With the rise in popularity of crowdfunding, a whole new type of game has risen to popularity. We are seeing more and more games from talented creators who can bring their visions to life without the constraints of major publishers. One of the first notable games was from developer Koji Igarashi. After many follow-ups to the widely acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being relegated to handheld systems, he broke away from Konami. His first crowdfunded game was a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night with an HD coat of paint on major consoles and it was called Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

The Role You Play

You play as Miriam, The last of the Shardbearers. She fights with a wide variety of weapons, including swords, knives, whips and guns. She can also gather shards from the enemies that she defeats. These shards can be equipped and used to give Miriam special abilities, such as projectile weapons, elemental resistances, stat boosts and unique abilities that help her navigate the world

You do have the option of playing through the game as other characters. Each one has their own unique weapons and gameplay styles.

Plot

In the year 1783, Demons emerged and began taking over multiple English cities. In response, the Alchemy Guild has created a new type of fighter to combat the demons: the Shardbinders. Though the Shardbinders were successful, their success came with a price. Only two survived the sacrificial rite: Gebel, a boy who survived through miraculous means and Miriam, who was spared the rite altogether on account of a strange slumber.

Ten years later, a new wave of demons has emerged and Miriam has awakened from her slumber to take on the demons.

Gameplay

Bloodstained is an Action RPG Metroidvania. Miriam can fight with a wide variety of weapons and use them to fight against different enemies she encounters along her journey. You traverse through the different sections of the castle. As you progress through the world, you will acquire different abilities from the enemies you defeat. The bosses you defeat give you more unique abilities that allow you to reach areas you couldn’t explore before.

Bloodstained also incorporates a lot of RPG elements in different ways. You can improve your stats by gaining experience, finding and crafting better equipment, or by crafting unique food items. You can also level up the shards you use for your abilities as well and make them stronger and more effective as well.

Length

There is a lot you can do in terms of side quests. You can gather ingredients to prepare food items. Each new one you prepare and consume grants you a permanent bonus to one of your stats. You can do different missions for settlers such as gathering seeds or defeating certain enemies in exchange for rewards. There are also multiple different endings in the game depending on how you play the game. All in all, Bloodstained takes about 20-25 hours to finish.

Music

Since Bloodstained is a follow-up to the Castlevania series, it makes a lot of sense to bring back the same composer: Michiru Yamane. The entire game has a lot of the same gothic layout and incorporates the same types of atmospheric feel. All of the different locations ranging from normal locations like hallways and large cathedrals to abnormal locations to underground rivers and deserts are captured well. It also incorporates some familiar sound bytes from the older Castlevania soundtracks as well.

Notable Features

Bloodstained makes it no secret that it is a follow-up to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It incorporates a lot of the same types of weapons. There are hints of Castlevania’s soundtrack in several of the music tracks. There are also a lot of similar enemies in the game that are not exactly the same but have very similar designs and movement patterns. It definitely feels like the entire game was meant to cater to fans of the Castlevania series.

The Talking Parts

Bloodstained has a lot of dialog between its characters. Much in the way that the dialog was a weak link of Symphony of the Night, it’s not great here either. A lot of the line delivery is very flat and expressionless. There is also little to no body language or facial expressions to accompany the dialog. The result is that most to all of the dialog is very boring. You have to struggle to pay attention to story details, especially important ones that you need to know where to go next.

Z…We’ve Reached the End. Anything Else?

Bloodstained was one of the first big games to be developed via a Kickstarter campaign. It exceeded a lot of its stretch goals and incorporated a lot of its stretch goals into the actual game. In addition to the usual act of crediting the backers in the end credits, there are monsters designed by backers, and portraits of the backers are scattered throughout different parts of the game. Bloodstained really set the standard for what a truly good crowdfunded game should look like.

Final Summary

Bloodstained Ritual of the Night is what you can get when a talented developer is free to make the kind of game they want. It has forever set a high benchmark for what a crowdfunded game can and should be. If we get more games as good as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the world of gaming will be a much better place.

Final Score: 9/10

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