Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night |OT| What is a Kickstarter?!?! A Miserable Pile of Delays!

Generic said:
3 deaths in 15 hours doesn't seems hard.
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Don't let EviLore EviLore 's awesomeness at this game fool you. I'm playing on normal difficulty and I've probably died around 10 times in the 4 hours I've played so far. Though I'm probably at the opposite end of the skill spectrum in this genre honestly.

Every time I died I never felt like the game was being unfair - I knew it was my fault for getting myself stuck in a tight spot, not having enough healing items, trying to push through back to a save point, etc. I never felt frustrated either just ready to learn from my mistakes and try a different approach.
 
jshackles said:
Don't let EviLore EviLore 's awesomeness at this game fool you. I'm playing on normal difficulty and I've probably died around 10 times in the 4 hours I've played so far. Though I'm probably at the opposite end of the skill spectrum in this genre honestly.

Every time I died I never felt like the game was being unfair - I knew it was my fault for getting myself stuck in a tight spot, not having enough healing items, trying to push through back to a save point, etc. I never felt frustrated either just ready to learn from my mistakes and try a different approach.
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I did stupidly open a scary looking door that led to a boss without saving beforehand. Lost about 20 minutes of progress.

Moral of the story: if you see a scary looking door, save your damn game before you open it.
 
EviLore said:
He's involved, yeah, but you need a photograph for identification. You'll get the ingredient for it through standard boss progression.
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*Assuming your save file isn't bugged
 
jshackles said:
Don't let EviLore EviLore 's awesomeness at this game fool you. I'm playing on normal difficulty and I've probably died around 10 times in the 4 hours I've played so far. Though I'm probably at the opposite end of the skill spectrum in this genre honestly.

Every time I died I never felt like the game was being unfair - I knew it was my fault for getting myself stuck in a tight spot, not having enough healing items, trying to push through back to a save point, etc. I never felt frustrated either just ready to learn from my mistakes and try a different approach.
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Yeah, I've been both surprised and impressed with the difficulty of this game. I'm getting my ass beat, but in a way that makes me realize how many bad habits I've picked up from the last couple of (significantly easier) Castlevanias.
 
One thing I would have preferred if they used 2D portraits for conversations but I'm guessing the reason they choose 3D portraits because you can fully customize her.
 
For anyone having trouble, or if you just want to speed up your farming kill speed, try getting and leveling True Shot from Barbados (I think that's the demon's name - the archer enemy fairly early in the game.

You can level it up with the materials that the demon drops and every shard drop makes it even stronger. It will 1-2 shot normal enemies up to about 50% through the game (especially flying enemies which tend to be annoying), and it melts bosses. Not the most satisfying way to win but I"m finding there are a lot of ways to break the game, just like SotN.

For those that made it to the library: which book did you pick? I went ATK speed. With my katana mastery shard it makes using them feel like cheating almost.
 
dream said:
The game looks a lot better in motion than it does in screenshots, imo.
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I agree. I was only able to play for a couple of hours, but the environments and lighting have looked good. I'm not as impressed with the enemy designs so far, as they range from ugly to forgettable. Hopefully they improve as the game progresses.

One small thing that is bothering me as I play the PC version is the character portraits during dialogs & Miriam's portrait in the menu appear to be locked to a lower resolution with noticeable aliasing. Not a huge deal, but hopefully it can be fixed.
 
Just beat it 99.6%. I think the last 2 bosses were the only ones you couldn't cheese by jumping over them and crossing them up repeatedly with a great sword. I think I got all the optional bosses too.

Very good game though, I did get lost at least twice...

Completely missed the Aegis even though I saw the chest when getting the other item on the twin dragon boss tower. And I didn't realise the Aqua Rush Jet thing was the intended way, since you couldn't loot chests.

Belmont boss was cool.
 
crumbs said:
I agree. I was only able to play for a couple of hours, but the environments and lighting have looked good. I'm not as impressed with the enemy designs so far, as they range from ugly to forgettable. Hopefully they improve as the game progresses.

One small thing that is bothering me as I play the PC version is the character portraits during dialogs & Miriam's portrait in the menu appear to be locked to a lower resolution with noticeable aliasing. Not a huge deal, but hopefully it can be fixed.
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I agree with you about the enemy design, but sometimes Iga uses scale in a surprisingly effective way. Some of those massive knights early on (particularly the one with the drilly sword thing) had me running out of the room like a frightened child.
 
shark sandwich said:
Moral of the story: if you see a scary looking door, save your damn game before you open it.
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Is it awhile since you played the proper Castlevanias .... ? :messenger_tears_of_joy: Mind you, I missed a few save-rooms in both Portrait of Ruin & Dawn of Sorrow :messenger_ok: By pure luck, not the ones just before boss fights, though :p
 
So this is pretty good? If you liked SotN, you'll probably like this game?

