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Bloodstained: The Dracula-Style Monster Castle Game

Fyonn

Fyonn

did their best!
Love to see more modern classic castle-with-vampires-included times.

Wild how Bloodstained used one kickstarter and has provided like five distinct experiences (if you include both Curse of the Moons).
Bloodstained is a whole dang franchise now, as if it sprung fully formed from Zeus's skull.
 
Sporophyte

Sporophyte

The new mode looks very cool! So cool in fact it prompted me to go back to playing some randomizer runs. I love them, but the game on switch hard crashes the game nearly every time I enter town the first time after beating the ship, and has a reasonable chance of doing so again every trip back after. I really wish the game was more stable because it is so much fun when it works.
 
Tomm Guycot

Tomm Guycot

(he/him)
Sporophyte said:
The new mode looks very cool! So cool in fact it prompted me to go back to playing some randomizer runs. I love them, but the game on switch hard crashes the game nearly every time I enter town the first time after beating the ship, and has a reasonable chance of doing so again every trip back after. I really wish the game was more stable because it is so much fun when it works.
Click to expand...
This is a bug that is apparently happening more frequently (on all platforms).

We're aware of it but it's elusive, so cross your fingers

(Classic mode is much more stable)
 
Octopus Prime

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
Much like how Kingdom: Two Crowns had a Bloodstained themed bonus campaign, so too is Bloodstained now getting a Kingdom-themed bonus area.

Which I can not link to as I am on mobile, but that’s something!

Lots of stainy blood this month!
 
Bongo

Bongo

excused from moderation duty
(he/him)
Staff member
What is "Kingdom: Two Crowns." Disclaimer: I'm probably not going to buy anything because of this cross-promotion
 
Peklo

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
Results:
WPhTBLv.png

Made a bit of a blunder in stage 4 and died some needless deaths, so one continue used. I'll try hard mode later.

Specifics, and maybe feedback:
  • I figured as much from the map screen that I saw before playing and the macro layout it suggested, but it still took me a little by surprise how much this follows the original Castlevania to the letter. I know when doing a very compact mode like this the blueprint the first game offers is just about the best one to take after, but it's a double-edged swordwhip, I guess is what I mean: the fundamentals are tried and tested, but overall you'll know what you'll encounter throughout even if the specifics differ. If viewed as a tribute to that game, then it's a very good one.

  • as much as the overall structure of the mode follows the earliest game in the series, I was pleased to find a lot of retroactive nuance in Miriam's moveset: the overall playfeel echoes Rondo of Blood's physics, with some of its signature tricks (backflip, fiddly input to increase the power of a whip strike), and unusual-for-the-genre maneuvers like a slide and a backdash ensure that Miriam can't be reduced to one comparable set of movement from the past because she takes a little from several. Even the actions that have seen play in the past come with some welcome wrinkles, like the slide rebounding off of objects and enemies, rendering it more safe to use, and more fun. That's a quirk I haven't really seen outside of Luna Nights, and it speaks to reconsidering the known quantities thoughtfully.

  • I think there were too many Dullahammer Heads throughout. The Medusa Head type, especially in a play context like this, is one of my favourite video game enemies, and the way they were used here isn't exactly lacking--just unbalanced in comparison to the scale of the game; too many sections are defined by them for the amount of locales there are.

  • congratulations on the clock tower ascent, though--the vertical sections in the older style of Castlevania have historically been a risky venture, with some true greats amidst the overdone slog, and this hits the right mix of varied terrain, enemy combinations and fun to figure out trouble spots. I fell to the bottom from near the top and couldn't help but laugh, and take note of the strength of the layout.

  • Nina Matsumoto's art for the credits sequence was excellent, as well as how the material was used for Super Castlevania IV-esque postcard memories.
It is kinda stunning that this is a free addition to a game that came out a year and a half ago, but that's how this now-a-series has shaken up: what debuted as just a single title is being, if not shown up, then at least equaled by its own spin-offs that address the other half of the source material with at least as much success.
 
