Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an action game developed by ArtPlay and published by 505 Games. The game features Metroidvania gameplay and Gothic horror themes. Players storm in a haunted castle and defeat the forces of evil.

A Developer’s Passion Project

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been a passion project by Castlevania creator Koji “IGA” Igarashi. He began his project after leaving Konami in March 2014. Igarashi is more interested in developing console games rather than mobile games. Inspired by Keiji Inafune’s crowdsourcing campaign for Mighty No. 9, he decided to launch a Kickstarter project in 2015. The crowdsourcing campaign for Bloodstained was successful in earning more than $5.5M donation from dedicated fans. The game was eventually launched in 2019.

Haunted By The Past

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night features the classical Metroidvania gameplay in a side-scrolling platformer. Metroidvania is about exploring a large map with backtracking included. The game is about Miriam’s journey on finding a cure for her curse called the Shard. Miriam was an orphan who got afflicted by an alchemist’s curse. The demonically-powered crystals would consume her whole body. Miriam wakes up decades later and the town is being invaded by demons led by former friend Shardbinder Gebel. Gebel summons the castle Hellhold to take over the world during the Industrial Revolution. Teaming up with alchemist Johannes, Church exorcist Dominique Baldwin, and demon hunter Zangetsu, Miriam marches to the demonic castle and save the world.

The game has a fantastic Gothic art style in 2.5D graphics. The voice acting for both English and Japanese is excellent. Castlevania fans and even casual gamers will love the game narrative. It is deep and engaging with its dark influences from literature, anime, and games. Players can select between Miriam and Zangetsu. Each character can be upgraded with gear, spells and even cosmetics. Miriam can collect Shards and use it for casting spells. The spells are upgradeable for a variety of effects. Zangetsu has different gameplay compared to Miriam as he only uses swordsmanship. Gears can be picked up from defeated enemies or hidden in plain sight. Players can visit Johannes for crafting pieces of equipment or salvaging materials. They can also trade materials with Dominique in exchange for items. Players can also find more NPCs that will help them along the way. The game map is filled with mazes and labyrinths. There are also save points and warp rooms scattered everywhere. Players must expect difficult bosses at the end of each area. This game has free DLCs to keep the game interesting and fun. Some of the DLCs are Boss Rush mode, Speed Run mode, and a bonus costume for Miriam. Hardcore fans can also discover Easter Eggs in the game.

Castlevania’s Spiritual Successor

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a dream for both Castlevania fans and Koji Igarashi. The game has a well-crafted world with a lot of contents to discover. Completionists will be eager to collect all items and unlock all secrets content.