Customer Ratings & Reviews

If you love Castlevania Sotn or any of the DS version then you will love this game.

A passion project for the Producer of Castlevania himself Koji Igarashi! Long time fans will immediately recognize the name behind the game and have the lofty expectations that come with it. I’m here to let the fans and newcomers alike know it’s been worth the wait. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is iconic and while the story isn’t the strongest I think it’s adequate. This side scrolling genre, dubbed by many as Metroidvania, starts off with minimal exposition to invest the player in the story. What will stand out immediately are the right controls, 60fps on a Pro and the music. There is some rpg elements similar to Symphony of the Night in terms of upgradeable gear, skill points and inventory management. The performing feels good and watching the game in motion is akin to watching a brightly colored painting dancing the night away. For casual gamers like myself you can expect to spend around 30 hours to complete the story and upwards of 50 for completionists. All in all this is a solid effort for one of the industries most respected producers and I can’t wait to see what’s in the pipeline for future games.

If you enjoy exploratory platformers, it goes without saying that "Bloodstained" should already be on your radar. "Symphony Of The Night" mastermind Koji Igarashi helmed this effort with composer Michiru Yamane on board as well, and the result is amazing as expected. The spirit of "Castlevania" is firing on all cylinders here–there's lots of exploratory fun to had and a fair amount of secrets to uncover of the course of the 20+ hour journey. There's lots of weapons, armors, and abilities to be found...along with a robust crafting/cooking system. For all it does right, "Bloodstained" could still have used a little more time in the oven. Some features don't seem fully implemented (such as the seed planting feature), and there's some obvious glitches that need to be ironed out. Your helms and weapons change Miriam's appearance in-game, but only a couple of armors do so. Perhaps they planned on every armor having a different look but ran out of time before the deadline? I'm confident that the glitches will be taken care of with time (as of this review a couple have already been fixed), and there are a few free DLCs on the horizon which will hopefully flesh out the experience even more. Definitely a must buy!

Metroidvania fans rejoice! The true successor to IGA's Castlevania games has finally arrived, and it was worth the wait. Awesome combat, secrets to discover, the story is pretty interesting and original, and the game looks great on the PS4 Pro. I did have it completely freeze up on me once, but the team seems committed to supporting this game long term. Unrelated to this review for the PS4 version, I'm disappointed by the Switch release, as I really wanted to play this in hand-held form. Hopefully they address the performance issues there, as the game is so good I wouldn't mind double-dipping to pick up a second time. Go buy this!

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the sequel to the beloved Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in all but name and characters. Initiated as a Kickstarter project in May of 2015 following the success of Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter efforts, Bloodstained was quickly funded by backers and was the second of three major spiritual successor Kickstarter campaigns (the third being Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to the Nintendo 64 3D platformer Banjo-Kazooie) to promise a modernized take on a beloved title from the past. Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee released in 2016 and 2017, respectively, with the former title performing poorly and the latter being a decidedly good-but-not-great experience. This left all eyes on Bloodstained to see whether one of these three projects could manage to succeed. Thankfully, Bloodstained gets it right. Bloodstained is very much a modernized take on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The structure of the game is virtually identical. The soundtrack is reminiscent of the Castlevania series, and is excellent in its own right. More than any of that, though, Koji Igarashi and his team nailed the gameplay. Bloodstained is an absolute joy to play, with tight, responsive, and smooth controls. It feels perfect, achieving exactly what it set out to achieve. The visuals are beautifully gothic, encapsulating the horror theme of the game. There are some enemies that are holdovers from Castlevania, while others are Lovecraftian, cosmic horror-inspired foes. All of them are well-animated and exquisitely detailed. The game has decidedly received a visual enhancement from earlier trailers. In addition to the aesthetic presentation, the game is densely packed with items to pick up. Like other games in the so-called Metroidvania genre, the (huge) map overlaps itself with deep intricacies that encourage exploration. Even the opening area, which serves as a tutorial for the structure of the game as a whole, is riddled with secrets that open up new pathways as you explore its mini-labyrinth. While I don't want to give away any aspects of the narrative of the game, I'll briefly note that I enjoyed the story and thought the voice acting was particularly good.

I want to start off by saying it's a shame that the steel case doesn't come with the PS4/Xbox version, but I'm buyng a Switch copy so that I can get one, and I'll just let my friend borrow/keep the game Switch copy. The game itself is fantastic. Miriam's control is solid, plenty of weapons and items to find and craft, a diverse selection of enemies, sidequests, hidden rooms and lore, cosmetic items to accessorize your character, this game has it all! Bundle that with the expansive Shard system (basically the Soul System from Aria/Dawn of Sorrow) and you have a game to rival even the best that Castlevania has to offer. Konami made a huge mistake denying Igarashi-san to make another game. There is a story here, and while I can't say there was zero effort put into it, it's clearly to have an excuse for Miriam exploring an enormous castle filled with demons. Some of the cutscenes are a little janky, and the voice acting isn't the best ever, but they don't detract from the overall experience. The cutscenes are in real-time, so you can really enjoy all of Miriam's costume pieces (there are LOTS), which is a nice touch. I haven't gotten far in the game yet, but I have a lot more to do and I can't wait to jump back in. This is truly the game to rival Symphony of the Night, and will be fun over multiple playthroughs with different characters, weapons and abilities. Looking forward to the Switch release so I can store my game in the steel case.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a reminder to why a lot of us enjoy gaming. Bloodstained is a beautiful side-scrolling adventure that was created from the mind of Castlevania Symphony of the Night godfather, Koji Igarashi (hence the Igavania term). I couldn't get enough of exploring this wonderful castle world. Every inch of it. Every secret. Every hidden boss or level. The story is pretty solid and the voice work is delivered in a campy American translation that will make you smile. Like Symphony of the Night, there are some RPG elements to this game where you will experiment with creating weapons, trying different styles of weapons (whips, swords, boots or pistols), along with armor that has different effects to your style of play. Bloodstained is about sitting back and enjoying a game the way it was meant to be played right out of the box. There are no paywalls, no microtransactions to boost stats, etc. The visuals, the game mechanics, the soundtrack and fun all come together. You would be hard pressed not to have this in your gaming collection.

