Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

 Switch
User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 237 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 237
  2. Mixed: 47 out of 237
  3. Negative: 92 out of 237
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  1. djdnauk
    Jul 26, 2019
    8
    definitely a great game, fun and totally worth a 9/10 but the flaws in the switch port are annoying, input lag, lower frame rate, horrible graphics in places & lower resolution etc... definitely make the experience worse but after completing it on both the switch and pc, i think people are over stating the problems they DO matter but they DONT reduce the games score by more than 1 or 2definitely a great game, fun and totally worth a 9/10 but the flaws in the switch port are annoying, input lag, lower frame rate, horrible graphics in places & lower resolution etc... definitely make the experience worse but after completing it on both the switch and pc, i think people are over stating the problems they DO matter but they DONT reduce the games score by more than 1 or 2 points out of ten... anyone giving this a really low score just because of the flaws is ignoring the fact the game is stil fun and playable on switch... heres hoping they patch it & all there negative nancies come back here and increase their ratings accordingly… Expand
  2. ianhsieh2008
    Sep 14, 2019
    8
    I waited for the Switch version. Maybe it's because I did not play the other version before I start my Switch version, I don't feel the slower frame-rate like some other people. This is my first Metroidvania game, and it is making me into a fan of the genre. The game crashes a few times for me, but I didn't get any other bugs that was reported.
  3. HyperReal
    Sep 21, 2019
    10
    After initially giving this game a 2 upon release, I’m pleased as punch to say that, after six months of buggy hell, Bloodstained is finally playable on the Nintendo Switch. If you’ve been holding off on purchasing it until the bugs are fixed, you needn’t wait—or worry—any more. While it doesn’t look as good on Switch compared to other platforms, the compromises are acceptable and offers aAfter initially giving this game a 2 upon release, I’m pleased as punch to say that, after six months of buggy hell, Bloodstained is finally playable on the Nintendo Switch. If you’ve been holding off on purchasing it until the bugs are fixed, you needn’t wait—or worry—any more. While it doesn’t look as good on Switch compared to other platforms, the compromises are acceptable and offers a visual feast nonetheless. I do feel that the player’s character should be higher res but that’s really just a nitpick. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is essentially a more sophisticated Symphony of the Night with some additional interesting ideas that looks great and plays great on the Nintendo Switch.… Expand
  4. SamDaHam
    Jul 25, 2022
    2
    Truly 1990s experience, everything is so blurry, runs at 20 fps, 480p, with input lags, uninteresting map design and outdated combat system.
  5. greedyflygon1
    Jun 26, 2019
    9
    Great game and looks good on the switch. Gets a 9 instead of 10 because the game does crash and suffer from some performance bugs. I imagine these issues will be fixed within the next few weeks. Im enjoying the game otherwise. Dont think a game deserves such negative reviews just because of some minor performance bugs. Breath of the wild crashed and was buggy at its initial release butGreat game and looks good on the switch. Gets a 9 instead of 10 because the game does crash and suffer from some performance bugs. I imagine these issues will be fixed within the next few weeks. Im enjoying the game otherwise. Dont think a game deserves such negative reviews just because of some minor performance bugs. Breath of the wild crashed and was buggy at its initial release but people didnt hate on it for just that.… Expand
  6. Sakomo
    Jul 11, 2019
    7
    Oh Iga.. I know you were trying hard, but this.. was just.. *sigh*

    Allow me to begin on the first let down of the game, the voicing. The characters sound so bored, let alone tired. Half the time, the personalities do not match. When it comes to Miriam getting a new soul.. I honestly can't stand her scream of 'agony' (Or was it pleasure.. I have no idea.) The next thing I have    Oh Iga.. I know you were trying hard, but this.. was just.. *sigh*

    Allow me to begin on the first let down of the game, the voicing. The characters sound so bored, let alone tired. Half the time, the personalities do not match. When it comes to Miriam getting a new soul.. I honestly can't stand her scream of 'agony' (Or was it pleasure.. I have no idea.)

    The next thing I have trouble with is controls. They are seriously in need of better response time. I can recall the many times I had pressed a button for her to jump and she.. stood there was if very confused and no jumping happened. I had to press it three times in succession before she finally was "Oh! I'm supposed to jump, sorry I fell asleep." The input for special moves were especially bad, since it's a 1/7 chance it succeeds. (The roll forward is the most troubled one, because it's not reading it well enough. I have to go snail mode just for it to get it.)

