Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
80%
Nov 24, 2019

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

Nov 4, 2019

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.

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4 / 5.0
Sep 30, 2019

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.

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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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9 / 10.0
Sep 12, 2019

Iga’s goal was to make a solid Metroidvania game, and he definitely achieved that in spades.

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7 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2019

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Aug 8, 2019

Minus a few iffy aspects, Bloodstained is fun experience. Whether it falls into the realm of one of the greats is unlikely but I enjoyed my time anyway.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 5, 2019

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

8.6 / 10.0
Jul 31, 2019

Whilst Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a terrific game and will keep you entertained for a number of hours, I don’t think the game is worth the £34.99 price tag and I would recommend waiting for a price drop before you buy. When you think that you can purchase Hollow Knight for half that price, it’s more impressive visually and you can easily plough 60+ hours into the game, then I feel that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, with its lack of polish, should have therefore been priced much more reasonably at no more than £25. I’m minded to say that you are paying more for the fact that the game is produced by Igarashi than its true worth. I’ll conclude by saying that, quite simply, for fans of the Castlevania series or classic Metroidvania games, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an essential purchase.

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Will Greenwald
Top Critic
Jul 31, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a Castlevania game in every aspect except name, and will satisfy anyone looking to revisit Symphony of the Night and other Metroidvania-era games.

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6 / 10
Jul 30, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a Metroidvania title that features many of the ideas that could make one of the finest games in this genre, with its challenging structure and gameplay mechanics. Where Ritual of the Night falls short is mostly on its technical performance, with long loading times, inconsistencies and formatting problems and some incomprehensible framerate drops. This game might be a fan service effort but it still needs to have its flaws addressed.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

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
Jul 29, 2019

I’m still not sure if Bloodstained has made a dyed in the wool Metroidvania fan out of me, but it’s certainly the most fun I’ve had playing one in a while.

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9 / 10
Jul 29, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is pure fun, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience.

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Jul 28, 2019

"Blood diamond with rough edges."

Review in Finnish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2019

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.

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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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B+
Jul 24, 2019

Altogether, it’s the worthwhile successor many fans have been waiting for.

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86 / 100
Jul 17, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the spiritual successor of the Castlevania games. It gives a new approach at visuals and storytelling while keeping the beloved core mechanics the same. A troughout worthy representant of the Metroidvania genre.

Review in German | Read full review

Jul 17, 2019

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an excellent game in so many ways. It delivers on its promises and sets the stage for what I hope is more content to come in this new incarnation of Igarashi’s masterpiece formula. There has been a lot of outcry about the Switch version of the game, and it definitely isn’t perfect, but it’s playable for the most part. Would I recommend it over other platforms? Probably not, unless being able to play on the go is a priority for you. If Switch is your only system, then you should still absolutely play Bloodstained, but set your expectations accordingly. If anything, Bloodstained is a strong enough game that it is still worthwhile despite the technical issues it has on Switch, which is a testament to the highs it can achieve.

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