A ‘traditional’ review of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will more than likely start off by mentioning – at great length mind you – it’s Kickstarter campaign, it’s unenthusiastic response to its initial demo, and its delays. You won’t find any of that here. The only thing that matters is if the game is any good, and does it live up to the legend of Koji Igarashi. Well, rest assured that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is not only good, it’s better than good. It completely shattered my expectations and is easily one of the best games of the year.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night tells the story of Miriam, a Shardbinder who has awoken after 10 years of perpetual slumber and has been tasked with hunting down her former friend Gebel – another Shardbinder who has summoned a castle full of demons as a precursor to a more sinister plot. Along the way you’ll encounter Johannes, your go-to for all things weapon/shard related, Alfred, an alchemist who is tracking down Gebel for his own reasons, and Zangetsu, a demon hunter who will test your skills (and your patience) on more than one occasion. The backdrop and supporting cast are very Igarashi to say the least, i.e. goofy yet charming and all around lovable. The narrative is surprisingly a bit more fleshed-out than I initially expected. There are moments when it will completely catch you off guard, and others when it is just too predicable. Stellar voice acting really helps to sell the melodrama with solid performances. While the story might be a bit simple, it is a visual treat to watch it unfold.
Gone are the hand-drawn 2D sprites Castlevania is known for and in its place are 2.5D models that perfectly capture the Gothic aesthetic that Koji Igarashi has built his career upon. I was never fully behind the idea of ditching pixels for polygons, but seeing is believing – and I became a believer moments into the game’s intro stage. From a sprawling cathedral and claustrophobic laboratory, to a lava-filled cavern and a massive tower, Bloodstained’s environments are as diverse as they are detailed. It’s hard not to sit back and just admire how much attention has been put into the game’s lighting in particular. Something as simple as the soft purple glow of a candle can’t help but draw the eye as it ever so slightly lights up a pitch black corridor. The same amount of care has been put into Bloodstained’s creature design which are some of the most original and inspired designs I’ve seen in a while. While the art-style of old will never be forgotten, it has evolved for the better, and so to has the game-play.
When it comes to dispensing with your enemies there is a surprising amount of depth to be found in Ritual of the Night. As Miriam, the crux of the game’s mechanics lies in collecting shards which imbue her with various types of abilities. Shards come in five distinct types: Conjure, Manipulative, Directional, Passive, and Familiar. Conjure is a basic offensive spell which can be anything from launching a bouncy current of water and tossing a bone shard into the air, to summoning a bat or Shovel Knight to attack an enemy before it disappears back into the void. Manipulative shards are capable of messing with the environment or Miriam herself. One shard will have you calling forth a giant hand made of stained glass which can be used to move objects such as bookcases and iron maidens, and another shard will transform you into a buxom bunny lady (again, I kid you not). Directional is a lot like Conjure with the only difference is you can aim the spell wherever you like. Passive shards provide stat boosts, elemental resistances, weapon/affinity expertise. And Familiar brings a demon helper alongside you in battle such as an adorable pink pixie or a chatty book of the dead. Familiar shards also level up alongside Miriam so be sure to always have one equipped. There are also shards that provide a permanent upgrade to Miriam such as being able to Double Jump and Invert the map on its head (a clever call-back to Symphony of the Night’s Inverted Castle).
Shards can be further enhanced from its base form by increasing its Grade and Rank (I told you it was deep). A shard’s grade reflects your current stock of that one particular shard. A Grade 1 Summon Bat shard for example doesn’t pack the same punch as a Grade 9 Summon Bat Shard. So if you are anything like me and you enjoy farming every single resource the game has to offer, it will definitely be worth your while. As for Rank, not only do you increase a shard’s damage potential the higher the rank is, it’s graphics/animation change as well. To use the Summon Bat Shard as an example again, a Rank 1 Summon Bat shard spits out a single puny bat. If you were to max it out, a Rank 9 Summon Bat shard produces multiple bats that can quickly overwhelm any enemy from a safe distance. When you take into consideration that every enemy in the game – even bosses – has a shard, and that you can equip one of each type at once, the combinations become nearly endless. Bloodstained’s enemy layout and level design demand that you switch your load-outs on the fly as you will constantly adjust for what the game throws at you. Fortunately there is a shard for that, and you can seamlessly switch between your preferred shard sets with the press of a button. My one complaint is that there are a decent amount of throwaway shards – ones that you will only obtain for the sake of that ‘catch’em all’ mentality but aren’t of any real use. It’s slightly disappointing to mash on an enemy that is shooting bolts of lightning at you and expect it to yield something really cool only for it render a “Resist Thunder” shard. However, there are plenty of deliriously fun shards to go around, like summoning a dragon to slash at your enemies, or calling a heavy metal electric guitar to literally melt your opponent’s face off (told you this was Game of the Year material). Shards aren’t the only thing with depth however.
Weapons are plentiful and come in even more variety than shards. Daggers and swords, whips and boots, great swords, spears, and axes will be found throughout your exploits in Bloodstained. Each weapon type has its own feel to it and play-style. Not satisfied with the quick yet low-damage output of your dagger? Equip a great-sword instead. It’s got some serious drag on the downswing but once it connects, don’t expect anything to survive. Don’t grow too attached to your early weapons however, as you will likely use them as material to craft bigger, better, and more devastating implements of death. Crafting better gear is only half of the depth that weapons have to offer. Throughout the castle you can find a number of scattered bookcases which can teach you techniques tied to specific weapons. That rapier not flashy enough? Well if you mash the attack button you can trigger a vicious combo which ends with you dashing through your opponent. Is that whip just like the most boring weapon you ever equipped? Perform a half-circle front motion + attack button to summon a miniature tornado. These techniques have a Mastery Level, so frequent use of them will make it even more powerful. There are a bunch of these techniques just waiting to be found, adding just another layer to the game’s robust combat system.
