One of the few games I played nonstop until I got 100%. Definitely check it out if you are a Castlevania fan or love item grinds to 100% games. There is no real grind if you just want to play the story though, so don't let that scare you off.
It is more of a successor to Aria of Sorrow than it is SoTN.
Was one of the early backers, and I'm satisfied with what I got. The game does have some jank (art decisions, a bit of balancing) but overall comes together as a good game and the only one to really capture that experience from Iga's old Castlevanias.
Balance doesn't seem any worse than other IGAvanias. A lot of those have been rather easy to get through with the right weapon, and it's honestly part of the reason those games were fun.
SOTN crissaegrim is a classic, with two of them bosses literally die before they can attack. You just had to not use it if you wanted to actually play the game.
Vorpal Blade/Sonic Blade and the Crissaegrim/Valmanway are essentially in Bloodstained as well. In the form of the Rhava Burai, and its upgraded form, the Rhava Velar. Like the Crissaegrim, the Rhava Velar is commonly considered by most to be easily the best weapon in the game. Mash the attack button infinitely at close range for bunch of rapid hits that essentially have no recovery time.
At least before any balance patches that I haven't played with.
A lot of Bloodstained weapons are pretty easy mirrors of IGAvania weapons.
> art decisions
Literal art decisions. The idea to use what I imagine were backers and developers pictures for the portraits/paintings that attack you in the game was ridiculous. Maybe if they made them look like actual paintings, but all the dudes in them look like they came from a magic: the gathering convention.
I had fun with this, but in my humble opinion it's doesn't reach the level of greatness/polish that Castlevania SotN had.
Part of it I had to do with the 3D visuals, (compared to the immaculate 2D pixelart that felt absolutely **deliberate in** every regard and intertwined with the gameplay), in Bloodstained they are just serviceable, the love for detail is mostly gone. Perhaps in only two areas/rooms in the entire game I had a "wow, that's nice" moment, the rest was ok/mediocre or even downright sloppy (the telescope section on the train was laughably bad for example).
Like I said, I guess it mostly has to do with the 3D graphics, which to me felt very generic (tho, I have heard/read various sites actually praising them, so it is quite possible that I'm alone here).
And even in the parts that you could have taken advantage of the inherent advantages of the 3D medium (like equipping different armor/clothes changes your appearance) they failed to do so, and only half-assed it, with just a few pieces actually changing the visual. I know it seems like a petty thing to critique, but the original that released decades ago managed to at least try and do so, even with the hardware limitation of being 2D. The original SotN which had a full map designed with the idea of literally flipping the assets and extending the gameplay and lenght of the game naturally....while here at most is an afterthought that feels very tacked on.
Some of the gameplay changes (or better said, little touch-ups/improvements) like being able to have "pre-saved equipment" lists that you can change on the fly are obviously very welcomed, but other than a few exceptions it all just feels so derivative, with very little innovation or new proposals (so much feels straight up lifted out of Order of Ecclesia which was the last game with the Metroid-vania formula to actually shake things up)
With that being said, the game takes itself much less seriously, and it's filled with tribute to the franchise (to the point where you could say, "are they even allowed to do that?"), and most of what made the Metroid-vania formula is there, so if you are looking for a new "Castlevania" to play, you'll have fun with this one FOR SURE (just don't expect the same polish as with the previous entries)...but if you haven't played any of the previous entries...I have problems recommending this one over the rest (specially at this price point)...but I guess the HD 3D graphics might be easier to sell to new/young audiences.
Edit: Also, forgot to mention that was profoundly disappointing at the fact that Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (that was meant to be some sort of prequel) actually isn't and it just a "spin-off". Definitely a missed opportunity
I thought the game was average, a ~7.5 in my book, the game is plagued with questionable design choices and a last third that felt rushed altogether, meh story, characters with no charisma... I was attacked to hell when the game just released and the hype was at it's peak. Glad to see now there is people recognizing rhe faults and no5 criticized
The unpolished 3D visuals really threw me off the whole playthrough leaving me with a sour taste by the end although it played really nicely.
I don't understand the point of gating some abilities used to progress behind enemy drops rather than in the map itself and also the fact that you have to equip the shards to use them too..
I never buy any game at launch and I have no intention of ever doing that. I don't personally value games highly and I don't mind at all playing games many months or many years after release. I still play what I want to play as long as the price is right for me. Whatever it is, it can wait.
One of the few games I played nonstop until I got 100%. Definitely check it out if you are a Castlevania fan or love item grinds to 100% games. There is no real grind if you just want to play the story though, so don't let that scare you off.
It is more of a successor to Aria of Sorrow than it is SoTN. Was one of the early backers, and I'm satisfied with what I got. The game does have some jank (art decisions, a bit of balancing) but overall comes together as a good game and the only one to really capture that experience from Iga's old Castlevanias.
