Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews
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.
Aside from a few script malfunctions and some odd enemy behavior at points, this is a perfect Metroidvania game. If you are a fan of the genre, a fan of Castlevania, a fan of Metroid, or just a fan of 2D platformers in general, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.
Bloodstained is occasionally frustrating, refreshingly open, and as promised, wholly Castlevania. Hopefully some polish is on the way for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as to not alienate folks who are new to the genre, but as any Castlevania fan knows, partial jank comes with the territory.
If you're into post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania, you will find with Bloodstained : Ritual of the Night what you wanted. It doesn' have the name or the same setting, but the feeling and the atmosphere are the same, with some very generous content and a lot of nods to the Konami series. It could have been a lot more polished wisually speaking, felt more of like a game of this era, but how can we be frustrated to get what Koji Igarashi and his team were expected to do ?
Review in French | Read full review
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.
Few games have managed to be as good as Symphony of the Night; Bloodstained not only manage to do so, but also refines and improves that same old formula for a new generation, becoming the true spiritual successor of the Castlevania series.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
At the outset of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night I could see the castle that would be the major setting for the game. In the distance, even just the sight, I knew there would be an immensity to this game. The quest that Miriam, our protagonist, was on would be daunting and hard fought. Most of all, I could tell a great amount of passion and care went into the creation of Bloodstained.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is everything that was great about Igarashi's Metroidvania titles all rolled into one, and feels like it will be as timeless a game as Symphony of the Night.
Overall, there is little wrong with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Some of the sections have a trial and error feel, meaning you might lose and that will cost you progress, though the overall game achieves what it wants. As a fan of those games, I got a similar impression of this as I did with Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. If you're up for looking around every corner, work on your moves and invest in the story, it's hard not to see the value of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
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
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is not a bad game but it is disappointing, a metroidvania all too anchored in the past that doesn't really add anything new to the genre that Koji Igarashi himself contributed to create. Beyond the bland execution and the continuous plagiarism of Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow, Bloodstained is plagued by too many problems, especially in terms of combat and the hitbox system, preventing an enjoyable gaming experience. It hurts to say this, but there are too many better alternatives to Bloodstained on the market. We expected a lot more than this from Igarashi-san.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an amazing game, filled with love and passion from its creators and delivers a true "metroidvania" experience. If you like Castlevania games, you'll love this true spiritual successor.
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
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a trip down memory lane. While it doesn't revolutionize the genre, it is a great adventure from the legendary Igarashi.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a love letter to Castlevania. If you have any interest at all in the Metroidvania style of games, you cannot go wrong with this title.
After four years of development time, Koji Igarashi has created the game that fans have craved for years. It’s a love letter, not so much to Castlevania itself but to the fans that helped him distance from publisher Konami. Ritual of the Night is not a perfect game, but it’s a bloody good game. If you’re craving for a new Metoridvania, or IGA-Vania, then this is definitely a title to put on your shelf… or digital library.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night doesn't reinvent the idea of what a Castlevania game should be, but it does a better job than any of its contemporaries at emulating that classic formula that Konami have long abandoned. While it's technically got a few issues they're hurdles that I am sure it will overcome. Still, in a market that's flooded with imitations, Bloodstained is the real deal. A true successor to Castlevania that fans and newcomers will easily sink their teeth into.
...a modern game in the spirit of the post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania titles, you can't do much better than this.
The best Castlevania game never made and while it adds relatively little to the formula it is the best example of its use in many years.
The wait was worth it - this spiritual successor to Castlevania is a gorgeous, accessible 2D platformer stuffed with nostalgia.