Is there anyone who liked SotN who doesn't like this game? Or vice versa?
 
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Rentahamster said:
So this is pretty good? If you liked SoTN, you'll probably like this game?

Is there anyone who liked SoTN who doesn't like this game? Or vice versa?
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I think the only Castlevania fans that would be disappointed by this game would be the weirdos who preferred the Lord of Shadows series. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
Pejo said:
For anyone having trouble, or if you just want to speed up your farming kill speed, try getting and leveling True Shot from Barbados (I think that's the demon's name - the archer enemy fairly early in the game.

You can level it up with the materials that the demon drops and every shard drop makes it even stronger. It will 1-2 shot normal enemies up to about 50% through the game (especially flying enemies which tend to be annoying), and it melts bosses. Not the most satisfying way to win but I"m finding there are a lot of ways to break the game, just like SotN.

For those that made it to the library: which book did you pick? I went ATK speed. With my katana mastery shard it makes using them feel like cheating almost.
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The core elemental magics are really strong, too, especially fire (Riga). Throw Spear is also crazy powerful into late game when upgraded.

You can borrow multiple books at a time if you keep returning at regular intervals.
 
BruceCM said:
Is it awhile since you played the proper Castlevanias .... ? :messenger_tears_of_joy: Mind you, I missed a few save-rooms in both Portrait of Ruin & Dawn of Sorrow :messenger_ok: By pure luck, not the ones just before boss fights, though :p
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There were no save points nearby so I figured it was probably just some locked door that I couldn't open yet. I was surprised when I tried it and it immediately dumped my dumb ass into a boss fight I was unprepared for.
 
This game is to Castlevania (and Symphony of the Night especially) what Stardew Valley is to Harvest Moon.

Fans of the genre will absolutely love it and recognize the talent that went into crafting such a loving homage that exceeds the games it's emulating in almost every conceivable way.
 
Rentahamster said:
So this is pretty good? If you liked SoTN, you'll probably like this game?

Is there anyone who liked SoTN who doesn't like this game? Or vice versa?
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I'm a big SotN fan (I've replayed it frequently, so no nostalgia issues) and I'm enjoying this game, so I can't help you with the 2nd question.

I haven't played a lot yet, but my impression is the RotN is what Castlevania would have evolved into had the series stayed on consoles rather than moving to portables. The GBA games took the SotN setup and streamlined it for the portable hardware that was available at the time. RotN takes the formula and starts adding more to it, like the crafting, side quests, etc.

Whether those new elements make for a better experience is up to you, but I'm glad to see them added to the design.
 
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jshackles said:
I think the only Castlevania fans that would be disappointed by this game would be the weirdos who preferred the Lord of Shadows series. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
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Lols, I never really got to play those... Would like to, though :p I recently finished the Castlevania Collection, since I'd not played any of them before :D
 
Finished game on normal ~20 hours. 99% of map and i think all bosses.

5/5

Goes right into SOTN/ARIA/DAWN/OOE as classic.

Pros:
- amazing OST. Won't top SOTN and ARIA but better than DAWN and OOE.
- amazing weapons to use, shitload of different unique weapons easily beating all of classics.
- FF9 like weapon skill system which i love. Learn weapon arts from specific weapon and then use those for all weapon from same type.
- shitload of fun shards to use SANIC ! How about a chair !
- Suprisingly almost every non armor/jewelry piece of equipment have ingame 3D art.
- more armor power and lvl power = weapons atk power doesn't mean that much = more weapon to use at all times, played like 1/4 of the game with just Basselard.
- Harder than SOTN/ARIA/DAWN on normal
- Nice boss design
- shitload of easter eggs, weird gear like toy boots who squeek every time you step etc. Even more than in SOTN
- Some of the locations looks really nice
- NG+ with ability to raise def level.
- V.High replayability. Shitload of skills and different builds to try.
- Hugh amount of polish toward game-play systems, gear etc.

Minus:
- graphics are uneven. Start of the game looks rough but game gets waaay better later.
- one key item placement is really dumb
- some enemy animations are rough

Will be replaying it on hard and then maybe on Nightmare.
Got like 50% of shards so there will be plenty of thing to try out and change playstyle.
 