    The graphic use of this I was shocked.. I had no idea on how to put it, and still have no idea on what to say. Impressed? No.. Disappointed? Again.. no.. it's hard to tell really.

    But that aside, I find the game ok, but as a fan, this I feel is a 'hiccup'. Iga, I loved SOTN and I know you definitely made it clear on what your intent was when it came to making it, as also prior titles before Mirror of Fate or Lords of Shadow came along. I think that with a few patches to fix the controls and voice acting (Like, remove it.) , I think this can boost my confidence and will definitely having me sing a different tune.    … Expand
  7. Ebdiel
    Jun 25, 2019
    3
    Dear iga and devs:
    This the worst port ive seen ever. The resolution drops to 420p. fps constantly in the 20s. And massive load times between rooms.

    Just AWFUL.
    The port is a 3/10
    Ps4 is 9/10
  8. grabbler
    Jun 25, 2019
    0
    the game is great however the game performs terribly. input lag abound and absolutely struggles to maintain 30 fps. to make matters worse, they put false screenshots on the switch eshop page (one of them was of a menu using PS4 button inputs for goodness sakes)
  9. feralway
    Jun 25, 2019
    1
    You would think that after a massive delay and with a not very modern graphic engine this would have been a good porting.

    Wrong. Backers who received this scam should be refunded or receive a steam/alternate console key. The game is neatly unplayable from massive lag spikes the further you go in and the grapgic is incredibly downgrafed conoared to the already meh versions for pc and    You would think that after a massive delay and with a not very modern graphic engine this would have been a good porting.

    Wrong.
    Backers who received this scam should be refunded or receive a steam/alternate console key. The game is neatly unplayable from massive lag spikes the further you go in and the grapgic is incredibly downgrafed conoared to the already meh versions for pc and other consiles. This is a legotimate scam and the devs lied about switch performance: this is why it was released a week later



    consoles    … Expand
  10. GloryForry
    Jul 13, 2019
    9
    An almost perfect game for fans of the genre. Forget all negative reviews. Sure, the PS4 version looks/is better but it's still a pleasure to play on Switch. I had 25 hours of fun and am still motivated to uncover the whole map, discover all shards and trying out some weapons. I never feel forced to grind, I do it because it's fun. Looking forward for the upcoming free DLC
  11. Peaceduke
    Jun 25, 2019
    2
    Pre-ordered the game based on glaring PS4 and PC reviews. Waited for it for so long to play on Switch hand-held. It is absolutely unplayable even in earlier areas. Visuals are blurry and janky, long load times and it couldn't even hold 30 FPS! 40 Euros wasted.
  12. Smarch80
    Jun 25, 2019
    1
    The worse port of a game I've played on the Switch so far, absolutely terrible resolution and I'm not even one of the people that complains about graphics or framerate, but this time it is just way too ugly. The game also feels pretty sluggish and unresponsive at times, pretty sure is something related to this port, it crashes, the HD rumble featured is bugged so I had to disabled it . TheThe worse port of a game I've played on the Switch so far, absolutely terrible resolution and I'm not even one of the people that complains about graphics or framerate, but this time it is just way too ugly. The game also feels pretty sluggish and unresponsive at times, pretty sure is something related to this port, it crashes, the HD rumble featured is bugged so I had to disabled it . The worse part is that all of these issues are preventing me from enjoying what appears to be a really good game that I wanted to play since a long time ago. This is just sad.… Expand
  13. oits
    Jul 9, 2019
    2
    The input lag, low frame rate, and constant, constant crashes make the game basically unplayable. Do not buy this game for the Switch.
  14. Valtiel86
    Jun 26, 2019
    7
    This is an iffy port of a great game. It's nowhere near the unplayable mess some users are making it out to be, but it's definitely the weakest version of the game. The graphics took a significant hit and the Switch port is a bit buggier than the other versions. The change from 60 fps to 30 requires some adjusting, but in the end the game still plays well. Definitely try one of the otherThis is an iffy port of a great game. It's nowhere near the unplayable mess some users are making it out to be, but it's definitely the weakest version of the game. The graphics took a significant hit and the Switch port is a bit buggier than the other versions. The change from 60 fps to 30 requires some adjusting, but in the end the game still plays well. Definitely try one of the other versions if you can, but if Switch is your only option you'll still have a good time.… Expand
  15. kasparius
    Jun 25, 2019
    0
    Once again, I come bearing bad news about a Switch port. I literally just came back from the store with a PS4 copy because of how bad the Switch version is.

