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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
PlayStation 4
Before playing:
A few years ago, I played through Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. I really enjoyed the game. It was a fantastic throwback to the 8-bit side-scrolling Castlevania games of yesterday. You could put that game right next to the NES trilogy, and it would easily hold up to them. I loved it and I played through it multiple times trying to get all the endings.
Despite having a great time with the game, I never bothered to check out the other Bloodstained titles. I'm not sure why. Just slipped my mind, I guess. But these games were brought to my attention once again when I was listening to an episode of Retrovaniacs recently. One of the hosts, I think it was Billie, said they'd been hooked on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. They discussed how this game was an awesome throwback to Symphony of the Night, and showered the game with praise. It made me think: "oh yeah, Bloodstained. I liked that Curse of the Moon game. Maybe I should check this one out, too."
I looked for the game on GameFly, which I had just renewed. Sure enough, there it was. I put it on my queue and before you know it, it was in my mailbox along with the last game I reviewed - Martha is Dead. How would Bloodstained hold up to such a revered classic like Symphony of the Night? Let's find out.
Story:
Be prepared. This game unapologetically tosses you right into the action. You're going to have a lot of names and a lot of lore just thrown right in your face immediately. At first, I really struggled to understand what was going on. Who is who, who is related to who, how these characters know each other, what tf it is that they are doing here. Once I decided to stop caring is when I began to truly enjoy the game. You just kind of learn as you go.
I should have written this review while things were still fresh in my head. I waited a month to get going on this, just because I've been super busy in life. Most of the fine details have slipped from my mind. The basic gist is that you're Miriam, a good vampire, and you've been sent into an evil castle to destroy both the castle and the evil vampire who summoned it into being. The bad vampire in question is named Gebel, and he used to be good. Why he is doing this and what turned him bad is part of the mystery.
To get to the castle, you must travel on a massive ship at sea. The ship crashes ashore, and now you must battle your way through a small village on the outstkirts of the castle. You meet some new characters who help you. You establish a hub or a home base in the village. You then enter the castle.
If you've played Symphony of the Night, nothing you see here should surprise you too much. This game borrows heavily from its story - mainly with the multiple endings. You can just kill Gebel, which triggers the bad ending and puts you back to your last save point. You can come back and free Gebel from the evil influence that's controlling him and manipulating everything behind the scenes. That opens up a few more endings, etc.
Honestly, I could give or take the game's story. It served its purpose, but it is absolutely nothing that I'm going to remember five years from now. Heck, I barely beat the game a month ago and most of it has already slipped my mind.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is the star of the show. The game handles like a dream. If you've ever played a 2D Castlevania before, this game trumps them all. You move smoothly, you can change your jump direction in mid-air, the knockback isn't as atrocious, etc. The weapons and powers you use can be mapped to different buttons on the controller. It is very easy (once you get the hang of things) to quickly pause the game and make adjustments. It does start to get annoying when you are constantly needing to change back and forth between powers, but I suppose that's more of a minor gripe. It doesn't really come into play that much until the final third of the game.
If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then Symphony of the Night must be red from head to toe. This game is essentially Symphony of the Night. It looks like it, it sounds like it, the gameplay is inspired by it. I don't know how this is even legal, but I'm glad it is. I'd say this is a "blatant ripoff" but that shines a negative light on the game. But then again, saying it "pays homage" to Symphony of the Night is a colossal understatement. This game lies in the happy medium somewhere between those two sentiments.
I didn't grow up with Symphony of the Night, so I don't have the same reverence for it that many do. In fact, I didn't even play the game until 2024, only 102 reviews ago. I really liked the game. I gave it an A-. As much as I don't want Castlevania fans to storm my house with pitchforks, I have to say that I liked this game just a little bit better than SoTN. It takes everything its predecessor did, and improves upon it a little bit. Everything seems just a little bit smoother and more polished here. Maybe if I carried sentimental or nostalgic feelings for Symphony of the Night, I'd be singing a different tune. But I think my detached viewpoint allows me to be more honest. Everything Symphony does, this game does just a liiiiittle bit better.
One thing I didn't like was the backtracking. I know that is to be expected from these types of games, but it felt excessive in this game. It also doesn't do a very good job at guiding you where to go next. I had to look on the internet for help many, many times. Sometimes, I even knew what I was supposed to do, but still couldn't figure it out. Like when I defeated the blood sucking boss lady, and earned the blood draining power. Obviously I needed to go to the big blood pool I encountered earlier in the game. But when I got there, nothing happened. Turns out, I needed to open my menu and sift through the dozens and dozens of text-heavy things in there to find the specific item I needed to drain the blood.
I do like how there is a hub you can return to when you are in trouble. You can rest up, restore your health and magic, and buy/trade with the vendors there. This game has a unique crafting system, and also NPCs that assign quests or tasks to you while you're exploring the castle. I don't know if SoTN did that or not (I don't remember much from my 2024 playthrough, so correct me if I'm wrong). If it didn't, then that is at least one thing that makes this game unique.
This game also doesn't do a switcharoo with an upside down castle, which I was grateful for. The base castle is big enough as it is. I didn't want to have to explore more. Instead, it gives you an option to flip gravity so you can reach out-of-place areas located above you. That's kind of cool.
Graphics:
This game looks really good, even though the tone is confusing sometimes. Is this supposed to be a serious vampire hunting game, or is it supposed to be some kind of silly anime-style thing with sexy, scantily clad main characters? It's all over the place. Even the design of the castle is all over the place. How do you go from standard Castlevania-style castles and corridors to ninja-filled Japanese gardens, and some of the more fantastical areas they put in the game?
Don't expect to be blown away by the visuals. This game looks like it could have been made on the PS2 or the PS3. Not that this is a bad thing, since it is sort of what they're going for. It has a lot of really cool bosses. And some of the visual effects (like the moon below) are outstanding.
Sound:
If it's possible to do a "double take" when it comes to music, I did it here. It sounds sooooo much like Symphony of the Night. It's almost a straight rip sometimes. It's good music, so I'm not complaining. But I'm wondering what fans of the original think about it?
One thing I've been waiting to talk about is the voice acting. I was "out" on the story pretty early, but I have to say that one of its highlights is when you meet a character named Zangetsu. I recognized his voice immediately. Solid Snake himself, David Hayter! It's amazing what having a voice actor of his quality does for a game. I immediately sat up and started paying attention. It's solid freaking Snake in a Castlevania game. His appearance is one of the game's biggest highlights to me.
Overall:
I gave the somewhat sacrilegious opinion earlier that I thought this game was better than Symphony of the Night. While I stand by that opinion, I don't think it is much better. SoTN got an A- when I reviewed it. And this game will get the same. It just doesn't quite reach A territory for me.
If you're a fan of Symphony of the Night, I think you'll like this game. It will probably scratch that itch of playing a similar game. It's not a sequel or a remake, but it is in the same vein. Or you'll be the complete opposite and say that this game is a travesty and should have never been made - and that it is nothing but a cheap imitation. I really haven't read reviews for this game aside from the one I'm writing right now. I wonder what side of the aisle most people fall on?
If you haven't played Symphony of the Night, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't like this game, unless you're just one of those no-fun people that immediately hate games that look or feel "old." If that's the case, you should stay away from this. And go fuck yourself while you're at it.
So yeah! Good game. Almost a great game. I really enjoyed Curse of the Moon as well. I can't wait to check out what else the Bloodstained series has to offer.
THE GRADE:
A-
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