Sorry I haven't posted in (looks at watch) uh, forever. My life's been kind of a mess, but at least I've found something to keep my mind off the rough stuff. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was recently made available on Microsoft's Game Pass service, and it's the first game in a very long time that I've felt compelled to play to the end. Heck, I even finished some of the optional quests to keep the excitement alive for just a little longer!
Bloodstained, for those who may have missed it, is a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's got a new (flimsy) plot and a fresh cast of characters, but the core experience is a re-branded SOTN with polygonal graphics. And it's pretty much the revival people hoped Mighty Number 9 would be, nailing the feel of the original so closely that it's a wonder Konami didn't respond with a lawsuit. I mean, come on, one of the hidden bosses is an undead Simon Belmont! There's still a librarian, but this time, he's Alucard from Symphony of the Night, with a different name but the same voice. Instead of a second inverted castle, you can flip the castle you're already in with a command learned late in the game. It's blatant, is what I'm saying. If you don't have a taste for leftovers, you may not like it, but isn't that what 98% of video games serve up these days?
Anyway. Bloodstained. Extremely familiar, and extremely grindy, but extremely awesome, and you can play it for free if you've got Game Pass. You can't beat that with a flame whip.
Random observations on the classic gaming scene, courtesy of the former editor of The Gameroom Blitz.
Glad to see you posting again, and sorry to hear life’s been rough lately. Bloodstained really does feel like the love letter to Symphony of the Night that fans have been waiting for. I actually don’t mind how blatant some of the references are—it almost feels like the developers are proudly saying “yes, this is exactly what you think it is.” The castle flipping mechanic and all the little nods to Castlevania are great touches. Totally agree about the grind too, but somehow it still manages to stay fun. Game Pass definitely makes it an easy recommendation.
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