Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night began life as a humble Kickstarter venture by Koji Igarashi, Michiru Yamane, and Inti Creates. This original title from the creative mind of Igarashi is another take on the classic “Metroidvania” genre for which he is so famously known.
Koji Igarashi has a long history with the Metroidvania genre, in fact, he’s had a hand in the creation of nearly every single Castlevania title since its inception in 1986. His first foray into the challenging and gothic world of Castlevania was in 1993 with Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Suffice it to say, the man knows his way around gothic-themed, side-scrolling exploration titles.
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Shop NowAs for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, it began development way back in 2015, and since then has seen over $5 million USD raised to support production. The title features the classic “Igavania” style of gameplay. Players will fight and explore through creepy halls, level up to grow stronger, and even craft new gear.
However, the creation of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night wasn’t all gothic castles and red wine, there was a moment of brooding darkness where some sects of the community weren’t pleased with what was presented.
The first developmental trailer, showcasing the design and direction of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, deeply divided the community. Some were overjoyed with what they saw, while others expected more. All of this was from a short snippet of in-game cinematics, gameplay, and character models.
Igarashi and the team didn’t sit idly by. They took all the comments from various online forums, Steam, YouTube, and the Kickstarter page, and went to work refining. The game blew past its initial release window of 2017, but it was all worth the wait.
After what felt like an age, Igarashi took once more to an eerie gothic castle to reveal the massive graphical overhaul that took place since the last showing. The following trailer offers a few side-by-side comparisons to show how far the game has evolved over the years.
As you can see from the trailer, basically everything has received a facelift. The character models have been entirely revamped, with far more detail packed into the clothing, facial features, and animations.
Even the environments have had their fair share of love. One of the issues commenters had was that the original backgrounds looked flat, with little lighting differentiating various areas. The new backgrounds are vibrant and popping, and the lighting is wonderfully atmospheric.
It’s an incredible makeover, and the end result is well-worth the effort. With this update in graphics, Igarashi and the team have ensured that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is one of the most highly anticipated games coming out this year. In fact, it even has an official release date now! You’ll be able to get your hands on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on June 18 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and on June 25 for Nintendo Switch.
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