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I'm still uncertain whether get this game for switch or ps4. Any notable difference? like frame rate, res or content?
Switch version releases next week. Maybe i'll ask again then.
 
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DonF said:
I'm still uncertain whether get this game for switch or ps4. Any notable difference? like frame rate, res or content?
Switch version releases next week. Maybe i'll ask again then.
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i am getting this again on the switch if the port turns out to be NOT ass
 
ive notice environmental effects here and there. one time i was fighting near an entrance, and the enemy got in a powerful hit, and i flew into the landing, cracking the marble. it even made a crumbly sound effect. then it went away in a second, which was weird. i wondered if it was a glitch or not.

just now i was fighting enemies in front of a bookcase. i killed a blood dog in a way that ended up splattering blood across it. pretty cool.

saI1X7u.jpg

nwqSYBw.jpg
 
#Phonepunk# said:
ive notice environmental effects here and there. one time i was fighting near an entrance, and the enemy got in a powerful hit, and i flew into the landing, cracking the marble. it even made a crumbly sound effect. then it went away in a second, which was weird. i wondered if it was a glitch or not.

just now i was fighting enemies in front of a bookcase. i killed a blood dog in a way that ended up splattering blood across it. pretty cool.
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The lighting effects also kinda blow me away personally. In your screenshot everything is warm / yellow because the lights in the statues are yellow. Purple lights cast a purple hue on the scene which goes away when you destroy the light source. I've only played a few hours, but I've seen a surprising number of these small details that really start to add up.
 
played this in front of my 4k screen on the X the game can look extremely nice at times.
I agree with some that sometimes the art assets are just all over the place. Npc's can look fugly,
still on patch 1.003 so that might be the issue.

This game has the power to start a new IP
 
Spukc said:
played this in front of my 4k screen on the X the game can look extremely nice at times.
I agree with some that sometimes the art assets are just all over the place. Npc's can look fugly,
still on patch 1.003 so that might be the issue.

This game has the power to start a new IP
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If you haven't played it yet, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon was also a really good homage to Castlevania III and well worth playing.

The new IP is already here.
 
DonF said:
Switch version releases next week. Maybe i'll ask again then.
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Might be an idea.... Afraid nobody's played that version yet :D I'm sure it'll be absolutely fine but you might as well wait until people have played it here to confirm :p
 
Waiting on my switch version, but couldn't resist so I picked it up on GOG. The heavy dialogue at the beginning frustrated me, but then I saw skip. Movement & combat felt weird at first (I think it's adapting to 3D models), but once I started clearing a few rooms and unlocked the map it started to click. I picked up a good variety of weapons, gained levels and abilities. I couldn't reach a hidden area but figured I could do the special kick move midair to bridge the gap and now I'm in love.
Wish I could play more, but work restricts my game time so only beat the first boss so far.
 
Dontero said:
Finished game on normal ~20 hours. 99% of map and i think all bosses.

5/5

Goes right into SOTN/ARIA/DAWN/OOE as classic.

Pros:
- amazing OST. Won't top SOTN and ARIA but better than DAWN and OOE.
- amazing weapons to use, shitload of different unique weapons easily beating all of classics.
- FF9 like weapon skill system which i love. Learn weapon arts from specific weapon and then use those for all weapon from same type.
- shitload of fun shards to use SANIC ! How about a chair !
- Suprisingly almost every non armor/jewelry piece of equipment have ingame 3D art.
- more armor power and lvl power = weapons atk power doesn't mean that much = more weapon to use at all times, played like 1/4 of the game with just Basselard.
- Harder than SOTN/ARIA/DAWN on normal
- Nice boss design
- shitload of easter eggs, weird gear like toy boots who squeek every time you step etc. Even more than in SOTN
- Some of the locations looks really nice
- NG+ with ability to raise def level.
- V.High replayability. Shitload of skills and different builds to try.
- Hugh amount of polish toward game-play systems, gear etc.

Minus:
- graphics are uneven. Start of the game looks rough but game gets waaay better later.
- one key item placement is really dumb
- some enemy animations are rough

Will be replaying it on hard and then maybe on Nightmare.
Got like 50% of shards so there will be plenty of thing to try out and change playstyle.
Click to expand...

"FF9 like weapon skill system which i love. Learn weapon arts from specific weapon and then use those for all weapon from same type."

Is this late game? I know you can use a combo on certain weapons but....that's it.
 
StarlightLotice said:
"FF9 like weapon skill system which i love. Learn weapon arts from specific weapon and then use those for all weapon from same type."

