I'm going to start this review off by making it very clear that I am not judging this game based on the short comings of the performance Nintendo Switch version. It was a rough launch which is slowly getting better as they support and patch it. I am just going to be focusing on the game as a whole and what is has to offer.
This is a title that is clearly marketed to Castlevania fans. this comes as no surprise as it's producer is responsible for directing Castlevania Symphony of the Night and many. Often cited as not only the best in the series. But one of the greatest 2D adventure games of all time. His resume includes many other titles as well. But SOTN is arguably what he is most famous for.
The story is quite an easy affair to follow. Miriam our protagonist is titled as a Shardbinder. A human fused with crystals to take advantage of their many available powers. The Shardbinders are ordered to be sacrificed to stage the summoning of demons from hell. This is just meant to be a ruse to demonstrate the guilds destructive power which it is capable of. However it escalates quickly and the demons become unable to be contained. Only two Shardbinders survive, Gebel, and Miriam our controllable hero. This sets the stage for the games mild but serviceable story. I appreciate the story not taking complicated twists and turns and becoming so convoluted that it loses the player as this is very much a game based on gameplay, exploration, and tight combat mechanics. It goes beginning to end in a predictable manner but it was one I enjoyed and wasn't once reaching for the skip button.
There is not even an attempt to hide the similarities to Konami's beloved franchise. The map, weapons, combat , save rooms, and especially the connecting areas between environments all scream Castlevania Symphony of the Night. This is absolutely not a bad thing! The core audience is most likely buying into this to relive a series that sadly has lost its most influential developer. it sadly also seems to be lost to time with no evidence of coming back with the exception of some collections on modern consoles.
Gameplay wise, this title does not disappoint. The controls are tight. The weapons are varying in type, speed, strength, and reachability.
Miriam also has a back step and slide mechanic which are crucial in some of the more intense and difficult boss encounters. The back-step especially is fast and responsive. I never once felt like a hit or damage was unfair or unavoidable as the game has done a wonderful job of providing the player with the necessary mechanics to dispose of anything on screen.
The shards mentioned previously you will collect in two manners provide Miriam with her ever expanding arsenal of abilities. The most common method is after disposing of an enemy type they will explode outward violently impaling Miriam as she absorbs their power for the first time. There seems to be a percent chance that you will receive the shard upon the enemies death as some of the more powerful ones required me to vanquish the enemy a fair amount of times. The other acquisition type is from defeating bosses which usually gives Miriam an ability which will allow her to access a previously inaccessible area. This is where I find Metroidvania games really gets it's hooks into me. I'll see an area which is clearly not accessible at the current time and when that ability rolls around I cannot wait to run back to see what secrets I am now able to uncover.
There are six shard types which represent a specific attribute. The Conjure Shard---Manipulative---Shard---Directional Shard---Passive Shard---Familiar Shard and Skill Shard. All of these will provide her with specific skill sets regarding traversal, range attacks, stat boosts and more. I really enjoyed having multiple set ups available to be easily swapped out depending on the level design and enemy type. The game did a really good job keeping me on my toes and keeping things fresh thought-out my adventure.
One of the things that immediately struck me was the variety in enemy types and environments. You are treated to a ship, castle, desert, library, and a host of other variances in the games sprawling map. I always felt excited to see the connecting corridor to a new area as this meant a tonal shift in not only the environment but also the wonderful musical score by Michiru Yamane. The enemies differ in abundance with very little palette swaps. Even the different color variances seem to have something added like a bee stinger or different clothing to still make them feel marginally different.
The visuals are quite a treat. This is a 2.5D affair which seems to be a hit or miss with the genres fanbase. Instead of using hand drawn sprites. The team has created 3D based polygonal models on a 2D plain. Hand drawn sprites are apparently incredibly time consuming to design and the artist has to redraw every single frame of movement for each moving element of the title. The 2.5D style enables the artist to animate an already designed model taking a fraction of the time of the traditional method. I was on the pro side as I found the art direction to be astounding. Blood red moons, grotesque creatures and bosses as well as highly detailed textures sprinkled throughout the diverse environments. Miriam and her colleagues were a tad on the bland side for my taste. But nothing about them turned me off.
I have to say that I very much did enjoy BROTN. This was a love letter to gamers like myself who grew up on this genre. I have a to give the title any strikes on the negative side it would be for two things. The game was rather easy. I'm not the kind of gamer who enjoys the punishing relentless nature of lets say the Souls series. But I didn't experience my first death until I was roughly 60% into the game. Most of the enemies and bosses had pretty predictable patterns that I was able to learn within a minute or two. Vanquishing them after was a pretty easy affair.
Secondly the game was a bit too light in nature for me. I know some players enjoy having some light comedy in even the darkest of titles. I found it just didn't fit the gothic/dark nature of the back story and environmental story telling with some jokes being groan worthy on my end.
So now the age old question. Who is the core market for Bloodstained? Well that's a difficult question to answer. I want to default to fans of the aging genre who grew up playing these awesome 2D adventures. However I can also really see new age gamers really digging the super tight mechanics, massive map to explore and an abundance of hidden secrets to uncover. If 2D is your jam Bloodstained is not going to disappoint. I will
All images belong to their respected owners
Score9.0/10
Playtime: 15 hours
Platform: Switch