Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019)

This game was too easy... until it wasn't anymore. I was almost one shooting everything with True Arrow and tanking bosses til I fought Bloodless. Then the game really got hard when I reached the fire area and it's been really hard since then. I'm at the final boss right now and not sure how I'm going to beat them.

I really wish this game had a better difficulty curve.

I think I 'ruined' the game for me.

I got Rhava Velar and True Arrow shard very early in the game and I've been unstoppable for hours. I upgraded the shard and bosses fell like it's nothing. I don't think I've died against a single one of them. I just tank them while shooting and that's it.

Or is it that the game is really easy? It's a shame you can't start the game directly in Hard (unless you use a code I didn't knew when I started playing).

I don't mind easy games, I really like them. But I was expecting a little more of a challenge of this one. Maybe other 'metroidvanias' like Hollow Knight spoiled me

I don't have all of the achievements, but as far as collecting, exploring, and general gameplay is concerned, I have completed 100% of the game. I have every monster in the demon glossary, I've collected/crafted every item whether it's supplies, food, accessories, head armor, chest armor, scarves, weapons, or shards. I've explored 100% of the castle. I've done it all. Total time is 29 hr. 11 min. 08 sec.

When the bugs for the game completion achievement and getting every other achievement achievement are fixed, I might come back and get the rest of the achievements I've skipped. Until then, I'm moving on. It's been great and this was worth every penny.

So, I started this today and got to the twin-headed dragon boss. I really like this game and I want to love it but I can't. Overall feeling is just like Castlevania at its finest but there is something that feels off. I don't know it is just me but if I use anything that has short range when attacking I get hit because I just wasn't sure where the enemies body hitbox was. This is a little thing but can get annoying.

Other complains that I have are purely technical like WTF is with the loading screen. At one point I actually thought that my game got stuck while loading. Another minor complain is there is no remapping the buttons. I'm usually fine with this but in this case the evade button is on L1 and I can't get used to it and game like this I really need it. Third complaint that I have is about the map. I don't know what is going on there but when I open it it's just all over the place, too small and at wrong position. Yeah you can center it but it's really annoying in a long run when you can't use it quickly while playing. I hope I get over these while going further in the game.

I was really looking forward to this game but so far I am mixed on it.

The core game is good and very true to SOTN, but the graphics and play control are just bad. I am playing on Switch and that may well be the reason. From watching a stream, I know full well that the graphics are much better on PS4 and PC. I kickstarted the game where there were originally promises of a Vita port, which was cancelled and replaced with the Switch port. I can’t even imagine how bad the Vita would have been.

I almost want to start over on another system but don’t really want to shell out the money for another copy.

Well I have finally finished this game, I certainly say its great and if you ever enjoyed metroidvanias or just castlevania in general you will love this game. I really love the variety of weapons and accessories the game has.

One day I may revisit this and get 100%, but right now I really enjoyed just going through the story and was excited to see how it was going to wrap up.

This is basically SOTN, for better and for worse.

For better: ...It feels like SOTN, and that game is badass. Need I say more?

For worse: ...The Metroidvania scene has seen a lot of games within recent years, including a few stellar games that moved the genre forward. Bloodstained on the other hand is essentially a callback to earlier times (as promised by the Kickstarter), however I wish it took notes from other recent games with regards to presentation and polish. Take the map, for example. I for one believe we should retire the very basic blue map, but that's just me.

The main way this game stands out from the crowd is its gameplay and combat system. Movement feels great, and you have an absurd amount of ways to adjust your playstyle. There are tons of different weapons to try, shards to collect (acquire enemy abilities ala Aria/Dawn of Sorrow), and you can mix and match all your abilities to your liking. It's all fun as well, and I was changing loadouts every 30 minutes or so.

Overall, I really like this game and I'm glad it came out the other end in one piece. There was a period there where I was worried, but I'm glad the game ended up proving me wrong.

Once again, I come bearing bad news about a Switch port. I literally just came back from the store with a PS4 copy because of how bad the Switch version is.

At first it was only graphical downgrade issues (which are really significant, and I know the Switch can handle far better than that, so the devs are simply not adept at optimizing for the platform) and I was willing to deal with it if the frame rate was ok, but as the rooms got bigger and filled with monsters the game would lag and even freeze completely for a few seconds. The rumble feature was excessive and poorly implemented and even the sound mix seemed rough.

For now, avoid the Switch version, I'm really annoyed because I know there are devs out there who can handle the platform and this is unacceptable.

The game is really good by the way, so don't avoid the game, just buy it on any other platform.