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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night


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#16 Anthus

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Posted 18 June 2016 - 08:27 PM

This looks neat. The last Castlevania I liked was Order of Ecclesia.
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#17 The Satellite

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Posted 18 June 2016 - 08:30 PM

Coincidentally, that was also the last real Castlevania game. :P


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#18 The Satellite

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Posted 26 June 2016 - 11:52 PM

 

SomecallmeJohnny's played the demo, gameplay footage is clearer and so is the sound. Same level as the last video though.



#19 The Satellite

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Posted 08 September 2016 - 10:31 PM

Bit of an announcement, something about additional developers and a targeted release of the first half of 2018. Originally it was aimed for March 2017 I think, which seemed incredibly optimistic, so I'm not entirely surprised about a delay. I wonder if this means they'll end up putting it on NX now, with that much additional time. I imagine by that point Wii U will basically be irrevocably irrelevant anyway; it'd likely only still release on the system just for those who backed it for a Wii U version.



#20 The Satellite

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 09:56 PM

http://www.glixel.co...ig-deal-w452181

 

This is a very good interview, with a couple of insights on the game's creation, direction, and planning, as well as several humble tidbits. I like Igarashi even more than I did before.

 

Also I would love a Igarashi Metroid game yes please.



#21 Koh

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 11:03 PM

Some of those questions are just...lol.   But, I'd probably consider myself about the same as Iga, as a developer myself.  My main goal is just to make good, challenging and entertaining games that people can enjoy and feel like they got their money's worth out of.  The fame and fortune isn't the main goal at all, I'm just a gamer at heart that also wants to put my creativity out there for people to get attached to, and live off what I enjoy doing.


Edited by Koh, 23 November 2016 - 11:07 PM.


#22 The Satellite

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Posted 20 August 2018 - 10:57 PM

Unsurprising announcement, Ritual of the Night is delayed until 2019. They're doing this to increase the quality of the game based on feedback from the backer demo. This is good. People were pretty positive about the demo from what I heard, and if the developers are taking constructive criticism to heart, I'm even more hopeful for this game. I've been able to temper expectations for games recently, so I'm not expecting the best thing ever, but I'm hoping for a good game and I'm sure that's what we'll get.

 

Also, they're canceling the Vita version, offering backers for that platform the chance to change platform or get a refund. Their reasoning being Sony is apparently finally acknowledging the system is dead and planning to discontinue the system, as well as production of physical game copies. Understandable. Meanwhile Mighty No. 9 over there promised a 3DS and Vita version but there's still not a word on their status over two years after the game released on PC and consoles...



#23 The Satellite

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Posted 20 June 2019 - 05:04 PM

Anyway, admittedly I'd be more interested if it was more in the linear style...

 
Well I'm not sure why I said this back then seeing as I've grown to love both styles, but hey, I got both anyway! And both are fantastic.
 
Yes, this game's finally out. Well, not until the 25th for Switch owners unfortunately. I was going to pick it up on there but I needed this game so I got it on PC instead. And Mighty No. 9 this isn't. No, this game delivered on its promises. It's a fun and huge Metroidvania; I took around 15 hours according to the in-game timer (17 according to Steam) to beat it, making it the longest Metroidvania I've played next to Hollow Knight. And to be fair, I'm sure much of that in Hollow Knight's case is its sheer difficulty.

 

Not that Ritual of the Night is easy. It's not quite Order of Ecclesia difficult, but I'd say a little harder than the other Castlevania games. Just Igavanias, obviously. Not to say the game is super challenging, there's still a handful of simple bosses and the like. And this was on Normal mode; there are higher difficulty options as well.

 

I beat it last night and want to do a bit of cleanup. 100% map, extras, cool items, that sort of thing. This is a very good video game, stands up there with the rest of the Igavanias. It's very much like Aria/Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia with the shard system resembling souls/glyphs. Hell, I keep accidentally calling them "souls." This allows for a huge potential arsenal (although I found my favorites early) that you can upgrade later on with materials. There's a crafting system, yes, and it works similarly to the Sorrow games. Using material drops and weapons, you can craft even better weapons, armor, and gear. I don't mind it, although admittedly I do sort of prefer finding ultimate weapons hidden in the castle or dropped from enemies. It's a minor thing, I'm just a Symphony of the Night fanboy.

 

Also the soundtrack is fantastic, as to be expected from Michiru Yamane.

