waiting for..
    Buy it, if you love Metroidvania, Castlevania, IgaVania, side scroller, action rpg games games with tight controls. When the game launched there was an annoying day 1 patch that messed up your completion so a lot of people had to start over and lose their progress if they played it before    Thankfully not another Mighty no. 9.
    The delays sucked but it was worth waiting for..

    Buy it, if you love Metroidvania, Castlevania, IgaVania, side scroller, action rpg games games with tight controls.

    When the game launched there was an annoying day 1 patch that messed up your completion so a lot of people had to start over and lose their progress if they played it before downloading the patch but that's not a problem anymore. I'm struggling to find something negative about the game and that was all I could come up with so I think it's fair to say this game is a brand new classic.

    Great music, great controls, great game play, fun story, nice graphics etc
    It's all the right things you expect from an IgaVania.    … Expand
  82. abdominal
    Oct 2, 2019
    10
    one of best games in 2019 great art style great sound track deep gameplay it'sgame of the year material
  83. DuduSantosBSB
    Oct 12, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It,s a magnifc game! For me a perfect game like castlevania symphony of the night.… Expand
  84. ironviv66v
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    Me la pase genial un gran homenaje a castlevania, único defecto, creo se me hizo un poco corto
  85. Sepherim
    Apr 8, 2020
    7
    Bloodtsained: Ritual of the Night no es un juego innovador y original, sigue los cánones del subgénero metroidvania al dedillo, pero lo hace muy bien. Se nota la mano de sus creadores a la hora de un cuidado diseño de mapas, una buena variedad de tipos de armas con combos secretos y cosas especiales, otro equipo con posibilidad de personalizar un poco al personaje (los tomos que llevas,Bloodtsained: Ritual of the Night no es un juego innovador y original, sigue los cánones del subgénero metroidvania al dedillo, pero lo hace muy bien. Se nota la mano de sus creadores a la hora de un cuidado diseño de mapas, una buena variedad de tipos de armas con combos secretos y cosas especiales, otro equipo con posibilidad de personalizar un poco al personaje (los tomos que llevas, por ejemplo), etc. El juego, quitando la historia que es del montón, es muy bueno en ejecución. Quizás lo que peor llevo es que los drops de los monstruos sean aleatorios, impactando directamente en el funcionamiento de algunas subquests de recolectar objetos o fabricar cosas (en general, las quests secundarias son malas), pero el resto es bastante redondo. Ah, y que para encontrar el camino al final real hay que encontrar un objeto muy específico y muy bien escondido que nadie te dice que busques, cuando si te han ido guiando con todo lo demás.

    Gráficamente el juego está bastante bien, con esas 3D gráficas sobre una jugabilidad 2D que le permite hacer giros de cámara y otras cosas que quedan muy bien. Aunque las animaciones fuera de combate son flojas. El sonido tiene más altibajos, con unas voces que a veces no suenan convincentes, y unas músicas que no siempre encajan (una canción en especial siempre me parece que va a arrancarse a ser Camela en el momento más inoportuno). Y el juego tiene algunos bugs, pero menores y que no fastidian la experiencia demasiado.

    El resultado es que, sin reinventar la rueda, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night se convierte en un metroidvania muy sólido en lo jugable. Un 7,5.    … Expand
  86. Relkad
    Mar 23, 2020
    8
    Definitely takes you back to good old castlevania days.
    Fighting,story,mechanics,visuals are pretty good overall.
    It can be pretty irritating when you find yourself saying "where do i go now?" because game the doesn't really help you with that.
    Don't expect a masterpiece,just some good 20 hours.
  87. MVMOFFICIAL
    Apr 1, 2020
    8
    IGA finally gives us back his creativity after a long time... without Konami's brand on it. A metroidvania experience that delivers us great boss battles, majestic soundtrack and many weapons to use. Although, i have to talk about the level design... even though the castle is VERY big, levels just didn't feel too linked like in Symphony of the Night for example.. and sometimes the gameIGA finally gives us back his creativity after a long time... without Konami's brand on it. A metroidvania experience that delivers us great boss battles, majestic soundtrack and many weapons to use. Although, i have to talk about the level design... even though the castle is VERY big, levels just didn't feel too linked like in Symphony of the Night for example.. and sometimes the game pretended you to understand were to go and how to go in certain locations. Like in that water area where i had to use a shard of a certain monster to propel Miriam into the water to reach an opening. How were you supposed to know that? Did i miss some indications? Also i never actually used any food and MOST demon shards. There just seemed to be too many of them. Again, the game is not perfect, but it is a great take on metroidvanias by a forefather of the genre. The game also has many cool secrets to find. Here's my take on this great game.… Expand
  88. Poopoobutter
    Jan 28, 2021
    9
    This is a great game. I don't understand the points that people made who gave this game a low score. This game craps all over hollow knight.
  89. NoIdeaName
    Nov 13, 2020
    8
    Bloodstained is a good metroidvania that will make you revive the glory days of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. However, if you are looking fr something surprising or new, this is not your game.
  90. Luigichief
    Jun 7, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Castlevania Spiritual Sequence by Koji Igarashi.

