Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Reviews
The wait was worth it. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a whole new castle to crash full of unexpected monsters and mysteries in the vein of classic Castlevania.
Bloodstained: ROTN faithfully recreates the metroidvania experience of the 2000s—a feast for fans of a very specific experience; a bit too old-fashioned for anyone else.
The wait was worth it - this spiritual successor to Castlevania is a gorgeous, accessible 2D platformer stuffed with nostalgia.
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.
Ritual of the Night starts off a little too familiar, but quickly ramps up into an impressive exemplar of the genre it's retreading
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night suffers on Nintendo Switch due to distracting technical issues.
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.
Ritual of the Night is one of the best games released so far this year, and even if you don’t love 2D platformers, the excellent exploration elements, movement, and combat are good enough to win anyone over.
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 is one of those games that is fully aware of its possibilities and, therefore, knows how to make great use of the elements at its disposal. The combat system, the progression of the protagonist and the design of levels generate an experience whose positive sensations are not completely diminished by the performance of this version.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is not the perfect Iga-vania, but it is a worthy entry in the genre. It's clearly Castlevania in all but name and long term fans will find much to enjoy here, but it's lacking in polish and refinement with a few niggles with the controls and too many unwelcome bugs at launch. With a few more patches, Bloodstained should be the game all us fans wanted it to be.
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
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is pure fun, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience.
One more metroidvania to add to the mix. At least is a good example of the classic proposal of the genre although it's not technically perfect.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An almost perfect game with just some minor flaws that don't ruin the overall experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an incredibly well-made adventure, and a heartfelt ode to games past.
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.
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.
Igarashi-san has made another masterpiece. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an unapologetic celebration of the best parts of his previous work, bringing them all together with some fresh approaches to progression. Gorgeous and rewarding, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is phenomenal and is a worthy, near flawless successor to Symphony Of the Night, and that's high praise indeed.