 

Gameplay feels natural. If you're a fan of the Igavanias, you'll be right at home here. It's so close to the exact same gameplay style of past games, right down to being able to do a midair slash right before hitting the ground and immediately follow up with another slash upon landing. The graphics are fantastic, although sometimes objects did seem to blend together at points; maybe it's just my monitor. 

 

$40 may seem a bit steep, but SotN was the same price when it was new. The DS games were $30 new. I honestly think it's worth it, and there's more content on the way! Hopefully this is the game that puts fears to rest regarding Kickstarter games; just because Mighty No. 9 was a disaster and Yooka-Laylee was mediocre doesn't automatically mean Kickstarting games is a bad investment. Stop conveniently ignoring successes like Shovel Knight, A Hat in Time, Hollow Knight... and now Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. (I know there are many others, these are just the ones I'm most familiar with.)

 

It has its cryptic moments, though. So do other Castlevanias, but most of them feel hinted at. I don't even think SotN's cryptic moments at its worst are that bad, and they're certainly better than these. Mid-to-late-game spoilers enclosed:

 

Spoiler

 

These annoyances aside, I'm still greatly satisfied with the game. Highly recommend it.


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#24 ShadowTiger

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Posted 23 June 2019 - 02:41 PM

Well said. I definitely loved the game. Took me 35 hours, but I just 100%'d everything. All the Achievements, all Shards to Rank 9, all the items, and managed to sequence-break the game my first time by crafting the High Jump shard too early.

There were a few areas where I got stuck, sure. Took me a while to figure out what the heck the Silver Bromide was for. Totally forgot I had picked it up, and just got my picture taken for no reason. Never knew to bring it to the <spoiler> to get into the <spoiler> to get the <spoiler> which would've let me proceed. Oh well. Went clockwise around the whole Castle by sequence-breaking. Good for me.

Absolutely money well-spent. Can't wait for some DLC.

#25 TheLegend_njf

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Posted 01 July 2019 - 11:46 PM

A Tale in Three Images


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#26 Jamian

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Posted 22 March 2020 - 04:06 PM

I'm a bit late, but I've started playing this and it's great. I recommend it to metroidvania fans. It's like a modern Castlevania game in all but name.


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#27 The Satellite

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Posted 22 June 2021 - 12:47 AM

Back in January the promised "Classic Mode" finally released for this game. I honestly had kind of forgotten about it because of how good Curse of the Moon was, but both Curse of the Moon and Classic Mode were separate stretch goals so they still went through with it. Funny that Curse of the Moon actually got a whole-ass sequel before Classic Mode released.

 

To make a long story short, you're better off playing those than Classic Mode anyway.

 

There really isn't a lot to say, but I'll try: It's a weird mishmashy hodgepodge of 8-bit music, sound effects, and HUD elements with modern gameplay graphics. Except some modern sound effects are mingled in with the 8-bit sound effects, and high-quality images mixed in with the 8-bit HUD elements. It's kind of clashy and disorienting. The 8-bit dungeon you can find in the main game was a neat little area with 8-bit graphics and enemies, where only Miriam and some visual effects weren't 8-bit. I'd've almost preferred that approach, or not using any 8-bit elements at all.

 

The gameplay is at least intact, though errs closer to Rondo of Blood. You can slide, backflip, and are just sort of kind of not really able to control your jump. You can also jump on and off stairs, so those are less of a problem than they might've been. There's also a hard mode, "1986 Mode," that restores the controls to complete Castlevania 1 restrictions though. I didn't bother.

 

Although speaking of CV1, you'd also just be better off playing that instead because... Classic Mode apes that game heavily throughout, shamelessly, practically lawsuit levels. Sure, they tweak the layouts just so slightly, and sometimes pull inspiration from other Classicvanias. But the progression is almost identical throughout each stage, culminating with the classic staircase and the final boss fight. It all just feels too blatant and I wish they had just used settings from the main game, rearranged to fit the classic gameplay style, and adapt their bosses to fit as well. Instead of squeezing bosses in to fit the mold of CV1, although the final boss actually borrows a bit from CV4.

 

But yeah, like I said, if you want your Classicvania fix, I'd recommend playing CV1 or the Curse of the Moon games. It's a free update so it's pretty harmless I guess, but still a bit disappointing. Probably a good thing it's the only disappointing part of the entire package so far. RotN is still an incredible game.




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