    The story's premise is very interesting and original. But thanks to the few cutscenes the story is generally just mediocre, with the Dominique twist being pretty good. And that's okay since the focus of the game is not that.
    This Bad Ending thing about killing Gebel, it got a lot a little meh, but the real problem is later, because you're pretty way out of the way dude and the backtracking you need to do isn't obvious at all. And wow, the phase inversion system was a genius move, and the boss was fun too. And the moon puzzle is really interesting, especially after the boss fight with Gebel you need to remember the red moon you passed it at the beginning of the game.

    Combat and exploration are the game's charms, and both really don't disappoint.

    But NO DUDE, you have to get a shard of water to be able to move forward, what a bloody slut, besides that later to find out where to go is awesome, too many areas open up.

    I really liked the graphics and the highlight goes to the great scenes.

    The soundtrack is good, there are 2 in particular that are really solid, the castle entrance and the Twins Dragon Towers.    … Expand
  91. PsychoJoona
    May 8, 2021
    7
    Bloodstained.. there really isn't that much blood... But anyway! Bloodborn.. stained is a metroidvainia game and I liked it so much that I 100 % it! But I still give it 7/10 because it doesn't just feel right I don't know why.
  92. Drabolik
    Aug 11, 2020
    8
    Buen juego, buenas mecánicas, banda sonora, variedad de armas... me mantuvo segregando dopamina por unas 25 hrs... ahh y una historia regular (aunque nada del otro mundo)
  93. Drakilliam
    Jul 7, 2020
    10
    Fun awesome game!! Best indie game I have ever played. Plays like old school Castlevania with beautiful graphics.
  94. doproyee
    Nov 20, 2020
    6
    it's a hard game but controlling in this game is not comfortable. too bad..
  95. donnifeb
    Dec 23, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. for those who does not like this game and give it poor review.. certainly never played symphony of the night ... bloodstained is the medicine for those who longing for the exact same feel of the SOTN ... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️… Expand
  96. apeot2002
    Jan 24, 2023
    9
    I wasn’t impressed when I started up the game more than two years after it came out. I was mildly entertained when the game spewed forth its premise: My protagonist, Miriam, is a special girl who is really good at fighting demons because she is able to crystalize and absorb the souls of demons she slays and thus gain power or something, and thus she is tasked to clear out the current demonI wasn’t impressed when I started up the game more than two years after it came out. I was mildly entertained when the game spewed forth its premise: My protagonist, Miriam, is a special girl who is really good at fighting demons because she is able to crystalize and absorb the souls of demons she slays and thus gain power or something, and thus she is tasked to clear out the current demon invasion that the only other person with the same ability as her has arranged for reasons of his own. Miriam can jump, run and attack people, and with those abilities, she gets let loose on the 2D castle the demons come from.

    You can probably tell the story felt somewhat cookie-cutter to me. So do the environments: A few rooms are very beautiful, a few levels play clever tricks on the perceived two-dimensionality of the camera perspective, but most feel more like an arrangement of platforms and monsters than an actual place. The monster designs are inventive and plentiful, but not overwhelming. The characters feel flat, both in script and presentation. It’s a decent effort in all regards, nothing really stands out, but nothing fails to hold up its end either.

    It’s all here to serve king Gameplay. Long may he reign.

    At first I wasn’t impressed with it, either: Miriam can jump, attack with her current weapon, trigger three different magic spells, slide, jump back and that’s it. At first, the control scheme felt a bit sticky, but I got used to it, and the platforming demanded of Miriam is never so exacting that this became an issue. With these simple ingredients, Bloodstained crafts a satisfying, ever evolving primary gameplay loop. I mapped four distinct phases out for myself.

    At the beginning you get used to everything and the game takes it easy on you. Enemies die quick and barely scratch your life bar. Life's a breeze, jumping and striking become ingrained into the muscle memory, magic is rarely a factor, because your mana pool is very limited and you don’t have a lot of spells yet. It’s fun, but nothing special.

    The second phase starts when you hit the first difficulty spike, which was the second boss for me. Suddenly it’s no longer enough to spam attack and try the occasional dodge. So I butted my head against this boss until I improved my gameplay enough to get past him. I even used a few magic spells to beat him and thus finally engaged with the fourth button. Afterwards, the game tightened the screws quite a bit: Healing is limited and even common monsters suddenly hit like trucks. This phase lasts pretty much two thirds of the game, and it kept hitting me with difficulty spikes that forced me to engage with even more of its subsystems, like the crafting system and the permanent buffs you get from cooking dishes out of the strange stuff the monsters drop on occasion. Not all of these stopgaps are bosses either: Sometimes the challenge is getting from one save and respawn point to the next.