Is this late game? I know you can use a combo on certain weapons but....that's it.
Click to expand...

No it is from start. Basically you can do combo on certain weapons. So for example with Basselard i can throw it.
But if you get Kurki you can't throw it. So you need to Master first throw on Basselard and then you can use throw with Kurki.

There are skills specific to only one weapon from weapon type so in order for rest of weapons from same type to use that move you need to track down that weapon and master that skill.

This is how FF9 system worked. You equiped armor piece or weapon and used it to master skill in that piece of equipent in order to use that skill without item.
 
DonF said:
I'm still uncertain whether get this game for switch or ps4. Any notable difference? like frame rate, res or content?
Switch version releases next week. Maybe i'll ask again then.
Click to expand...

Switch version will be 720p 30fps i believe. tbh this may make the game look better, i think at times it's a little too shiny, a little too textury, that the cut corners tend to show through at ultra high def. a lower res may fix that.

jshackles said:
The lighting effects also kinda blow me away personally. In your screenshot everything is warm / yellow because the lights in the statues are yellow. Purple lights cast a purple hue on the scene which goes away when you destroy the light source. I've only played a few hours, but I've seen a surprising number of these small details that really start to add up.
Click to expand...

yeah when the paintings started floating i was having flashbacks to SOTN's books. SOTN was the first time they were trying 3D out, all the special effects that you can do with 3D, like the spinning coffin in the save rooms. the glowy lights from candles is a huge plus. they've been remaking SOTN ever since with the DS and GBA games but this is the first time they can use modern console 3D & video effects processing for these games. so there are plenty of uses for particles, color lighting, etc. we have come a long way from having to do darkness values on a per-tile basis.

44825447242_ed4b6b2d01_k.jpg
 
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Dontero said:
No it is from start. Basically you can do combo on certain weapons. So for example with Basselard i can throw it.
But if you get Kurki you can't throw it. So you need to Master first throw on Basselard and then you can use throw with Kurki.

There are skills specific to only one weapon from weapon type so in order for rest of weapons from same type to use that move you need to track down that weapon and master that skill.

This is how FF9 system worked. You equiped armor piece or weapon and used it to master skill in that piece of equipent in order to use that skill without item.
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Okay then. How many times do you need to do the skill until it is mastered?
 
I restarted the game because I got stuck and decided to go with hard mode instead (unlocking it with the NIGHTMARE save name trick) and I'm having a much better time. Exploration is a lot more meaningful since you can actually die to normal mobs. I was also roflstomping some bosses on normal which are far more interesting fights in hard (some of them are brutal though). I'm also paying a lot of attention to mechanics such as grinding shards or making food, which I was mostly ignoring in normal.

Hard mode should have been unlocked by default IMHO.
 
I got lucky, I downloaded the patch after starting my game and didn't get progress blocked. I did find a few opened chests 4 or 5, but it was gear stuff. Only 1 was late game so most probably was anything great.

Anyway, got to the final boss last night, or should I say this morning :messenger_grinning_sweat:, really really like it. The framerate died (base PS4) during one of the last bosses though, the coin guy from COTM, as the game couldn't handle all the magic I was doing plus rendering his poker chip attack.

I also like that even with all the SOTN homage that the game goes full.... Aria/Dawn of Sorrow at the end, even final boss gave me Aria flashbacks.

Did all the special locked doors. The last one being a zombie Belmont boss, with the quest being getting revenge for Richter, was a feels bad moment. At least he's got SMERSH.

jshackles said:
This game is to Castlevania (and Symphony of the Night especially) what Stardew Valley is to Harvest Moon.

Fans of the genre will absolutely love it and recognize the talent that went into crafting such a loving homage that exceeds the games it's emulating in almost every conceivable way.
Click to expand...
There is more SOTN references, but I would compare the game itself more to the Sorrows than SOTN. Most the stuff from Dawn of Sorrow return with some missing SOTN stuff and a little OOE thrown in.
 
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Question to PC users: I notice there is a graphics quality setting after Epic called Cinematic. I set everthing to Cinematic, and it looks great, but I'm not sure what's different. Has anyone noticed what's different?

Also, this game really performs well on my gear. My 1060 based laptop is running it at constant 120fps (gsync 1080 120Hz display) with everything maxxed. My desktop runs it equally well on a 3440x1440 21:9 display. Now, on my GPD Win 2 it needs low settings and runs fine, and luckily the new updates seem to have fixed the sound issues it had at launch.
 
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