Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Switch Patch Comes With Some Unwelcome Extras

Very disappointing.

Not quite the patch most people are waiting for, but I can appreciate the transparency.

Deal with the consequences after taking people's money.

Typical.

My cousin picked it up on PS4 and I thought it looked great so I was going to get it on Switch, glad I waited a couple days to buy it and saw the reviews, now I'm just waiting for it to be fixed before I do end up grabbing it

This ‘release a broken game and then patch later’ malarkey has to stop.

I show my disapproval the only way I can ... with my wallet.

im not going to bother with the patch, im already like 70 percent of the way through the game, unless there's a graphical improvement to the models then i wont bother.

not like its unplayable or anything

This is a really great game. I have it on PS4, and it’s spectacular. I hope the Switch version gets fixed up, and plays well. Hopefully the Switch version gets the fix it needs, and runs better.

This the switch version is horrible i have to wait for fixes for it to be playable nonsense needs to end.Is the switch version perfect no there are very very infrequent crashes(ive encountered 3 all in dock mode in about 30 hours) but you save so often that your losing only a handful of minutes so meh, it isnt as pretty but thats the norm and a few rooms have some loading time issues but besides that it runs very smoothly in handheld and docked and is alot of fun to play.

If they’re able to patch up the issues that plague the Switch version, I’m happy to see it, but it’s going to take a lot of work. If they are able to improve the performance significantly and squash the bugs, it only proves the point... they didn’t do the job correctly the first time around. This crap needs to stop, release a stable game from the get go, even if it does take longer!

Still have my backer copy unopened. I am waiting till the input lag and the fps to be stable before I start playing the game. Don't want to have the game that I backed 4 years ago to be soured with performance issues.

If they patch this game to run smoothly at 60fps on Switch I'll buy it instantly! I hope they can accomplish that (I know it would be quite a difficult programming task). If it never gets patched to run smoothly on Switch I'll eventually get the PC version and play it that way. But I really want to play it on my favorite system running at the frame rate the game deserves!

@DarkLloyd agree. The game is not unplayable, maybe the people's standard was too high

Have it on PS4, close to beating it. Dullahammer Head getting nerfed? Not exactly what I would asked for.

Took a break from it last weekend because I thought the first patch would drop this week, not be submitted. Hrrmmmm.....

Umm Liam , why aren't you inquiring about balance changes being made to a single player game? Nerfs? Are you serious? I've finished the game on multiple platforms 100% , but rebalancing a single player game after launch raises some red flags. Especially when the engineering team should be focused on mending the issues at hand while the design team should be assisting qa and testers track down issues. Not soothing their egos over why their precious creation gets thwarted by players with a bit of ingenuity and paitence. There are players waiting on this patch, a patch others on ps4, xb1, and PC did not have to worry about for their 100 percent Platinum trophy etc run. This is something that requires some contact with the dev over.

Eeeeh, this was a game balancing patch....

@BENDsli better off playing it on anything else honestly. Decided to see for myself after completing the game on ps4 pro and PC. It starts to get really bad aroudn 70% completion of the castle. Even if they fix the frame rate issues, the games compromises are abysmal. They screen shot the scene before starting dialog sections to preserve performance. The end result is still a choppy out of sync mess. I don't know that this will ever be fixed. Visually the game is compromised hard. We aren't talking the kind of downgrade you see from a Id and sister studios. We are talking very noticeable differences to anyone who has spent 20 hours with it on ps4 pro. Get it on anything else. Switch version has made me extremely happy they canceled the vita version.

@60frames-please you're asking the impossible.. for pretty much every game that is ported over. Just buy your 3rd party games for PC.

On PC there's a bug as well. When you defeat a monster they drop an item, but when I try to get it the sack stays closed and it doesn't open. I had it quite a lot and it's annoying. I was grinding and here and there you don't get items out of the sack. I want them to fix that on PC! I'm sure it's on Switch as well. But I can't find it in the bug fixes above here... so what about that?

@60frames-please that will never happen lol. They are struggling to keep it in the double digits in certain areas

I don't think that a patch can save the game

Well, seems I still wait a couple more patches in and pick it probably up at a sale for a reduced price.

