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

protonion

Member
Sadly I will be trading this.
I played 3 hours with 25% map completion and felt that I forced my self to keep playing.
There is a lot to like but much more to dislike.
It doesn't look good.
Music save for a couple of tracks is boring.
Characters and writing are terrible.
It feels very cheap and undercooked.
Killing enemies lack that satisfying feel of sotn or hollow knight.

I'd rather play any other igavania or hollow knight or shantae than this...

Also these essential patches make my physical copy useless.

Imo wait for a digital discount after they polish it more.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I'm loving it. Seeing Shovel Knight is also really cool. I'm only a level 18 with close to 30% of the map completed. I've played this on the TV, iPhone, and Vita and for this game, it works. I'd say for as much fun as I'm having, the game's lows can be forgiven (to an extent). The alternative would be playing the GBA on Wii U or DS Castlevania games. I love the work they've done on this game. I'm not disappointed with the game unless its unplayable.

There are few things I've seen. Text missing from dialogue. A slight lag when jumping or standing. I haven't experienced the chest bug.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
fuck yeah 100%
Lol i made the salesman crash my game every time i try to visit him
 
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F0rneus

Tears in the rain
I posted this on the Reddit but I am hoping for more answers here.

p83bvlxo6g531.jpg

This icon on my map appears to be a glitch. It shows up on all 3 of my saves. PS4 version. Anyone with a glitched chest icon there? It doesn't appear on the larger map. Just the mini-map when close.
 
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Vitacat

Member
Sadly I will be trading this.
...

I'd rather play any other igavania or hollow knight or shantae than this...

Wow. I feel exactly opposite.

But you certainly have every right to your opinion. Heck, I didn't like the new God of War, so I know what it's like to be the odd man out.
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
omg the sky up in the bell tower! wow! is this a prog rock album cover or something? i love it <3 the skies are pretty cool in this game, even though it is not the standard skybox. it is something unique, more like SOTN, some weird texture warping in space behind the castle. it gives it that other dimensional feeling.

im currently ripping through demons with the Heretical Grinder while exploring places with some new travel upgrades. i am wielding the Rava Bural, a really fast weapon that does quick slices & is good for flurries of destruction. NG+ i want to try out more weapons/shards but this is nice right now if OP. no boss since Zangetsu has presented much of a challenge. but that's ok.

really well done, the whole thing. they cover the standard Igavania subjects (castle, village, garden, alchemy lab, clock tower, bell tower, underground caves, boats, etc.) but they do it so well. this is some good level design. i didn't know what to expect, but this is good stuff. classic.
 
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chaos789

Banned
How does this game compare to other metroidvania’s like Hollow Knight, SteamWorld Dig 2, and Guacamelee!?

It should be noted that SOTN, is in my top 3 favorite games of all time.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
8 hours in now, I have just now unlocked 60% of the map. I guess compared to most of you here, I'm blowing through the game. I'm level 30.

I haven't been grinding very much outside of a few abilities that I wanted to shore up. This game has sooooo many combinations of weapons/items/abilities it's really insane, that's going to boost some awesome replay value.

I got the bad ending already, so disappointing lol
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I'm in the 99.7% club. The .3 has to be wherever Iga is hiding.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius


wow it seems that the switch version looks just fine.
and the 30 fps 720p limit seems ok?

fuck i might double dip

don't mind the stupid echo in the video just mute sound for now


Double dipped as soon as I could, looks like it was not a bad bad choice ;).
 

xviper

Member
Got lost again, i killed Bloodless and now i don't know where to go.

Edit: nvm, it appears to be through the blood pool by using the blood steal shard.
 
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Where do you go once you find the underground Section after you drain the blood fountain?

I feel like any hints are obtuse as you have to guess where you can go and with what ability?

Is there a way to travel underwater?
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Where do you go once you find the underground Section after you drain the blood fountain?

I feel like any hints are obtuse as you have to guess where you can go and with what ability?

Is there a way to travel underwater?

Yeah, the progression can be a bit obtuse. Kill water enemies near the surface until you get a water traversal shard, then explore underwater thoroughly until you find a passage.
 
Yeah, the progression can be a bit obtuse. Kill water enemies near the surface until you get a water traversal shard, then explore underwater thoroughly until you find a passage.

Damn. It is that simple! I noticed a Horse in there too but I am guessing that one won't give you the shard.

Regarding the internet thing to the two posts above. It's not that I don't try things for myself but sometimes I take things literally and don't assume that you get shards from mooks but the bosses! XD
 
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Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
You want obtuse, just wait until you have to turn upside down and slice the moon.
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I will say this game super duper cockblocks you on the crafting. I hope there will be some sweet DLC to put these things to use once I finally figure out how the hell to make them since I've already beat the hardest secret boss. The biggest bottleneck right now seems to be gold (for crafting, not normal gold). Anyone know where to get it?
 

Shouta

Member
I will say this game super duper cockblocks you on the crafting. I hope there will be some sweet DLC to put these things to use once I finally figure out how the hell to make them since I've already beat the hardest secret boss. The biggest bottleneck right now seems to be gold (for crafting, not normal gold). Anyone know where to get it?

I think you can find some hidden in chests occasionally? I think once you have it, you can dismantle it then craft it so you can buy it from the shop if you ever need it. It also can be found by dismantling some of the the higher end weapons and equip in the game.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I will say this game super duper cockblocks you on the crafting. I hope there will be some sweet DLC to put these things to use once I finally figure out how the hell to make them since I've already beat the hardest secret boss. The biggest bottleneck right now seems to be gold (for crafting, not normal gold). Anyone know where to get it?
There is a place in the game for that just keep playing it will def make sense
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I think you can find some hidden in chests occasionally? I think once you have it, you can dismantle it then craft it so you can buy it from the shop if you ever need it. It also can be found by dismantling some of the the higher end weapons and equip in the game.
I'll check if I have any of those.

