Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.5 / 10.0
Jun 30, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night succeeds in continuing the legacy of the Castlevania series but with a different name. As a Metroidvania, it easily ranks in among the best in the genre offering a fairly comprehensive overall package.

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8 / 10.0
Jul 2, 2019

If you're a Metroidvania fan, this is definitely a 10/10 title, but newcomers to the series will probably not find the same joy in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

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Heavy
Top Critic
8.8 / 10.0
Jun 27, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s promise of a triumphant return to the era of classic Castlevania has been fulfilled. Koji Igarashi and the developers at ArtPlay have crafted an engrossing side-scrolling Metroidvania title that’s powered by fun battle mechanics, a sense of deep exploration, and a strong story.

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9.5 / 10.0
Jun 30, 2019

Igarashi delivered exactly what his fans wanted — an incredible game which is one of the best metroidvanias out there.

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90 / 100
Jun 26, 2019

Bloodstained was made to satisfy fans demands for a new Castlevania Symphony of the Night, and Ritual of the Night is an excellent spiritual sucessor and a great starting point for a new series.

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65 / 100
Jun 26, 2019

While it's crammed full of fan-service alongside good core combat and exploration, Ritual of the Night's technical instability and some discomforting design decisions keep it from rivaling its influences. It was clearly made for the fans, so those without an already-established fondness may find it hard to enjoy.

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4.5 / 5.0
Jun 25, 2019

A neat world, Beautiful music, A fun adventure, I truly believe Bloodstained Ritual the Night one of the best Side scrolling games in this generation

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Ofisil
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 25, 2019

Want to play an old-school action/exploration game the likes of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? Well, you can't get more old-school, or more... Symphony of the Night than Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. This offers a vast castle to explore, full of monsters to slay, and with lots of ways to slay them, be it the many weapons that your Shardbinder can use, or the demonic powers that she can absorb. If you are in need for something that's NOT an exact copy of late '90s metroidvanias, though, better look elsewhere.

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8.7 / 10.0
Jun 21, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of a Night really surprises me in every way. It is amazing. A metroidvania with so many nostalgic feelings, unique dark fantasy art style, amazing gameplay and leveling system, deep combat elements, many weapons and upgrades and also a beautiful soundtrack. whether or not you are a fan of 2d RPGs or metroidvania games, Bloodstained: Ritual of a Night is a game you should not miss at all.

Review in Persian | Read full review

8 / 10
Jun 22, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a good, standard Metroidvania that can be very fun especially for those who are looking for a fresh Iga-Vania experience, though some shortcomings like weak story and bad character design prevent it from getting level with some recent Meteoidvania titles.

Review in Persian | Read full review

8 / 10
Jun 20, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a thrilling and rewarding adventure into the MetroidVania genre. It is a fantastic entry level title for those yet to familiarize themselves with the genre, and a brilliant entry of quality and character for veterans.

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9 / 10.0
Jul 7, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night carries on the tradition of classic Igavania games in a masterful way.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jul 3, 2019

With plenty of weapons to find, powers to unlock and secrets to uncover Bloodstained will keep you adventuring through the castle for quite a while. If you’re into the Metroid-Vania genre you should definitely check it out. Igarashi has delivered a solid spiritual successor to his classic Castlevania titles but has also given Bloodstained it’s own two feet to stand on. I’d love to see where he decides to take this series next.

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Recommended
Sep 19, 2019

A wonderful throwback to the Igarashi-directed Castlevania titles that is only held back by questionable performance.

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oprainfall
William Haderlie
Jul 26, 2019

Honestly for as dismayed as I was over Mighty No. 9, I am even more surprised at how good Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night turned out. It is a good reminder that no single person can make or break a video game. They are truly a team effort where the directorial vision is important, but cannot compare to the execution needed from a large number of individuals. While not a perfect game, this title easily stands up to its peers as the best offerings of the Metroidvania genre. If you are not into that genre, than this is distinctly not for you. I’ve seen several reviews and opinions from people who don’t like this game, but they also wouldn’t have liked any of the other games in the genre. So it is a niche, but it does that niche better than anything else in the last 10-20 years. My first time clearing the game took me about 25 hours, which is a bit long for the genre, but as I said the castle is particularly large and the alchemy is very deep. Subsequently I have also beaten it on Hard and Nightmare, so all together I’ve spent over 50 hours playing it. That is a whole lot of game for $39.99 asking price, and it was even less for me as a backer. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a great reminder that all is not lost in the realm of backer projects at Kickstarter. There are just some persistent issues that will need to be addressed going forward.

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8 / 10.0
Jul 30, 2019

In terms of remaining a great successor to the past, Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night does a great job. It tries to make small steps of modernization with the shortcuts for the different loadouts, but it does not do anything more.

Review in Greek | Read full review

Unscored
Jun 25, 2019

To finish must say that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a very good game and a mandatory metroidvania, happy to say that it is good to see how a Kickstarter campaign of so many years that we have gone so well when everything painted the opposite.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jul 2, 2019

Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a class game despite its simplicity. Cool characters, easy to pick-up and play gameplay and wonderful visuals make this a highly recommended game. The good thing about it is you get what you put into it. Rather than endure long sections, you can dive-in for a quick skirmish and then drop out without any limits or penalties.

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90 / 100
Jul 10, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an outstanding title. Perhaps too short and easy compared to contemporary works, but few titles offer such a precise result regarding the premise of their creation and that they are also tremendously fun to experiment with.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 28, 2019

Well, after playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night from start to finish, you can definitely tell the time and effort put into this modern classic, and potential cult hit, has nothing but love in it’s ingredients. A platformer that takes no prisoners, with a kickass female protagonist, a story of tragedy and heartbreak, and an awesome adventure it leads you on, that’s what you want out of a video game, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night delivers.

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