All of you are really teaching them by just supporting them by buying the game on another platform.

Giving them money will definitely show them.

Like I mentioned before, my playthrough is going on smooth as it is, but I appreciate what's being done on the technical polish front. Although the nerfs are actually a bit of a bummer, especially Welcome Company (that thing is a godsend against folks like demons and bloodbringers). 😅 But then again, three portraits aren't a trivial defense either, and the spell itself is cheap to cast.

And once again, people, while I understand the wish to see fewer things in need of patching out the gate, let's NOT wear the rose-tinted nostalgia glasses around the times before the Patch Age. Rushed releases and QA slips have existed as long as video games have, and even Gen 7 still saw plenty of games whose launch copies were STUCK with whatever glitches they came out with. The Harvest Moon DS case (glitch only fixed in a separate female protagonist edition) is proverbial, and my own R4 Black Roger days include the memories of how said R4 ironically proved to be my only chance of retaining access to a certain Yu-Gi-Oh Nightmare Troubadour character and his deck recipe. The NA version I had started had a glitch wiping him out past a certain plot point, and it was only fixed in a later EU release. I still feel damn lucky that the save file survived a rom transition - and now picture all the legal owners who didn't have such a lifehack for all the money they had paid.

I say I'll take day one patches & Co with the good and the bad they imply, because their absence has NEVER meant the absence of the problems they try to alleviate.

At this point, I would not expect much from any Switch patch. It's clear fixing the Switch version is not a critical priority as we were initially led to believe.

@Dalifano
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/07/class_action_lawsuit_officially_filed_against_nintendo_for_switch_joy-con_drifting_issues

Don't just sit here! Nintendo is in trouble, they need you!

@BENDsli I got the PS4 version. I'm not sure why because I didn't even know about the Switch port being a mess at the time. So I dodge the bullet completely by luck. But I wonder why the Switch port is so bad. I mean, it looks... nice, on the PS4? Visually, it's one of the least impressive games on the system. Apart from the parallax in the background, it's totally 2D. I can't imagine how a game like this manages to blow the Switch's poor little mind.

Yeah not the patch I'm waiting for. Super disappointed.

This is NOT the patch we asked for. It's late and fixes nothing fans have pleaded with the developers to fix. What a disappointment.

Yawn, to remember the developer went on a YouTube rant saying "who has a bad game now" after updating some assets. Well, months later let me reply to that question: you. You have a bad port of the game and want 40€ for a buggy, unpolished mess, only to update it later not even in the way it should be done.

I'm so glad I read reviews and skipped this. Will continue to do so.

Too bad Iga, too bad.

Really wanted this, so glad I didn’t buy it tho. If they patch it and it’s confirmed that it runs ok I’ll probably pick it up. Just a shame that it’s in such a poor state on release. The switch is an established legitimate successful console and there’s no way games should be rushed out the door in such an unfinished state.

This needs to set a precedent for developers in general, if anything it’s embarrassing especially as the system it sold best for is also the most unpolished.

They should have made the hard call, done the right thing and said it’ll be another x months but it’s going to have some exclusive Nintendo stuff to make up for it

Not bashing the developers, as it does look cool and I really love the look of this, just hope they fix it soon. It’s still on my watch list

Bought the Switch version day one and have loved playing through it. The issues are far from a deal breaker for me as the game is not 'broken' (did you ever play games in the 80s and 90s?). I'm saved right at the last boss and will happily play through it again when enhancements come later.

Niice
At least they're supporting it now that the Switch has the best selling version, not sure how much trouble was or their priority to move it to the Switch
I'll wait for a sale though, maybe the game will have better performance by then

Started it a few days ago. While I've had a couple crashes right out of the gates. It hasn't happened since. Played for a couple hours at this point. Some slow down here and there and the characters(Miriam and npcs) look pretty rough( blurry and what not), but the enemies and background of the castle and environments looks great imo. I was originally going to wait for a performance patch but I said forget it, I'll just start my play through. Having fun with it, even with some little bugs happening.

