Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Demo Impressions
It was easy to be concerned about how Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night would turn out, much more so than many other projects that could come to mind. That’s thanks to how Mighty No. 9 turned out, in terms of the core game and examples of poor communication with the audience, despite some circumstances surrounding that project being different. But faith in Koji Igarashi and his team was enough to make its Kickstarter campaign one of the most successful ever, though launching it during the height of people’s hatred for Konami helped. That the game already resembled its concept art when it was shown at the campaign’s end helped push its funding into legendary territory — well, until Shenmue III came around.
Though we’ve seen it in action before, some backers had the opportunity to actually try it, thanks to the PC demo playable at E3 being given to those who pledged $60 or more to the campaign. There were plenty of positive comments from those who attended the show, sure, but backers were slightly more likely to be familiar with the spiritual predecessors in the older “IGAvania” Castlevania titles.
Its Wednesday night release also came very shortly after the aforementioned Mighty No. 9’s long-awaited release on Tuesday, as if their subtle intention was to convince fans and backers that it wouldn’t turn out like that title.
The demo takes place in part of a haunted ship whose design and aesthetic should feel familiar to anyone with Castlevania experience — IGAvania or otherwise. It’s slightly reminiscent of the ghost ship from Rondo of Blood, though different enough that no legal issues will ensue.
But the experience seriously started becoming familiar once I started controlling Miriam, and begin jumping around, exploring, and fighting enemies. Despite somewhat resembling Order of Ecclesia’s Shanoa, it’s evident the development team took ample time to make her movement similar to Alucard from Symphony of the Night. That’s natural, considering this is intended to be a spiritual successor to that title, evinced through its name and how it’s planned for release in its anniversary year. She’s capable of swinging her sword in a straightforward or diagonal manner when one’s equipped, and can backdash like any other IGAvania protagonist you can think of. She (and the game, by extension) feels great to control, a welcome achievement in the transition from sprites to polygons for a 2.5D view.
Beyond physical attacks, she also has a variety of magic at her disposal. Anyone who became addicted to hunting for Souls for Soma in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, you’ll be happy (or horrified) to know that element has returned here. Every enemy has one, which comes in the form of a crystal Miriam will stab herself with to possess its power — which is figuratively and literally edgy. Like the aforementioned Souls, some are tougher to obtain than others. Stats like enemy weaknesses and luck weren’t implemented into the demo, so you’ll be obtaining those crystals through more luck than usual. This should lend the final experience some serious replay value, and variety in terms of the kinds of crystals Miriam can equip simultaneously.
As someone intimately familiar with the map designs in many IGAvania games, the ship’s design made me feel back at home in the best way. It seems there will be no need to worry about the team cutting and pasting designs since they don’t appear strapped for resources, meaning the overall map will hopefully be on par with Symphony, Aria, or Dawn. Normal enemies encountered within don’t pose much of a challenge, but that’s somewhat acceptable here thanks to the lack of save rooms to heal. But by the end, Miriam will have enough potions and ethers at her disposal that she won’t need to be concerned about dying too much — and that’s not including some hidden potions that can be found through destructible walls.
Though the game looks and feels great, I’d like for the final version’s enemies to be a little tougher. That especially applies to the boss, who’s easy enough to defeat without taking a hit. But I realize E3 demos tend to be made easier for an audience that may not be familiar with these titles, or will be constantly distracted by other occurrences on the show floor. Considering those factors, the final game being more difficult could already be part of the plan. But this demo was mainly an opportunity to see how the game feels, and it’s done its job providing that.
Of course, the best aspect of this is how it’s instilled confidence in the final game being quality. The game already feels polished despite this not being representative of its beta (which is coming down the line), and its developers are well aware of how to execute its concept. I won’t be surprised or disappointed if this doesn’t make its intended March 2017 release timeframe (delays among crowdfunded video games are almost expected), but I’m fine with them taking all the time they need to get this just right, especially when they already have a good foundation.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