    At first it was only graphical downgrade issues (which are really significant, and I know the Switch can handle far better than that, so the devs are simply not adept at optimizing for the platform) and I was willing to deal with it    Once again, I come bearing bad news about a Switch port. I literally just came back from the store with a PS4 copy because of how bad the Switch version is.

    At first it was only graphical downgrade issues (which are really significant, and I know the Switch can handle far better than that, so the devs are simply not adept at optimizing for the platform) and I was willing to deal with it if the frame rate was ok, but as the rooms got bigger and filled with monsters the game would lag and even freeze completely for a few seconds. The rumble feature was excessive and poorly implemented and even the sound mix seemed rough.

    For now, avoid the Switch version, I'm really annoyed because I know there are devs out there who can handle the platform and this is unacceptable.

    The game is really good by the way, so don't avoid the game, just buy it on any other platform.    … Expand
  16. binarygirl
    Jun 25, 2019
    2
    Very disappointing. I pre-ordered this game immediately following Jim Sterling's video praising the game for everything that it did right. It was downloaded and I eagerly awaited this morning to finally play it, but when I did, it felt off. It felt more like a PS1 era game. Mighty bloodstained #9. Then as soon as I got low on life, the controller rumbling just never stopped! So I had toVery disappointing. I pre-ordered this game immediately following Jim Sterling's video praising the game for everything that it did right. It was downloaded and I eagerly awaited this morning to finally play it, but when I did, it felt off. It felt more like a PS1 era game. Mighty bloodstained #9. Then as soon as I got low on life, the controller rumbling just never stopped! So I had to totally disable the hd rumble effects for the game. That's annoying. As soon as I looked up what was wrong with this game, I realized quickly that it wasn't just me. This game looks ugly, and plays like garbage. I've had some slowdown, although I hear it's worse as you keep playing, I only got about an hour in. It's just awful to look at. Maybe they'll patch this mess, but probably not seeing as switch owners who got burned will just move on and newcomers won't touch it. $40 wasted, could have been worse I guess, but it put me in a bad mood. I will never again pre-order any game, that's my $40 lesson.… Expand
  17. Rpg89
    Jun 26, 2019
    9
    Some bugs to thrash out yes! But still very much playable fun game. Just needs a little more optimization and it's good to go.
  18. pmasterfunk
    Nov 8, 2019
    3
    Post 1.03 Patch Edit:

    So, patch 1.03 supposedly fixed the bad graphics and input lag. I don't see the difference. I honestly see no difference. The game still drops inputs. It still looks kinda bad. I've played some more of it, so I'm at around 80% done. Now, before you get your flame-hat on and roast me for my opinions, let me first say I'm a big Castlevania and Metroidvania fan. I    Post 1.03 Patch Edit:

    So, patch 1.03 supposedly fixed the bad graphics and input lag. I don't see the difference. I honestly see no difference. The game still drops inputs. It still looks kinda bad. I've played some more of it, so I'm at around 80% done.

    Now, before you get your flame-hat on and roast me for my opinions, let me first say I'm a big Castlevania and Metroidvania fan. I own the following games from the series: Castlevania 3, Super Castlevania 4, Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia. I've also played many of the, ahem, less good ones, like Simon's Quest, Dracula X, Circle of the Moon, Castlevania 64 (both versions of it sadly), Lords of Shadow. I also own and really like Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. It recaptures the spirit of the NES games while removing the frustration those games were designed around.

    So what do I find wrong with Ritual of the Night? Many things, yes. Many, many things.

    I don't know if this is because of the Switch version's poor visuals, but a lot of areas have enemy designs and level backgrounds with very similar colour schemes. This makes sense within the world of the game, but makes stuff really hard to see. The inferno area gets particularly bad when it comes to visual confusion, with bright lava flowing in the background, just behind Fire Elementals made of, well, fire. And these Fire Elementals cast - yes, that's right - fire spells. And they are often in a room with fire throwing goop monsters - made of lava, no less - with dogs running around that are also - you guessed it - made of fire and lava. The struggle is real.

    One other important irritant involves bullet sponges (whip sponges?). Both regular enemies and bosses. The second boss in the game has 1000 hp, and I was hitting for a massive 14 points of damage. Now I know what you may be thinking, "git gud", but I'll pre-emptively respond with "hey dingus, this is not Galamoth, this isn't even Olrox. This is the second boss in the game and he shouldn't take over 70 hits to kill on an average playthrough".

