Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is as close to perfect as fans of metroidvania games could hope for. Exploration is absolutely a blast; the enemies are as enjoyable to kill as they are creative, and aspects such as backtracking and grinding are actually fun. Plus, plenty of other game modes await after the final boss is slain, such as Boss Rush. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has enough to keep gamers hooked for nights on end, and it’s only going to get bigger as time goes on.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the best love letter to Castlevania addicted. Created by the programmer, director and producer from titles like Simon’s Quest, Vampire’s Kiss and Symphony of the Night, Koji Igarashi, the game finally arrives to home consoles and PC after a successful crowdfunding campaign, but also a troubled development. Thankfully, the wait was definitely worth and we finally have a huge game, with deep combat and craft systems and loads of game modes. This is without any doubts one of the best Metroidvania of the year and a great Castlevania spiritual successor.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the Castlevania that fans deserve.

Bloodstained has some mighty big shoes to fill but does so admirably. It delivers a classic, yet satisfying experience that fans have been wanting for years.

Anyone who never liked the Metroidvania entries in the Castlevania series is extremely unlikely to be enthralled by Bloodstained. Koji Igarashi made no intimations of reinventing the wheel in Ritual of the Night, and the game is recognizably from the creator of Symphony of the Night. Playing this game nevertheless reminded me of how much fun a quality Metroidvania can be, and Konami is certainly in no mood to use its own intellectual property for anything other than Pachinko machines lately – plus if it had, something like paying money for additional save slots might have been introduced. Kickstarter-funded games have a decidedly mixed record, but Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is fortunately one of the success stories.

If you are looking for a game that captures pretty much everything that was great about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, look no further: Bloodstained is the real deal, with a vast castle to explore, tight action, tons of upgrades and plenty of loot. That being said, the game is not perfect and some might argue that it sticks a little bit too close to its roots. That didn't stop me from enjoying the hell out of it though - after all, the game is exactly what the Kickstarter campaign promised.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is not a bad game but it is disappointing, a metroidvania all too anchored in the past that doesn't really add anything new to the genre that Koji Igarashi himself contributed. Beyond the bland execution and the continuous plagiarism of Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow, Bloodstained is plagued by too many problems, especially in terms of combat and the hitbox system, preventing an enjoyable gaming experience. It hurts to say this, but there are too many better alternatives to Bloodstained on the market. We expected a lot more than this from Igarashi-san.