Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a worthy follow up to the Castlevania games that many grew up with in terms of its exploration, but lacks some much-needed polish in the combat and animation department to truly shine as a modern gem
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 has some mighty big shoes to fill but does so admirably. It delivers a classic, yet satisfying experience that fans have been wanting for years.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Koji Igarashi's first proper effort since 2008's Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, is a Rococo masterwork.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the game that Castlevania series' fans have been waiting for so long - with an interesting world to explore, well-developed locations, great and very atmospheric music, thoughtful progression and a diverse combat system. Small bugs and some design mistakes may disappoint, but if you have long dreamed of getting the spiritual heir to Symphony of the Night, just buy this game. But on on Switch. This version as of now is absolutely unplayable.
Review in Russian | Read full review
I’ll be exploring this weird world for quite a while yet, and I suspect that many of you will be doing the same.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is exactly what fans expect from a Koji Igarashi-produced Metroidvania, though the Switch port definitely has its issues.
Old-school Castlevania fans should pick up Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night right away. So should anyone with an interest in Metroidvanias, action/RPGs or high-quality side-scrollers in general.
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.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been a long time coming, but now that it's here, fans of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night have everything to gain. Playing through Bloodstained feels great if you're already a fan of Koji Igarashi's work—and if you're a fan of action-adventure games in general. There are some unfortunate bugs, hitches, and glitches, but once you download the 1.02 patch, you should be through the worst of them.
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.
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.
A game like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night deserves a second opinion, and here it is on PS4: Iga gave Castlevania classics fans exactly what they wanted; we can find weaknesses, but the substance is a love letter to Symphony of the Night.
Review in Italian | 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.
Igarashi has done it again, has created a new complete game that breathes on all four sides the classic essence of the Castlevania, but at the same time provides its own and novel elements that make it an essential.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
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.
GREAT - The wait for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was completely worth it. The Switch version is still plenty of fun to play but is marred with some technical issues at the time of this writing, which holds back its overall score from being even higher. Those that can overlook these issues will find a compelling adventure game filled with secrets and content that should give most gamers over 20 hours of playtime.
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.