    For non-boss enemies, those flaming goop monsters I mentioned earlier - the sit-ins for skeletons from the Castlevania series? They take 4 or 5 hits to take down. Who makes skeletons take more than 2 hits to kill? And their projectiles can fly through ceilings. Why can't mine?

    Also leveling up doesn't seem to increase damage input. I'm trying really, really hard not to curse.

    Crafting decent items always seems to require items that are rare drops, which I don't know where to farm. You'd think a bovine plume would come from that enemy that looks like a cow with wings, but no, it comes from that OTHER palette swap cow with wings you haven't seen yet and is still 6 hours of gameplay away. Why do I have this recipe? I'm always short on cash anyway, so I can't buy extra stuff to craft with either.

    My god, when should I stop? Should I mention the buggy skill list? The average story? The bland characters? The seeker arrows that often lock on off-screen enemies? The still buggy visual effects? The fact that this game has ruined my faith in humanity? My resulting low testosterone count? I don't know...

    I suppose the music is pretty good. ¯_(ツ)_/¯    … Expand
  19. asahiGR
    Jun 25, 2019
    0
    4 years and 5 mil in development for this garbage. Switch port got no love on this one. Graphics are terrible compared to other ports, framerate is all over the place. And we are talking about a 2.5d (not even 3d) indie platform game, this should be running like a breeze on any system! No wonder they delayed the release on this, in order not to mess with their ratings on the other4 years and 5 mil in development for this garbage. Switch port got no love on this one. Graphics are terrible compared to other ports, framerate is all over the place. And we are talking about a 2.5d (not even 3d) indie platform game, this should be running like a breeze on any system! No wonder they delayed the release on this, in order not to mess with their ratings on the other platforms. Shame on dev team.… Expand
  20. Basada
    Jun 25, 2019
    1
    Game is broken for the most part. I did all the research and the reviews were positive.. that is none of them talked about the switch version until today. To late for me since adter the good reviews i pre ordered. So i feel i was largely mislead believing that the reviews covered all ports but sadly wasnt the case. Thanks to Nintendo not allowing refunds im pretty **** on this deal.dontGame is broken for the most part. I did all the research and the reviews were positive.. that is none of them talked about the switch version until today. To late for me since adter the good reviews i pre ordered. So i feel i was largely mislead believing that the reviews covered all ports but sadly wasnt the case. Thanks to Nintendo not allowing refunds im pretty **** on this deal.dont waste your money on the switch version.… Expand
  21. dennislam
    Jun 25, 2019
    0
    Terrible graphics and framerate. If you search on Youtube, the performance is worse than PC on lowest settings.

    Why do people let developers step on Switch owners like this? The Switch ver is more expensive but has the worse performance among all.

