Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews
The game is a must-own for die-hard Castlevania fans, filling a void that's been empty for years. Bloodstained sets the bar for crowdfunded games, delivering a fantastic adventure.
In conclusion, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the perfect game for fans thirsty for metroidvania games. Iga has finally accomplished what he has promised for the fans and does it well.
Given that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a crowdfunded game, the amount of love and attention evident in its production comes as no surprise. The level of quality that is present in this package is truly astounding, and the appreciation grows even more when considering the free content promised for the coming months. Perfection should not be expected from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. However, the result is exactly what was promised by the developers, and fans could not ask for more. Throughout its development, Igarashi-san provided continual assurance that he desired to make the game a product of its fans. By listening to criticism and acting on it, he fulfilled his promise with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is one of those masterpieces in gaming that only comes once every generation. With responsive controls, great combat and a massive list of weapons and items, it will keep you coming back for more.
"Blood diamond with rough edges."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Iga finally returns after a long journey with many hurdles, albeit unofficially, to the series that he established and in a genre that he defined.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a true Igavania adventure and does a great job at bringing this experience to modern platforms. There are some low points here and there and some design choices can be a bit questionable, but honestly, there is just so much to love about this game that it really doesn’t matter.
Plenty of things await the attentive player who keeps an eye open for goodies off the beaten path, and exploring the entire place is a thrill.
The fact that I chose to finish it anyway says a lot. For one thing, it proves that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is more than just a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. After all, I’ve never played that game (nor any other Castlevania in any meaningful amount). It also speaks to how excellent the mechanics are when the pacing holds up, because there are hourlong sections where you have no idea where to go or what to do but wander in search of something you missed.
Koji Igarashi delivered exactly what he has promised – nothing more, nothing less. Although Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night isn't very innovative, nevertheless it's a joyous reminder of one of the most important video game series of all time.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a fantastic game and is a sequel to Koji Igarashi’s Castlevania games in all but name. There’s enough familiarity there but also many new ideas which will please newcomers and veterans alike. It may have been a long time coming but Koji Igarashi’s return has been well worth the wait.
After delays and a lot of promises, Bloodstained is finally available. The game is a love letter to the fans of the genre, even including nods to the popular series Castlevania, even with good and rewarding gameplay sometimes the performance of the game leaves a lot to be desired.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Remember that the development process was not smooth, and Igarashi and his colleagues were faced with their own set of obstacles. The fact that we have now come to a genuine, well-built metro is due to the efforts of the creators, and it turns out that the game is made with great love. It's hard to find a good metro version of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night now, so don't miss this game if you're a fan of this genre.
Review in Persian | Read full review
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
A wonderful throwback to the Igarashi-directed Castlevania titles that is only held back by questionable performance.