Peklo

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
Results the second:
xTmoYQJ.png

Hard mode went smoother: three deaths, in stage 5 or later. I'm not actually sure what the differences were--maybe there were more Dullahammer Heads, and maybe the damage values scaled up faster, and Dominique busted out a new variation on the giant lasers that I didn't see the first time through, but that's all I noticed.

I liked this more on replay! Figured out that the backflip could be used as a sort of makeshift double-jump when turning in mid-air and flipping "forward", which made things more lively.
 
Tomm Guycot

Tomm Guycot

(he/him)
Peklo said:
Results the second:
xTmoYQJ.png

Hard mode went smoother: three deaths, in stage 5 or later. I'm not actually sure what the differences were--maybe there were more Dullahammer Heads, and maybe the damage values scaled up faster, and Dominique busted out a new variation on the giant lasers that I didn't see the first time through, but that's all I noticed.

I liked this more on replay! Figured out that the backflip could be used as a sort of makeshift double-jump when turning in mid-air and flipping "forward", which made things more lively.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your detailed feedback!

Hard mode is mostly damage scaling by stage instead of by enemy, but there are a few surprises (such as the one you called out).

Glad to see people experimenting with advanced techniques
 
ASandoval

ASandoval

Old Man Gamer
(he/him)
I don't have much to add that wasn't mentioned, but as someone whose not the biggest Classicvania fan, I really enjoyed this. Completed in about an hour and a half, with most of the time spent on the last stage, which feels in line with my performance in the original CV. I never felt overly frustrated as can occasionally happen with me and the NES games/Rondo, and I agree that the Clock Tower stage is the highlight. Excellent work!
 
gogglebob

gogglebob

The Goggles Do Nothing
(he/him)
I maintain that the best game design possible allows players to do something that feels like cheating, but is actually totally accounted for within the level/world design.

doublejump.gif


Don't know why, just figured I'd mention that.
 
madhair60

madhair60

Video games
Saw the credits of the main game yesterday, got the good ending. Just under 11 hours on my save file, PS4 version.

Overall I'd comfortably call this my favourite of the Kickstarter darlings, beating out the also-brilliant Shovel Knight by being an absolutely faithful take on IGAvania that never once made me long for the Castlevania license. I just wasn't thinking about it, the authenticity is spot on. It feels right and it's a joy to play.

Final boss gauntlet was tough, got them on I think the sixth go? I've unlocked NG+ but I think I'll go in and mop up first. I have bonus bosses to beat up! Does anyone know if NG+ makes things significantly different? Any new items ala Aria of Sorrow?

An absolute triumph here and well done to all concerned.
 
Torzelbaum

Torzelbaum

????? LV 13 HP 292/ 292
(he, him, his)
madhair60 said:
I've unlocked NG+ but I think I'll go in and mop up first. I have bonus bosses to beat up! Does anyone know if NG+ makes things significantly different? Any new items ala Aria of Sorrow?
Click to expand...
There are no new items. NG+ doesn't really change the game too much (unless you play on one of the higher difficulty levels). So you might want to hang out in the endgame and collect stuff (if you care about getting all of the achievements).
 
Torzelbaum

Torzelbaum

????? LV 13 HP 292/ 292
(he, him, his)
I thought only Nightmare mode did that but it has been so long since I played the standard game as Miriam that I just don't remember.

Also, I don't remember the bosses having new attacks when I played through Hard mode but I did that on new game+ and my Miriam was so powerful that most bosses died before they got to do anything.
 
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Tomm Guycot

Tomm Guycot

(he/him)
I did not tell Iga about 1986 until it was in-game and I casually triggered it on a call.

It's the small joys in life.

This was turnabout for the stress I felt every time the red boss orb appeared. Can you imagine the pressure you normally feel to catch it in midair in a cool pose... but Iga is watching?
 
Regulus

Regulus

Sir Knightbot
It was actually hinted at in a trailer before the game even came out, as I recall. Though that was so long ago that it seemed like maybe it wasn't happening.
 
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