Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been in the works for a while. Originally kickstarted four years ago, the newest trailer for Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night reveals a June 18 release date for most platforms, and a June 25 release for the Nintendo Switch. The game is a spiritual successor to the golden era of Castlevania game of which Igarashi spearheaded many.
Last year, the short 8-bit prequel Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon released and was met with high praise from fans. Over the four-year development cycle of the main game, however, there’s been plenty of trials and tribulations. When trailers started to drop, fans praised the game-play but some thought Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was visually inadequate. This new trailer takes these comments in stride and show-offs a plethora of changes to the game’s visual presentation.
After a four year delay on a 5.5 million dollar Kickstarter, one would hope Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night won’t turn into another Mighty No. 9. Curse of the Moon pleased fans and this new trailer definitely looks better than the older ones, so I’m hopeful. The side-scrolling demon hunting experience hearkens back to an older time in games and while Ritual of the Night is a 2.5 D affair, the redone stages do look like they capture that classic atmosphere.
I’m not the most dedicated Castlevania fan in the world, but Symphony Of The Night is undeniably an incredible game. If Bloodstained: Ritual of The Night ends up being a third as good, fans should be pretty happy. I did actually quite enjoy Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, finding it to be thoroughly engaging with a satisfying punch to the game-play. While that game was developed by Inti Creates which is no longer working on Ritual of The Night, seeing Koji Igarashi and his team willing to respond and act accordingly to critique bodes well for the final product.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night releases June 18 for most, and June 25 for Switch players.