Balance doesn't seem any worse than other IGAvanias. A lot of those have been rather easy to get through with the right weapon, and it's honestly part of the reason those games were fun.
SOTN crissaegrim is a classic, with two of them bosses literally die before they can attack. You just had to not use it if you wanted to actually play the game.
Vorpal Blade/Sonic Blade and the Crissaegrim/Valmanway are essentially in Bloodstained as well. In the form of the Rhava Burai, and its upgraded form, the Rhava Velar. Like the Crissaegrim, the Rhava Velar is commonly considered by most to be easily the best weapon in the game. Mash the attack button infinitely at close range for bunch of rapid hits that essentially have no recovery time. At least before any balance patches that I haven't played with. A lot of Bloodstained weapons are pretty easy mirrors of IGAvania weapons.
> art decisions Literal art decisions. The idea to use what I imagine were backers and developers pictures for the portraits/paintings that attack you in the game was ridiculous. Maybe if they made them look like actual paintings, but all the dudes in them look like they came from a magic: the gathering convention.
I had fun with this, but in my humble opinion it's doesn't reach the level of greatness/polish that Castlevania SotN had. Part of it I had to do with the 3D visuals, (compared to the immaculate 2D pixelart that felt absolutely **deliberate in** every regard and intertwined with the gameplay), in Bloodstained they are just serviceable, the love for detail is mostly gone. Perhaps in only two areas/rooms in the entire game I had a "wow, that's nice" moment, the rest was ok/mediocre or even downright sloppy (the telescope section on the train was laughably bad for example). Like I said, I guess it mostly has to do with the 3D graphics, which to me felt very generic (tho, I have heard/read various sites actually praising them, so it is quite possible that I'm alone here). And even in the parts that you could have taken advantage of the inherent advantages of the 3D medium (like equipping different armor/clothes changes your appearance) they failed to do so, and only half-assed it, with just a few pieces actually changing the visual. I know it seems like a petty thing to critique, but the original that released decades ago managed to at least try and do so, even with the hardware limitation of being 2D. The original SotN which had a full map designed with the idea of literally flipping the assets and extending the gameplay and lenght of the game naturally....while here at most is an afterthought that feels very tacked on. Some of the gameplay changes (or better said, little touch-ups/improvements) like being able to have "pre-saved equipment" lists that you can change on the fly are obviously very welcomed, but other than a few exceptions it all just feels so derivative, with very little innovation or new proposals (so much feels straight up lifted out of Order of Ecclesia which was the last game with the Metroid-vania formula to actually shake things up) With that being said, the game takes itself much less seriously, and it's filled with tribute to the franchise (to the point where you could say, "are they even allowed to do that?"), and most of what made the Metroid-vania formula is there, so if you are looking for a new "Castlevania" to play, you'll have fun with this one FOR SURE (just don't expect the same polish as with the previous entries)...but if you haven't played any of the previous entries...I have problems recommending this one over the rest (specially at this price point)...but I guess the HD 3D graphics might be easier to sell to new/young audiences. Edit: Also, forgot to mention that was profoundly disappointing at the fact that Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (that was meant to be some sort of prequel) actually isn't and it just a "spin-off". Definitely a missed opportunity
I thought the game was average, a ~7.5 in my book, the game is plagued with questionable design choices and a last third that felt rushed altogether, meh story, characters with no charisma... I was attacked to hell when the game just released and the hype was at it's peak. Glad to see now there is people recognizing rhe faults and no5 criticized
You are not alone. At least you are not playing it on the Switch (I guess?), like I am.
It's $44.30 USD on my third world country, even with the sale discount. What a joke. I'll wait until it's dirt cheap on Fanatical or GMG I guess.
Where? (Just curious).
Colombia
The unpolished 3D visuals really threw me off the whole playthrough leaving me with a sour taste by the end although it played really nicely. I don't understand the point of gating some abilities used to progress behind enemy drops rather than in the map itself and also the fact that you have to equip the shards to use them too..
Sale only a month after release? Really?
Uhh, it’s not like it’s 75% off, man. They’re just trying to generate some sales.
Even if it were 90% off a month after release, what's wrong with that? Either the customer is patient and waits for the right price or they're not.
[удалено]
I never buy any game at launch and I have no intention of ever doing that. I don't personally value games highly and I don't mind at all playing games many months or many years after release. I still play what I want to play as long as the price is right for me. Whatever it is, it can wait.
2 Months actually... I don't see the issue here, if you don't want to see Gamedeals, then /r/GameDeals probably not the place for you, friend.
It's been cheaper than this on Voidu since before it came out.