So more gameplay nerfs than actual fixes? Great. I guess my newly bought game will stay in the “to be played list” for a while longer.

I really regret opening the game right away to update it, only to read later in the day about all the issues, despite knowing I wouldn’t play it until the evening.

@saintayu

Yeah, I don’t understand this ‘I got burned on the Switch edition, so let me buy it again on another system mentality.’

Umm, no, I did get burned on my Switch copy. I’m not giving you another penny.

Do you remember when people used to test games before releasing them?

@NotSoCryptic I wish they would patch in a menu option for 60fps, like with Fire Emblem Warriors, Darksiders, Unravel 2, etc. I'd much rather play at low resolution in order for the game to run with the basic smoothness of 60fps! Also, there could still be drops and that's fine. As long as it runs at 60fps 90% of the time. I don't care if it's 480p in docked mode, just give me 60fps please!

@Balta666 I know it's extremely unlikely, but for me it is a basic requirements of 2D scrolling games. I want it to run at 60fps on Switch so badly! I can dream. Eventually maybe I'll buy it on PC and play it with my Switch Pro controller while pretending it's on my fav system.

Wait, a balance patch? The input delay is double any other platform, why isn’t that the priority? I’ve only been able to play handheld since launch, and the back half of the game is inanely frustrating because tapping the jump button doesn’t jump.

@NotSoCryptic

I fully and whole heartedly agree with your assessment. I love the concept of Switch so want play on it first. Plenty of ports both from last gen and current gen have turned out well on Switch. Most Indy devs are now leading with Switch because they know its the platform that produces the best sales. Still some companies are just putting out crap ports to capitalize on the Switch’s hot market.

This game surely got a late start as it was fundraising and being developed for a good period before the Switch version got started. Still its no excuse as the Switch version has outsold the other platforms so the publisher should have put the $$$ in to get it done right.

I hope others listen to your post and avoid buying this on Switch. Its not just the ‘problems’ with fps and input, as you stated more nicely than I will, it looks like crap. A great example right from the start is the water effects, which look fine on the x86 platforms, but are possibly the worst I have ever seen anywhere on the Switch version of this game.

I abandoned it on Switch and am playing it on PC. I, also like you, do not believe they can fix this trash work thru patching. It can be improved, but as a consumer why bother when the game looks and plays great on the other platforms. Buy it elsewhere and put your Switch money towards a game that deserves support.

Still haven't fired up my backer copy yet.

I regret the money I spent on this game, it's Mighty No. 9 all over again.
People defend it because of SOTN, IGA and Nostalgia reasons, but it's a miserable pile of mediocrity, from the cardboard cutout "Waifu" protagonist, all the way to the lame plot.
Aria of Sorrow can eat this game for breakfast with minimal effort.
By the way. Why did they delayed this game so much? It's not like they delivered a finished product or anything.
Time to take the hype goggles out and start seeing this game for what it is.

@NotSoCryptic
Thanks, I don’t want many modern games as I’m mostly an old school gamer these days. Bloodstained and Final Fantasy 7 remake were the only two major releases I was really clamoring for this year. I wanted bloodstained on the Switch so so badly and I can handle most issues but a major no no for me is Input lag, and below 20fps slow down. I have a PC with a 1080Ti in it, and a laptop with a GTX1060 inside so I’m thinking I am gonna go ahead and grab this one on steam. It’s a shame really because I love my Switch. It’s my favorite console but 505 really messed up here.

I haven’t bought this yet. I’ll wait for the patches to be released first, and after that, for a sale.
IGA really messed this up.

I mean, I hoped that Bloodstained was going to turn out good.

I think I will replay Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance instead.

This is really frustrating. Some of these fixes are welcome (especially the map fixes), but I've been holding off in this game after putting some significant time into it, and this patch almost does nothing to improve on the real problems with the game. This game is awesome, and I really want to play it, but I don't want to play it until the real problems are fixed.

My experience as a backer of this game was a negative one. There were a lot of mistakes made during this project, and that they delivering a product that is well received doesn't change that. I can understand the frustration people feel at these changes and how the prioritized Switch fixes seem to not be top priorities. I consider myself lucky, as I made the decision to sell my PC digital key on release day and, through some good fortune and timing, I actually came out of the situation ahead. I'm thrilled ebay was able to fix 505's mess in my case. I'll be sure to avoid 505 and Artplay going forward.