Simply put combat is an absolute joy. Miriam controls with as much grace and precision as any of her Castlevania contemporaries. Controls like these feel like having coffee with an old friend – you pick up right where you left off, it feels comfortable, and you enjoy every moment of it. Any fears of Miriam appearing too float-y can be put to rest. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night feels fantastic to play. There are some sporadic moments of stiffness that come with a few of the game’s weapons/shards but overall, the game-play is of the highest quality. Once you start earning a decent amount of shards and crafting better weapons, things become very stylish. The controls really shine during boss fights as you will be jumping, back-stepping, executing attacks and casting spells without putting much thought into it – which is really surprising considering just how many techniques are mapped to your controller. Even the game’s cooking system (which I admit is pretty entertaining to watch Miriam spin around and fist pump her hand in the air after preparing a scrumptious dish) has a surprising amount of depth to it.
Aside from the obvious benefits of having a healthy supply of dishes to restore health (and given how difficult the game can be at times, you’re going to need it), cooking is but another way you can customize Miriam’s build. Johannes’ constant yammering to ‘eat properly’ may grow weary after hearing it for the hundredth time, but he means well. Consuming a dish for the first time will grant a First Time Bonus. Depending on the dish your devour, this bonus will permanently increase one or multiple of your base stats such MAX HP/MP and Strength, Defense, etc. There is also a series of side quests involving an insatiable old woman who has the most insane appetite and will ask you to prepare dishes for her to eat. I only fulfilled her orders out of morbid curiosity because I really needed to know when that haggard glutton would stop eating. If only some of the game’s side quests were as deep.
Just after you finish the game’s intro stage, you will settle in a small town where you can craft new weapons and enhance your shards. You can also shop for better weapons if you are too lazy to craft them yourself and talk to a handful of folks and take on a very basic side quests, such as killing a specific number of a certain enemy or fetching a specific piece of gear. You can also farm. Yes, we’ve gone full meta now, haven’t we. In a game where you will be constantly farming enemies for shards and materials (don’t worry – the RNG isn’t complete shite), you can actually farm crops such as corn or potatoes. Aside from having a laugh at farming while you are trying to save the world from an impending demon invasion, side content is a bit on the shallow side. Side quests are typical fare and hardly worth the reward. These seem to be a carry-on from DS entries of the Castlevania series. I wasn’t a fan of them there and here they seem a bit out of place – especially when you you are farming in front of a burning building. It makes for nice filler material, but all it really does is artificially inflate the game’s completion time – something which I can safely say the game does not have a problem with.
Over the course of four consecutive days I put 20+ hours into Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. I achieved two bad endings, one true ending (I hope) and finished with Miriam at Level 45 with 99.80% of the map complete. This includes having 92% of shards obtained, and besting the game’s optional bosses – which there are many. My initial run did not include finishing every side quest, crafting every weapon, discovering/leveling-up each weapon technique, and enhancing every shard to its maximum potential. If you take what I have left to uncover and couple it with the game’s 13 DLC add-ons (which are going to be free), Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is worth every penny of its $39.99 asking price.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is very much a love letter to the metroid-vania genre that Iga helped define. Aside from the cheeky references to Castlevania characters throughout the side quests, expect tons of nods to Symphony of Night. Remember that long spiked hallway you had to maneuver through to get an item to achieve the true ending? Yeah, expect to find that here. Robert Belgrade, the voice of Alucard, even makes a return as a vampire librarian. And spoiler alert: you bet your ass that their is going to be a doppelganger boss fight. Stuff like this is super in-your-face and I giggled like an idiot every time I made a connection to a past Iga-vania. You can clearly tell that this is a passion project for the team and that love for the genre is inscribed all over the game. It’s never subtle and honestly, I don’t think it’s supposed to be. What is very subtle however, is the game’s disarming beauty. It’s often difficult to catch it when you are hacking and slashing your way through an army of undead things, swollen flying pigs, and towering dragons while doing your best to survive. There are times when Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night pulls you just a little bit deeper into its oppressive world.
There was one moment in particular when you happen upon a grand piano in the middle of the game’s garden level. I didn’t think too much of it at first, just another chair to sit in – and – knowing Iga – maybe I have to take a seat on every sit-able(that’s a word, right?) surface to unlock some sort of trophy/achievement. After sitting my dainty Shardbinder butt down and not expecting much of anything, Miriam started to play the piano. It was eerie yet elegant, and it sent a distinct chill down my spine. Oh, and be sure to have the Fairy Familiar equipped once you take a seat – you won’t be disappointed.
It would be remiss of me not to mention to game’s soundtrack. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is masterfully scored. It’s music can stand up against Castlevania’s very best tunes, and dare I say any other game’s best tunes. Expect classical compositions mixed with melodic beats, and the occasionally heavy metal guitar riff when you least expect it.
Castlevania is a very personal franchise to me with Castlevania III being one of the earliest games I have ever played for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a series that has become synonymous with incredibly detailed levels, a memorable soundtrack, and, as the series evolved, gameplay crafted around exploration. As a spiritual successor to Castlevania, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night invites the comparison to the legacy franchise. I’m happy to say that it is everything I could have hoped for and more. While we celebrate the likes of Hollow Knight and Dead Cells – which are certainly worthy of our recognition – we owe a great deal to Koji Igarahi. He has become as enduring and prevalent as the genre he helped pioneer. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a haunting nightmare poem, one that is soaked in dread, authored by a cast of tragic and enchanting characters. It is Iga in his purest form, and that is something worth celebrating.
*The well documented patch 1.02 save eating bug did not affect this review, because I finished the game at 100% prior to it’s release. I have now moved on to play over again on a higher difficulty with no issues*