    This is a heartless ripoff. Dont trust this developer and any Switch owner should boycott this game
  22. ThatGuyWhoTypes
    Jun 26, 2019
    2
    The game in this state is totally unplayable, especially for me. The constant frame rate drop and stuttering and input lag as well as crashing, just within the first less than an hour of gameplay, makes this game an absolutely deplorable gaming experience. Giving the company the benefit of the doubt about releasing small updates to patch the game to me as a programmer and as someone whoThe game in this state is totally unplayable, especially for me. The constant frame rate drop and stuttering and input lag as well as crashing, just within the first less than an hour of gameplay, makes this game an absolutely deplorable gaming experience. Giving the company the benefit of the doubt about releasing small updates to patch the game to me as a programmer and as someone who has studied well enough about software engineering and the whole QA process, I find this a poor attempt on their part to release a game that many of us have waited extra time for and we were hoping this game would be polished and at least look somewhat like the other console or PC versions, just with toned down graphics or AA. This doesn't seem to be the case with this game. It's almost like they've removed so much of the detail from the game JUST to get it to run, and even then it struggles to try and keep up. In my opinion, this is totally unacceptable for any company to have people who pay for their game or even back the game on Kickstarter and then wait an additional amount of time with no review to go off of and then you're given a completely broken game. Maybe I'll come back around and give this game a go and buy the PC version, but right now, ArtPlay, has left a bad impression on me and I've decided to spend my hard earned money elsewhere. I suggest others do the same. If you still want to support Igarashi and the company, I'd consider going with either the console versions or the PC version.… Expand
  23. SCuM70
    Jun 25, 2019
    0
    Horrible port! From lag spikes to massively downgraded graphics, backers who opted for the Switch version got ripped off. There are many examples of games that run and look great on the Switch, this is not one of them.
  24. grindmonk
    Jun 25, 2019
    2
    Feels bad to play, some amount of input delay, plus the 30fps limit (which it often goes below).. stuttering, long load times, etc. Backed this for $60 years ago, sucks that we were locked into an inferior version of the game without knowing it would be so bad. I recommend the PC version instead.
  25. Chacha1994
    Jun 27, 2019
    1
    A fraud! images on E-store are taken from other console versions. Pitiful input lag, frame rate always below 15, gameboy advance graphics and in 1 hour the game is crashed 4 times without reason. ArtPlay must be ashamed, I want my money back. I've never seen a job so badly done.
  26. YeetusMcGeetus
    Jul 29, 2019
    7
    Great game. Terrible port. That's really all that has to be said about the Switch version of Bloodstained. I really hope Iga comes back and patches this for us!
  27. The3AcademySins
    Jul 25, 2019
    7
    This is a difficult review for me to write. I highly respect Iga and the team that made this game. They very clearly love the fans of their games, and you can tell they worked their butts off to deliver a great game and a great product. At it's core, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a great game. The story is funny, engaging, and immersive, the gameplay is fun and innovative, and theThis is a difficult review for me to write. I highly respect Iga and the team that made this game. They very clearly love the fans of their games, and you can tell they worked their butts off to deliver a great game and a great product. At it's core, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a great game. The story is funny, engaging, and immersive, the gameplay is fun and innovative, and the crafting systems and magic systems are really well implemented. The soundtrack is memorable, and Miriam is a fun protagonist to play.

    That said, the Switch port of the game has a lot of problems. It's very buggy, there's a big graphics downgrade, and there are a lot of crashes that really bog down the game and the fun experience. I hope Iga and his studio address the Switch issues, and fix this buggy port, but I don't know how much control they have over the Switch version. If you can play this game on PC or PS4, definitely do it. If you are thinking about getting the Switch port, maybe hold off for a while.    … Expand
  28. 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
  29. RygarBelmont
    Sep 30, 2019
    2
    The game is great visually but unfortunately thats it, its the same metroidvania style with nothing new , if you played SOTN, circle of the moon or harmony of dissonance you ve already played this game because it doesnt offer nothing else , the fact that the promised dlc(it was supposed to be at launch) with co op mode and zangetsu mode havent been relased yet doesnt help either, you areThe game is great visually but unfortunately thats it, its the same metroidvania style with nothing new , if you played SOTN, circle of the moon or harmony of dissonance you ve already played this game because it doesnt offer nothing else , the fact that the promised dlc(it was supposed to be at launch) with co op mode and zangetsu mode havent been relased yet doesnt help either, you are better off with some other game of the same genre like Blasphemous, Odallus etc… Expand
  30. SnorlaxGeek
    Jan 22, 2022
    0
    Mau polimento gráfico, quedas de FPS, Slowdowns, travamentos, carregamentos desnecessariamente demorados. Um jogo caro, custando normalmente R$100,00 ($20) extremamente mal feito (pelo menos a versão do Nintendo Switch).
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019
35
#35 Most Shared Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 26, 2020
    75
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a good game, don't get me wrong, but boy, waiting for it to become great has been a job in itself! [Issue #48 – September/October 2020, p. 72]
  2. Nintendo Insider
    Nov 6, 2019
    70
    By the time the final performance update drops it will be those who snatch the game at a sale price that will ultimately benefit the most. There’s a 1.04 update that is expected by the end of November, and I would bet money that it won’t be the last. It’s a real shame because underneath the stigma of a troubled release and a lost first impression of a polished product, lies a potentially magnificent game that holds true to what it once ambitiously set out to achieve.
    Read full review
  3. FNintendo
    Jul 30, 2019
    60
    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a game that many fans wanted and it does a very good job when it comes to its fan service duties. If only the game’s performance matched its level of challenge, this would be an unforgettable, indispensable title but unfortunately, Ritual of the Night’s framerate drops and strange inconsistencies make this an experience that could have been much more of a breeze. Fans of Metroidvania games will still find plenty to be happy about it, though.
    Read full review
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