@Leinad "from the cardboard cutout "Waifu" protagonist, all the way to the lame plot" Who the hell plays a Castlevania game for the story and characters?

fix the performance issue then i will buy Bloodstained

The thing that really annoys me about this game is the developers showed the Switch version off about 6 months before launch and the feedback was that the game had unacceptable input lag and frame rate issues. The developers swore they were aware of this and would have it fixed for launch.

From everything I’ve seen they didn’t fix anything, they lied when they said they would fix it and they’ve wasted the past month nerfing items instead of working on fixing it. It’s just not acceptable to keep claiming they’re working on things when they’re clearly not prioritising it.

Why are people whining about re-balancing? Ridiculous.

Sad to see no technical improvements yet.

It's not acceptable – but it is what it is. I've enough to play anyway. I can get this game in 6 months – maybe at half price.

I bought this day 1, and stopped day 2. I'm not going to touch it until its patched out. I don't care about balancing weapons - fix the performance for Switch!

worst patch ever they should be addressing the performance issues,stabilizing the fps,polish the graphics abit by improving the resolution and fixing the crashes as well.

I won't touch this game. It was never properly developed for the Switch and no amount of patching will fix something that fundamentally broken.

All hype I had for this game died along with the shoody performance and focus on gross abuse of missing content for nearly £10. I would have jumped on this if it was a solid physical release with everything on the cart. Now I'm not even that bothered about picking it up at all. I'll get it eventually, but it'll be when I see a copy for £10-15. Shame.

I really wanted this on Switch. I could have bought it on PS4 but I may just wait for several patches and a sale now. I really wanted to play this on the go due to its Metroid nature. I also want all the effects and the superior experience of the PS4 Pro. So I’m still torn, but how mishandled the Switch version was really doesn’t help. I try to support Nintendo and Nintendo versions of everything. Remembering the Wii U era, I would have easily gotten this on that system to make a statement and show support. Switch doesn’t seem to have a problem maintaining 3rd party support... but memories of the Wii U era make me really hate it when a game like this is mishandled to the point that you want it on another system.

@Alucard83 This was happening to me as well, but I think you wind up receiving the items once you zone out of the area.

Glad to hear this news. I borrowed a friend's Switch copy and stopped after getting the"big hand" power and decided to wait and buy it myself once the performance improved.

Looks like I may not have to wait too long.

Why does this read like an mmo patch?

@Leinad probably an unpopular opinion on here, but I’m totally 110% in agreement with you.

Typical hot mess Kickstarter fare that benefited ENORMOUSLY from the nostalgia hype and groupthink that the modern gaming community seems particularly vulnerable to. IMHO.

Glad I platinumed this on ps4 before all the nerfs came in. Haha, suckers!

What pissess me off about this buy now play later, scenario, is how it will probably lessen the value of physical copies. This is a new trend in gaming, so those copies will be worth s*** if they ever shut servers down supplying the updates

Why are they nerfing a non-competitive single player game. Just seems silly.

What a fail. Not even buying any other version. Not gonna give them any money. I am just not having it

@Bondi_Surfer demos need to be mandatory. That's why i enjoyed nitorinc, monster boy and the cursed kingdom, and cris tales so much. Otherwise yeah don't buy full price games, especially fighting games.

I've beaten the Switch version with 100% in every category twice now. Haven't had any real major issues with it, other than the few slow down spots. Hasn't crashed once. I don't use the vast majority of the weapons/shards that were nerfed/decreased in power, so that's not a big change for me for my eventual 3rd playthrough. The map function changes are welcomed tho. Didn't like having to hit "select" (-) every time to close, instead of hitting "B". Minor inconvenience, but still nice change. I did use a fully maxed out Dullahammer Head Famililiar in both playthroughs, so luckily I got to use those before they were nerfed. I didn't want to switch to the Knight Familiar instead anyways, so I'll still do that in my eventual 3rd playthrough. As for the Shards, I only ever used 3 of the ones listed. Craftwork, which I ONLY used when I needed to move the spiked things, as part of the "puzzle solving" aspect of it. Otherwise, I never once used it otherwise. Never felt the need too. Bunnymorphesis, which I used for about 1/3 of the first playthrough. And the Heretical Grinder, which I used a lot during the 2nd playthrough. In fact, some bosses, I would Invert, and stand on the ceiling, and use the Heretical Grinder from a distance and damage them without getting touched. But, it'l be good to try out different strategies in the next playthrough. I don't use any of the 3 weapons listed, so that's a non-issue for me.

