Topic: bloodstained: ritual of the night

@Ralizah & @GeeEmm, just got to 1st boss myself .... Plays & looks great, at least in handheld mode but I obviously don't have any other version to compare

@Zuljaras

I have a lot to say (in a negative way) about the game such as :
The art direction ( the cats, the general enemies, the textures etc...)
The level design, like the undergrounds are copy/paste, even the ice part and the sand part are a copy/paste with another texture
The bosses are ridiculous, you stay in front of them and you mash the button, DONE !
The feeling to fight only 15 different enemies in total during the entire game.
The difficulty is set for the "ultra-noobs" and guess what, you have to finish the game in Normal to unlock hard(which is easy in reality) and only when you complete the normal AND the Hard mode then you have access to "nightmare"(which is normal++ in reality)
The New Game+ has NO CHALLENGE at all, I killed the 1st boss with 3 button press. Yeah, 3 times and I killed the boss during the NG+. Unacceptable.
The cinematics are awful and some texts are buggy.
I had several bugs that froze entierely the game and forced me to reboot and loose my progression.
etc...

This game even not on Switch is a joke, I played it on XBOX ONE X.
But when you try the Switch version, it's just everything that I said above but with horrible technical issues.
Resolution, framerate, missing effects etc...

More and more people start to talk about it now :

I HAVE THE GAME guys. Got it in the mail and played yesterday.

Resolution: its 720p, it looks like 720p. They told us that before hand. Little soft on the TV, game looks so dang good on handheld.

Input lag: there is none

Framerate: It plays smoothly. Like, it doesnt even need any more than 30. It doesnt. People would say you need 60fps to play pong nowadays.

Overall: looks noticeably downgraded a bit in docked, looks immaculate in handheld, plays flawlessly in both.

Maybe that'll change deeper in the game. I'm not far. But I have to judge by what I've played, and what I've played says "reasonably good release".

That's a shame the 720p is a little soft. I'm still hoping they update that at some point, there's really no need for that for the graphics of this game on Switch...that's just inefficient usage, not necessity.

I'm mid-Vesperia so I think it'll be a while before I get to this. And I can't ignore SMM.

BUT I did try Curse of the Moon finally. Daaaang that thing is brutal. Just like the original Castlevania, so I can't complain. They nailed the visuals, sounds, and character movement. Playing it just after the real Castlevania Collection it felt like a part of it. They spent way, way too much time getting it to be a perfect NES Castlevania.

All versions have framerate dips and random crash issues. I have the PS4 version and I had these problems. People complain more about the Switch version probably because it's the version that sold more. The game needs more polishing it will probably be patched like Mighty No. 9. Sure it's not as good as the Igavanias on the DS but it's still a fine game.

@glaemay

The problem is not that the game can crash, the problem is that the Switch version is unacceptable.
If you put the PC version at its lowest settings, this is how it looks compare to the Switch.

There are a lot of backers from KS who already asked to get another version of the game.

In general, I don't get Switch ports expecting PC/PS4 levels of performance. And the developers did talk about the Switch version missing some visual effects when undocked, at least.

I'm not getting it to play on the TV, so if it's a decent looking portable experience, I'll be satisfied.

It's a downgrade, but it still looks fine enough on its own. If they had optimization issues, there's a chance that it could get patched up later. I personally don't have a portable PC, nor the funds to aquire one, so a PC version isn't really gonna do me any good. I'll judge the Switch version on its own merits. I know the graphics aren't the only complaints levied against it, but it's one people keep railing on, and I just don't care.

@NEStalgia Curse of the Moon is fantastic. The difficulty is very well-balanced (I have to pay attention, but it doesn't kick my teeth in constantly like Castlevania III), the presentation, as you pointed out, is completely on point, and, best of all, it has multiple campaigns that connect story-wise. It feels easier than early Vanias because the level design isn't unfair or designed to give the player an excessively hard time.

@PCkid Lol it's unacceptable because there's one effect on the floor missing? If you play this kind of game for the graphics I suggest you to play something else. The game is definitely not good looking on every versions when you compare to the first concept art. The Switch people complain more because it's where that kind of niche japanese game will sell the most. They did what they could with the low budget they had. But again all versions of the game are so broken they will obviously be patched.

I was really looking forward to this game, and still want to get it. I'm a person who really couldn't care less about graphics, just so long as I don't have to deal with crashes like some people have said, I'll be fine. Should I wait a bit to see if they update anything?

@Ralizah Yeah, I didn't spend much time on it, but the first level was a breeze compared to early NES games, but the area boss was destroying me. Dodging the fireballs was not going well. I'm too far removed from "Nintendo hard" platforming, I fear. I can still ace retro Mario, modern DK, Rayman etc. But true NES era platforms, even modern recreations (including Hollow Knight and Shovel Knight, or apparently any game with the word Knight in it) I don't have the skills I did in 1988 apparently.

The switch version in the vid looked fine to me. I only own a switch so it's not like I'll know what I'm missing by skipping the pc or ps4/ XB versions.

@NEStalgia The fireballs all fell in the exact same pattern, so it really shouldn't have been that hard.

I just really want some solid Switch reviews. My copy is waiting for me at my local game store and I have some trade-ins to go towards it, but I do want to know more about any bugs or crashes. Might have to wait on this. : /

@New_Guest
since it was likely the switch version would sell more im wondering why didnt they put more work onto that version

And that's the real question that should be asked, not just for this game but all games. The answer is, I don't think these devs expect anything but PS4 sales to dominate, so that's where they focus. Then they're shocked when Switch outsells it or at least goes toe to toe.

Eventually, the mindset will transition to expecting great sales on Switch, developer by developer, and effort will increase (from a macro perspective, on average).

That said I think this version is pretty good, comparitavely speaking.

To be fair, remember that this got delayed so they could address people's concerns regarding the visuals - and most the elements from the revamp aren't apparent on the Switch. I think it was designed with the Wii U, and later the Switch, in mind, and it was only upgraded for the sake of more powerful platforms due to demand.

Eh, it still looks great in handheld & I've had no crashes yet or anything else....

I had a lot respect for Michiru Yamane but it's over.
"Luxurious Overture" is with no doubt possible a pure rip off of Crucified from Army of Lovers.

It starts at 0:42

I already had a bad opinion on the game but now this game is killing a heroine of my youth.

lol I just watched a video that can be summed up suchly:

"The game looks good in handheld mode, but it doesn't look great on my 55 inch 4K TV like the PS4 Pro version does."

People are being ridiculous, as usual.

If you want to play this on the TV, buy it on PC or a home console.

If you want to play it as a portable experience, buy it on Switch.

@PCkid It really seems like you're stretching to find reasons to hate this game now. Did Igarashi kill your dog or something?