    The third phase I call the revenge phase: One has quite a bit of work ahead to enter it: At one point the cumulative stat boosts and upgraded equipment finally break the difficulty curve: Enemies die in one hit and can no longer keep up with your healing spells. At this point you also have all the traversal powers unlocked, and your travels through the castle transform from a harrowing crusade to a mop up operation. The challenge now is finding all the little nooks and crannies the game had kept hidden from you before you wrap up the gameplay. That is usually the end for games like this. But Bloodstained has a little surprise left for the dedicated gamer.

    There are two items only available in the endgame that dramatically increase Miriam’s movement speed and jump range and no joke transformed the entire primary gameplay loop for me, from a Jump and Slash kind of game to a form of parkour simulation: I glide and float through the rooms at amazing speed and hammer out the rhythm the room imposes on me to keep moving: run, slash, run jump slash jump jump slash dive run. It is hypnotic and fantastically flow-inducing. I had not been expecting it.

    All four phases, with the exception of the early part of phase one, were great fun to play through. The craftsmanship that went into optimising everything to support gameplay is astounding, too. The vast amount of weapons and equipment you can find or craft, and the dozens of magic spells you can get from the monsters make sure boredom will never be a problem. The layout of the map is excellent, too. Just one example: Every boss has a respawn point that is at most two rooms away. Everything bends over backwards to challenge and swaddle the player in sweet sweet endorphins at the same time.

    So that’s Bloodstained: Not the greatest looker, not an engrossing storyteller, but if you give it a chance, it’ll take you on a wonderful ride.    … Expand
  97. MohakAoki
    Jul 5, 2021
    8
    a good game. good gameplay and graphic. good dub and characters. the only thing that I think it could be better, is storyline. also final boss difficulty was very higher than previous boss fights.
  98. Volphied
    Jan 31, 2022
    9
    Este juego ha sido el título que he querido que Konami lanzara durante muchos años (y no han hecho). Se nota que los creativos de los Castlevania: Symphony of the Night han hecho este juego, porque la calidad emana de todos los costados, tanto a nivel técnico, visual, OST y con una historia interesante.
    Un juego pensado en su rejugabilidad, con muchos DLC's y contenido extra gratuitos    Este juego ha sido el título que he querido que Konami lanzara durante muchos años (y no han hecho). Se nota que los creativos de los Castlevania: Symphony of the Night han hecho este juego, porque la calidad emana de todos los costados, tanto a nivel técnico, visual, OST y con una historia interesante.
    Un juego pensado en su rejugabilidad, con muchos DLC's y contenido extra gratuitos (que viendo el mundillo sorprende ver contenido gratuito) los cuales nos harán cambiar la experiencia original que tiene el título para poderlo experimentar de distintas maneras.
    Si tenéis la espina de que Konami tiene secuestrada la IP de Castlevania y con ganas de jugar nuevos títulos como los clásicos de la empresa, recomiendo esclarecidamente Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, ya que es claramente un sucesor espiritual a la serie de Castlevania.    … Expand
  99. BrutalPlayer
    Jun 4, 2023
    10
    Game is great. It has everything for everyone. Challengers and Casuals alike.
  100. 3a21
    Aug 28, 2022
    8
    There 're many things to do
    Exploring the castle with many hidden room, grinding to get all item, techniques, monsters, shards, customize appearance and still can play endgame for collect achievement and item things.
    Controlling still problem about jumping and directions, It's more accuracy when use arrow button but when you use L stick it's would be hard for attack direction and use    There 're many things to do
    Exploring the castle with many hidden room, grinding to get all item, techniques, monsters, shards, customize appearance and still can play endgame for collect achievement and item things.
    Controlling still problem about jumping and directions, It's more accuracy when use arrow button but when you use L stick it's would be hard for attack direction and use some skills.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best PC Game of 2019
44
#44 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
42
#42 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. RPGamer
    Oct 1, 2019
    80
    Anyone who never liked the Metroidvania entries in the Castlevania series is extremely unlikely to be enthralled by Bloodstained. Koji Igarashi made no intimations of reinventing the wheel in Ritual of the Night, and the game is recognizably from the creator of Symphony of the Night. Playing this game nevertheless reminded me of how much fun a quality Metroidvania can be, and Konami is certainly in no mood to use its own intellectual property for anything other than Pachinko machines lately – plus if it had, something like paying money for additional save slots might have been introduced. Kickstarter-funded games have a decidedly mixed record, but Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is fortunately one of the success stories.
    Read full review
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Aug 2, 2019
    75
    Iga promised to make a spiritual successor to all but defunct Castlevania series – and that’s exactly what he did. Not only that, but he managed to successfully expand upon the familiar formula with nifty additions like skill shards. [Issue#239, p.74]
  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 11, 2019
    90
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the best love letter to Castlevania addicted. Created by the programmer, director and producer from titles like Simon’s Quest, Vampire’s Kiss and Symphony of the Night, Koji Igarashi, the game finally arrives to home consoles and PC after a successful crowdfunding campaign, but also a troubled development. Thankfully, the wait was definitely worth and we finally have a huge game, with deep combat and craft systems and loads of game modes. This is without any doubts one of the best Metroidvania of the year and a great Castlevania spiritual successor.
    Read full review
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