(same review as the switch version; I own both) I'm only about 8 hours in or so but needed to write this. I have both the PS4 version and the Switch version (had to show love and support for Iga). Castlevania Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time. I lament not being a backer for this project. Anyways, I've spent more time on the Switch version as I can play it while my girlfriend watches TV. Yes, the PS4's graphical fidelity is way better than the switch. Bouncing between the two versions, there is a frame rate difference that most people will probably feel (about 60 fps for the PS4 and approx. 30 fps for the switch). I did experience some slowdown in some moments but no crashing yet. The gameplay however, is top notch. I'm having a blast playing it. There will never ever be a Symphony of the night, but this game is the closest and has it's own identity. The composer from SotN came back for this one so the music is great. The difficulty seems harder than SotN which is one thing I wouldve changed from that game to make it more difficult. If you own a PS4, Switch or even an Xbox One or a PC, it is highly recommended if you like adventure games, Metroidvania games, exploration games, vampire-esque games.

If you enjoy Symphony of the Night and the like, then it’s more of the same. Obtaining new powers is reminiscent of the Sorrow games. The art style and backgrounds look great and gameplay is smooth. My PS4 version crashes infrequently (maybe 3 or 4 times in 15 hrs). Performance is otherwise fine outside of tiny hiccups

Well Koji Igarashi is back to bless the gaming world with his brilliance. The master of Castlevania has brought finally delivered Bloodstained after a few delays. I must say the game is absolutely gorgeous, controls well and appears to have a great story.

If you love Castlevania Symphony of the Night series then this game is for you because the gameplay is similar since it was created by the same person in charge of Symphony of the Night. The story, graphics and music are superb! Buy this game because this is an A+ experience that can’t be missed.

I loved Castlevania growing up, though I have never beaten any of the games. This game in phenomenal. I have not been able to stop playing it. The graphics are great, it has a variety of weapons, magic, different shards, costumes and accessories you can equip. The combat is great and I am enjoying the game. If you loved Castlevania Symphony of the Night I highly recommend this game. It is not full priced and that is a plus. The game has some glitches, small framerate stutters, and sometimes I could not pick up some items, but none of it was game breaking. If your on the fence go for it. I bought this after originally getting the Switch version. I am happy to double dip.

This is flat out great. This is a must have for fans of old school platformers. The game is reminiscent of Castlevania Symphony of the Night. It has a good story, music, and fun game play.

If you ever longed for a sequel to Castlevania Symphony of the Night, this is as good as it's going to get and maybe even better. All the great Castlevania gameplay with updated graphics for modern gamers, a brand new story with completely original characters, and all of it by the originator of the entire thing: Iga himself! An absolute gem of a video game that gamers young and old alike will love, no matter what your skill level. Get it!

Igavania returns better than ever. The beginning of the game eases you into the assortment of weapons, skills, magic and enemies you’ll encounter along the way. Secrets are aplenty on the game map that embraces explorative playstyle. Boss battles Can at times catch you by surprise. False endings may cut your playthrough short if you aren’t careful. Incredibly fun and difficult to put down.

Grim, sleek, and tight. Bloodstained is definitely a worthy successor to Symphony of the Night as well as the entire Castlevania series. The extra time and dedication the devs and Iga put into this game is outstanding and made the wait all the more worth it. The horror side scrolling action rpg has tight controls, exquisite character designs/story, and an uplifting future ahead.

I haven't loved a game this much in a loooong time. One of my favorite games of all time is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and this game brings me right back to those days. With such great graphics, decent controls, and character customizing system make this game very fun. I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes the Metroidvania genre of games.

If you like castlevania this is the game for you. It's similar to castlevania SOTN and the game also unlocks game modes that are similar to retro stage based castlevania games. All in all you will get a very fun game with a bunch of additional content. Great music, graphics and gameplay.

This game was created by Koji Igarashi, a man known for his work on several Castlevania games. If you have played those prior games and enjoyed them, then you should enjoy this game. This game is fun to explore, has fun combat, good boss fights, and has an awesome soundtrack. My biggest complaints are regarding performance. I’m playing this on a PS4 slim using the latest patch, 1.04. There are some areas with slowdown. Also, if you die and have to reload your save the loading time is very long, however if you die again in the same area it reload much faster.

This game was nearly flawless! Such a treat to play this game and see how simple yet immersive it was. People who like chasing trophies will love this game too. The achievements are not that hard at all and you will have a blast playing this. The gameplay, the colors, and the controls are just fluid!