Castle Mania

With BLOODSTAINED: RITUAL OF THE NIGHT, Koji Igarashi created a homage to his own games.

- Malindy Hetfeld

Five years ago Koji Igarashi, director and writer on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, left Konami to make another Castlevania-style game. Five years is a long time, and the Metroidvania genre has grown substantially in that period, but sometimes you don’t want a variation on a familiar theme. You want the same game in a new package. Rejoice, because with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, that’s exactly what you’re getting.

Miriam is a science experiment in the shape of a dolled-up anime girl. Together with her friend, a man named Gebel, she was part of an experiment that transplanted the essence of demons into her body. This demonic power comes in the form of shards, thus she’s called a Shardbinder. The more shards you absorb, the more you let go of your humanity, a fate that befell Gebel.

Gebel is now out to fill the world with demons, all from the comfort of his castle—because of course there is a castle. It’s a sprawling place full of heavy chandeliers, grim-looking statues, and monsters keeping watch. From the entrance hall to the gardens, towers, and even the caves below, every inch of this castle is waiting to be explored and plundered, and for the most part its backdrops are varied enough to make you want to see what’s around the next corner.