Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

No. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night lacks the depth of the Castlevania series, which inspired it. With unresponsive controls, it’s a chore to play.

It’s a good game, and it fits mobile quite well. I’d probably recommend picking up Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ahead of this game, but there can and should be room in your life for both.

It’s a real shame because underneath the stigma of a troubled release and a lost first impression of a polished product, lies a potentially magnificent game that holds true to what it once ambitiously set out to achieve.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is pure fun, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience. Diving back into creator Koji Igarashi's iconic style of gameplay has been deeply nostalgic for me; I even found myself humming old Symphony of the Night tunes after playing the new release for a few hours. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a prime example of how much fun the Metroidvania genre has to offer, and will undoubtedly serve as a point of comparison for all retro-inspired platformers that follow it.

All in all, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is exactly what it was marketed as: the revival of the Igarashi Castlevania games. It might not have Konami's IP, but it has the feel, the gameplay, and the style that no other game has quite been able to replicate. You'll love it if you're a fan of the franchise, and it's a great place to start if you're a newcomer. Some annoying design decisions and general performance issues hold it back. In the end, morning has come to vanquish the terrible night, and Bloodstained is hopefully the start of a new generation of Igavania.

From the forgettable and dull story to the unbalanced gameplay, Ritual of the Night can’t compete with the best of the series. However, based on its own merits, it still provides a journey worth playing at least once or twice. Without a doubt, the game’s release is worth celebrating for, though it’s missing that creative spark Castlevania series has had in spades.