Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Review

Bloody good fun.

Koji Igarashi was adrift before 2014. At that point, Igarashi had lived through four years without working on his beloved Castlevania franchise, lost in the muddle of a once-titanic publisher seemingly abandoning the concept of traditional game development altogether. Igarashi had one more shot at producing what was, essentially, his passion: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Encumbered by delays, anxieties over the crowdfunding model and growing discontent over Kickstarter, the result was a game that dared to fight against the odds. Ritual of the Night is very much the sister of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in tone, with heavy nods to Igarashi’s last stellar game, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Concisely speaking, it’s a bloody good ride.

Ritual of the Night feels oddly out of time, as though it shouldn’t have been made in 2019. While Metroidvanias are still a popular genre, they often imbue themselves with a sense of poetic rumination or a left-field, inventive art style to stick out. Hollow Knight shone as a modern Metroidvania due to its combination of near-perfect mechanics with a modern accompaniment of aesthetic and story.

Ritual of the Night does away with the need of such accompaniments – the game is, aesthetically-speaking, a little uninspiring to look at, but it carries itself solely on the back of its timeless gameplay. There’s no need to adapt to modern standards of story, thematic discussions or art styles when the base game is just so fun to play, a principle the subgenre has somewhat forgotten.

When starting up Ritual of the Night for the first time, what struck me most was its immediacy. Following a brief bit of exposition, players are thrust into the action with the knowledge that this title is gameplay first, everything else second. For those with even a little experience playing a Castlevania game, the controls and combat feel like muscle memory, flowing effortlessly with tight, responsive controls and plenty of space for diverse playstyles.

Story-wise, Ritual of the Night follows Miriam, a shardbinder, which is sort of like Igarashi’s version of a mage or warlock. Shardbinders can assume the abilities of demons, as well as having the power to kill them. A former friend of hers, Gebel, is the only other shardbinder left alive, but when he turns to the influence of Hell, it is up to Miriam to try to deter him from damnation.

It’s a basic story, but that’s what Castlevania-inspired games are about. Ritual of the Night, much like its creator’s oeuvre, is all about its gameplay and level design. The main castle of the game looks like it’s ripped straight out of concept art and level design notebooks that littered Igarashi’s studio in 1997. It’s densely layered, filled with camp charm and, best of all, is endlessly rewarding to explore and complete.

What makes Ritual of the Night stand out from its Castlevania counterparts, though, is the depth of its magic system which is governed by a consumable called shards. Essentially, each enemy has a chance of dropping a shard which corresponds to their primary ability or theme. Then, Miriam can use an ability that relates to that shard. Only a set amount of shards can be equipped at a time and can also be upgraded or sold.

Almost right off the bat, having the correct set-up of shards for early game bosses is essential. The second boss, Zangetsu, sticks out as an example. He’s a struggle if you try to beat him by using melee attacks alone, but a combination of long-ranged damage spells and a conjuration ability can give you enough breathing space to assure victory.

Depending on later builds and equipment preferences, shards can increase or decrease in importance, but the random nature of attaining shards always keeps things feeling fresh. Balancing the decisions of whether to use, upgrade or sell shards is a nice RPG tension to have in the game, as well as interweaving itself directly with the narrative. Without going into spoilers, each shard has a negative effect on Miriam’s humanity, driving her closer to the demons she is fending off. It’s an oft-used trope, but it provides a palpable sense of cohesion between the systems and the narrative.

Complimenting the robust shard system are equipment and weapon options which can, at first, seem like a middle-of-the-road mash-up basic action-RPG options. However, the deeper players go into Ritual of the Night, the more equipment matters. Certain special moves, which are inputted akin to basic fighting game combos, can only used with certain weapons whilst the stat bonuses, defence, move sets, and speed of all equipment incentivises the changing of playstyles.

On top of that, most equipment items change Miriam’s appearance, which allows for an addicting sense of customisation. Options open later on to change the style and colour of Miriam’s hair and clothes, too. These systems don’t feel tacked-on, but more like a bonus to complement the game’s cyclical gameplay loop and labyrinthine level design.

Overall, Ritual of the Night is a dream for Metroidvania fans. Despite some hiccups with its graphical presentation, there is little wrong with Igarashi’s newest masterpiece. In a time where games are being weighed down with too much clutter, add-ons and complication, to get a game that knows exactly what it is and what it wants to be is refreshing. Sometimes, all you want to do is smash demons and explore Gothic castles in style, and Igarashi knows that better than anyone.

[Reviewed on PC]