Considering the self-destructive route Konami has been on in recent times, it's been disappointing to see many of its popular franchises effectively put on ice, including the Castlevania series. Of course, it could be argued that it's been awhile since the last classic Castlevania game came out, as Mercury Steam took the series in a new direction with the Lords of Shadow games and most of the original talent behind the series has moved on. Fortunately, Castlevania is continuing in everything but name through Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and it appears that development is progressing quite smoothly.
Bloodstained will be making an appearance at E3 this year, and the preview build of the game from E3 will also be made available to Kickstarter backers who pledged $60 or more by 13th June. In anticipation of this, a new update went out on Kickstarter where the first stage of the game is shown off. The video isn't very long, but it depicts Miriam as she moves about on the Galleon Minerva, a ship bound for the castle where the majority of the game takes place. It looks pretty good, and there's sure to be more to come over the next few months as we creep closer to release day.
What do you think? Does it look good so far? Will you get to play the demo build when it goes live? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 52
It looks very nice. Where's the enemies though? I hope this is just to whet our appetites for E3. And the main characters animations seem a little wooden.
Iga delivers.
Looks fantastic. The transition between animations could be a little smoother, but I'm sure they'll polish it before release. As a big Castlevania fan, I'm looking forward to this game.
So far so good. Kind of regretting missing the boat on the Kickstarter (Shenmue 3 being largely responsible!) but I'll be getting this if it continues well.
Good ol' Koji, or Kozza as he is known to his mates.
Looks awesome, but it feels a bit rigid, maybe as others said it's an animation thing, but I can't avoid to worry for the controls, it's like the character in the trailer is not nicely snapping when receiving an input (but I know, I'm judging without even seeing the player doing the inputs, 100% chances I'm plain wrong XD).
@SLIGEACH_EIRE i believe this is to purely show off a tiny bit of whats happened since the last update and probably to show off a bit of the ships design.
Looks pretty nice!
I'm not too fond of 2D games in 3D. MegaMan X, for example, looks and plays great on the SNES, but the PSP remake feels 'heavier' somehow with all that 3D attached. It's not to say I'm disappointed or anything--just a thought.
@Churchy You can actually still make a pledge and get access to this build as long as you sign up before the 13th.
The jumps leave a little to be desired and the character doesn't feel like they are really there.
I am sure both will be fixed upon release.
@MitchVogel Thank you kind sir. To the bank!
I upped my Pledge to 100$. I really have high hopes for this one.
Just started playing Symphony of the Night. The animation watching here feels very homie to it.
Sadly, I expecting some techs. Only the returning slide is what we saw.
@Popful I'd have preferred a 2D game myself, but I understand that it takes a lot more work to create HD, hand-drawn visuals. If they'd have taken the pure 2D route, we probably wouldn't see the game until 2020.
Sorry, not convinced by this. I'm happy for everyone who wants a spiritual successor to Castlevania, but to me this has a somewhat cheap vibe to it. still, aesthetics aren't all that matter so I'm hoping this'll be fun experience
Miriam is a cutie
Looking fantastic.
Finally, a modern Castlevania. Love the character design.
I'd much prefer it if it were using 2D sprites... and if it were on 3DS. Looks nice though.
maybe a little more speed to the movement and at 0.18 sec not animation or physics on the net? it looks like a wooden platform rather. I hope these details get worked out in the final release but overall it looks awesome.
Looks good, hopefully this is just a demo gameplay and the final game actually had enemies on screen. Would be disappointing if there's one whole map without enemies in there.
Nice.
Looks a bit slow.
I hope they can keep the controls responsive.
This game looks okay, but they are going to have to really improve it before release If they want my purchase. It looks a little basic, by that could be how the developer intended until it gets closer to release and more details get thrown in.
Looking good. If the rest of the game holds up I think this might just deliver on expectations.
@JaxonH
"Finally, a modern Castlevania."
Don't even try to ignore Lords of Shadows 2 existence.
@KO-Cub
Not to dismiss the Lords of Shadow series but, I was referring to the classic 2D style.
Mirror of Fate was actually decent though, but this is what I've been looking for.
Perhaps I should have said, Finally a modern Castlevania that can contend with the classics.
sweet 60 fps
Enviroments look pretty great, but I still think Shantae and Indivisible look far more impressive than this and Mighty No. 9.
2D art just suits 2D games, unless you have the budget and talent of Retro, HAL or of course, Sora. Still, a long way to go.
...eehhhh... when we saw the pre-renders I thought the game was going to have this lovely 2D art style which would have been cool.
Looks cool. Can't wait to see the final game.
Looks LOVELY!! Can't wait to see it in E3!
Looks good. I just started playing Strider. If anyone missed out on that I highly recommend it for someone looking to scratch that 2D Metroidvania itch. It's on sale for $5 on Steam.
Backed for the physical WiiU copy just now
Where are the skeletons and medusa heads?
But can you change direction when you jump? : )
Looking pretty good at the mo.
Tis gorgeous! I'm hooked!
Will this even make it to the Wii U or will they just port it to the NX?
I also prefer 2D over 3D, but there is no denying this game is looking great. But even better than "looking", it is "sounding" amazing!
The soundtrack really brings me back to the awesome ol' castlevania games.
Ooh! The music is very Castlevania and the one with the storm wrecked ship looks like a neat idea for a locale! I do want it for sure!
@bluedogrulez
don't see why she wouldn't be able to. by the way, your dog is really cute.
Looks great
@Tempestryke : B/c Simon never could : )
thanks, that's my doxy "blue". And he rulez.
@bluedogrulez
I think the character is too big, or the camera is too close and levels too cramped
Looks fab, really looking forward to this!
@bluedogrulez
Have you played Castlevania SotN and after? Have you even played Castlevania 4? Super Castle... Castle... Super Castlevania 4... uh.
Look, you can jump and change trajectory with no momentum lose. Whippa-cuh
This isn't doing it for me. Environments looks really bland and lack any personality, the animation is passable but looks a little stiff (I think the transitions aren't exactly smooth), and it's more than a little disheartening that this is what they're showing off one year after the end of the Kickstarter. This looks like a basic prototype of the platforming that could've been put together in 3 weeks or so.
I didn't back it so I don't mind, but I hope backers are pleased with this more than I am.
@KO-Cub : never owned a playstation...was Simon Belmont really in SotN?
@bluedogrulez Nope, in SotN, you get to play as either Richter Belmont or Alucard, in the PSP and Saturn version you could also play as Maria as well.
@bluedogrulez
Lol no. Not in SotN, but Simon in Super Castlevania 4 could jump around willy nilly.
ogo79 was here.
new bloodstained e3 demo:
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