There is a place in the game for that just keep playing it will def make sense
I am on post-game and have 99.7% of the map.
 
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Darak

Member
Finished it in 15 hours, 99.4% in hard mode, including all bosses except the post-game secret one.

I had to google how to progress past the bad ending, though. I'm torn about this game's deliberately obscure progression blocks. On the one hand, this is exactly the opposite of hand-holding: the actions you do make sense in game, it feels great when you figure it yourself, and there are very clear hints by the shop lady. On the other hand, good luck if you miss the hint. They should just add a 'speak' action to allow you to repeat the last hint, or at least make the lady repeat it every once in a while (as far as I know she only gives you the hint once).

I hate how some of the items in the game (including a few ingredients) are not dropped by any monster and are not craft-able. I wasn't able to advance a quest line because I misused one of those ingredients. It may be a bug, as I've read some people claim those items should be available in the shop once after find them for the first time and, to be honest, the game has been released in a somewhat unpolished state. There are a ton of little irritating issues, such as your death animation sometimes not spawning, monster drops getting stuck in the scenery out of reach, missing audio cues, etc.

Overall, it is still an excellent game. I hope for the game's success because I really would like to play a sequel.
 

F0rneus

Tears in the rain
Anyone knows how to clear the giant pile of rocks in the DIan Cecht church area? I managed to glitch my way through it using inverse and unlock the shortcut, but it's useless since the rocks are still blocking my way otherwise.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Might get this game at some point, but gaffers, compared to Castlevania SotN:

- how's the graphics?.... obviously hi res and better, but asking more about effects or wow factor for a side scrolling 2019 game
- how's the audio?
- how the gameplay?
- how long is the game?

- overall, worse, equal or better than SotN?

(Don't want to spoil the map or monsters/bosses watching videos)
 
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F0rneus

Tears in the rain
Holy goddamn
Zangetsu part 2 is fucking me up something fierce. I feel so underpowed.

Edit: I GOT THE FUCKER YESSSS
 
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Might get this game at some point, but gaffers, compared to Castlevania SotN:

- how's the graphics?.... obviously hi res and better, but asking more about effects or wow factor for a side scrolling 2019 game
- how's the audio?
- how the gameplay?
- how long is the game?

- overall, worse, equal or better than SotN?

(Don't want to spoil the map or monsters/bosses watching videos)
Gameplay is fantastic, it continues where his DS games left off, stuff you expect is all there with collecting powers from enemies with multiple types, NPC quests from Order and Portrait return, crafting from Dawn is expanded, then you have weapon skills which brings back the fighting game inputs from SOTN. Length is around the same as his Castlevania's, I'm at 18 hours to 100% map and bestiary, still have a little less than half the quests to do. Audio is good, some catchy music, voice acting is very IGA plus you have David Hayter (who was a stretch goal) and original Alucard voice actor voicing the vampire librarian O.D.
 
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F0rneus

Tears in the rain
Might get this game at some point, but gaffers, compared to Castlevania SotN:

- how's the graphics?.... obviously hi res and better, but asking more about effects or wow factor for a side scrolling 2019 game
- how's the audio?
- how the gameplay?
- how long is the game?

- overall, worse, equal or better than SotN?

(Don't want to spoil the map or monsters/bosses watching videos)
I' m far enough to say that this is the apex of the Igavania genre. It looks gorgeous and the things they do with depth is insane. Soundtrack is catchy as hell. Gameplay is basically Aria of Sorrow on steroids. Think of the Soul system, but with added layers on top. Long? I dunno but I'm 8 hours in, with 70% percent of the map. It dwarfs IGA's other games in sheer size.

IMO it's a must play. One of the best games of the gen, flat out.
 

petran79

Banned
Only think I dislike is that CGI dialog portraits look hideous. Still pictures like in Order of Ecclesia would be so much better
 
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#Phonepunk#

Banned
Got an email update and tracking number for my Switch physical copy. It’ll be delivered on Monday the 24th

Looking forward to playing this all over again from a clean save!
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
Ok so after playing a bit. In my opinion this game has some high highs and low lows...

It feels VERY authentically like Castlevania. It was obvious the same man designed this game. Early on, I even knew precisely where to try attacking a wall to see if there was a secret and knew I was right at home. Lots of small touches and design nuances come together to create that feeling that this is truly an IGAvania.

Yet I think some aspects should have been kept in the past. Trying to make 3D model characters animate and behave like 2D sprites looks horribly cheesy and just plain bad in execution. I get an awkward feeling from this game as it attempts to be shiny and new while retaining some old methodology and they just don't mesh very well. When 3D graphics were all the rage, SotN proved that you could still make an excellent game with sprites. I think it's a missed opportunity for Bloostained not to prove it again in 2019, especially when the rest of the game seems designed for them, even character animations...if they had to go 3D, at least elevate the rest of the game to 3D design standards.

So far I think it plays well, but it doesn't seem to do anything exceptional that prior IGAvanias haven't managed. Combined with the awkward graphics/story/dialog execution, it comes off more as a sequel just for starving Castlevania fans than something I would recommend someone new (I would still point them towards SotN or Aria of Sorrow.)

I'm sure I'll still play it out and I think it deserves any success it gets, in fact I hope it does really well so we get a sequel with the potential to be a true modern successor to SotN. Most of what I love about this game comes straight from its predecessors, and the changes are meh to me.
 

F0rneus

Tears in the rain
And now a new roadblock!
The literal Belmont zombie motherfucker. And I have 5 high potions! What a dick! Maybe I'll have to invert ala Zangetsu

Edit: LOl my strat, trivializied the fight. Sooooo gooood.
 
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