Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 may as well have come out in 1989. It looks and feels like a game from three decades ago. If that was the only goal, it succeeds with flying colors. Unfortunately, that’s not a very ambitious goal, since the market full of side-scrolling 8-bit inspired gems that cleverly blend genres and make use of modern gaming conventions.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2
Inti Creates · Jul 10, 2020
About
Koji Igarashi and Inti Creates are back with more retro sword-and-whip action! Curse of the Moon 2 brings classic 2D action and a dark, 8-bit aesthetic together with modern playability. The multiple-scenario structure of the previous title returns with an epic new story supervised by IGA (Koji Igarashi) himself. Players take control of Zangetsu, a swordsman from the far east who bears a deep grudge against demonkind and the alchemists who summoned them. Zangetsu must battle his way to the demonic stronghold, but he doesn't have to do it alone! Zangetsu can ally himself with a brand new cast of characters he meets along the way and add them to the playable roster.
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Critic reviews
- 7.0Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a somewhat uneven sequel. On one hand, its new playable characters create some of the most ingenious stretches of retro platforming in recent memory. The myriad abilities at your disposal create an open-ended experience, and dismantling tricky challenges with your broad toolset is one of the game's greatest pleasures.
- 6.5Difficult games are fine; in fact, I celebrate difficult games. Unfortunately, without giving tools or proper agency, CotM2 deserves as much respect as it gave me, the player. Unless you are the most die-hard classic gaming fan, I can't recommend this title. In fact, even then, buyer beware.
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is clearly a love letter to the NES Castlvania games. Players who have played the original know exactly what they’re getting into here, although the sequel is overall an improved experience. Making 8-bit retro style games isn’t as novel a concept as it was several years when these type of titles were popping up in the indie game scene but Curse of the Moon 2 is an example of one of the better executions of this concept.
- 8.0That Easter egg owes both its story justification and its level of meta weirdness to Hachi, which is really what sets Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 apart. It's still a classic Castlevania homage at heart, but it has an eccentricity that feels right at home alongside the giant kitty-cats of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. When a game seems to be having this much fun at its own expense, it's hard not to join in.
- 8.5If you liked Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, then you will like Curse of the Moon 2. It's more of the same, but in the best way: more levels, more characters, a cleaner interface, and lots of balance tweaks to make everyone play a bit better. You should check out Curse of the Moon first, since it's an excellent game on its own, but if you have a hankering for '80s Castlevania action, then Curse of the Moon 2 will give you everything you need.
Gamer reviews
I was very excited for this game. I loved Curse of the Moon and found Veteran mode in it the perfect challenge. Given this I am sad to say this game is not clicking with me, I am disappointed. I am an experienced gamer but no longer enjoy very hard games. Midway through episode 1 I already started to have problem defeating the bosses. However I really liked the first game and was interested in the story so I took the hit to my ego and lowered the difficulty to Casual. I cruised through to the end and enjoyed it. Overall the gameplay and bosses are good; I just don't find it as memorable as the first game. This is a middle of the pack retro action game. I began the second episode on casual and made it to the Chains of Fire boss, where I hit a road block. I found his attacks very hard to dodge and the window to do damage to him very small. Added to this your attacks do very little damage to him so there is very little satisfaction when you do finally hit him. Long story short I quit this game. Why did they make casual mode so hard? If you have not played the first Curse of the Moon game, absolutely go play that one before this one. If you played the first and like hard games you could pick this up, otherwise there are a multitude of other retro action games to pick up before this one. I'd suggest the Castlevania Collection as a starting point. There is a 2 player mode that might make it better, but I did not try it.
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