Overall, I've had a lot of fun with the Switch version of Bloodstained, and look forward to playing it again, soon enough. Tho, I bought Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble, and am in the middle of the campaign on that. However, I'm here in San Diego for the big Comic-Con event, so, been enjoying that event, and haven't been able to play my Switch much... tho I did get to play most of Nintendo games at Comic-Con. Including Link's Awakening, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 (which I played before it released, and then bought after it released), among others. But I'll get to play everything soon enough, and then, eventually, work my way back around to playing Bloodstained again. Looking forward to playing it on the Switch again.

How on Earth are performance issues like input lag and poor FPS not a priority? I get the feeling this project came extremely close to disaster and they released what they did because they were on their arse. Just one bad decision after another and it’s a miracle it actually “completed”

As annoying as the “release bad, fix later” culture is, I feel it could make a cool art exhibit.

Artist could produce a terrible painting and have it put in a gallery. In the middle of the night they go in and touch it up over the course of a month or so until it’s better. It would be a comment on patch culture in general, how games/social media/streaming are constantly quietly being tweaked.

@DarkLloyd Yea, dont bother with the update, at least until you clear the game. Ive beaten it on switch, loved every minute. Not thrilled with them weakening some of my fav shards and weapons.

I played through the game on Switch and loved it.
For the record, there is nothing wrong with the game at all.
My ONLY complaint is that it would crash once in a while when i went to the shop room in town. (So make sure you hit the save room before talking to Dominique or Susie!!!)

Im not patching my copy if they are gonna weaken my fav weapons and shards and familiars. I already beat the game so im content.
At least i can new-game-plus and cheat some of that problem to a degree. (They didnt say they weakened the Oracle Blade, which was probably my favorite). And also, I have a hard copy of the game, so I can always delete the update data and play the original version of the game ( just one more reason game carts are kind of a good idea).

Really? Balancing the game is something worth complaining about? I used Welcome Company through my whole PT sure, it was good, too good, so good that it completely stopped me from experimenting with other stuff in the game.

Should've asked Panic Button to port this game.

Glad I beat it already. I don't understand why they are rebalancing a single player game.

Really loving the game on PS4, for the little bits of time I get to play it. It's a shame about the Switch version.

Bloodstained is probably the best side scroller game I have played in a decade. I am obsessed with it and have already logged in 63hrs. I welcome the PATCH, it got way too easy once my my HP got above 2,000.

Bought the backer version that was supposed to come with a bunch of extras, and didn't. And the game is buggy. Easily my worst video game purchase so far. Class action lawsuit needs to occur since this was shipped beyond broken, and also not complete like I paid for. Fangamer is what I used.

I didn’t “punish” them by buying the game on a different platform. Sorry, but as a multiplatform owner, I’m not going to buy the game on PS4 to reward them for crapping out a port on Switch. The Switch should have been able to run this game with ease! I have more than enough to play, and Metroidvanias are rampant on Switch.

I’ll stick to Hollow Knight.

Thank god about the "Map close button has been remapped to standard exit/close button". That was really pissing me off! I was instinctively hitting B all the time, rather than minus-button. The minus is in an awkward spot too. I also don't like that the map doesn't remember its position. Typically I zoom in and centre it, and need to do this every single time. Get with the program! These are basic issues that even 5 minutes of testing would reveal is unacceptable.

Overall, I've had no problems with the Switch version. While it slows down in parts, it's perfectly playable. I had no hesitation to buy, too, despite owning a PS4. I love the freedom of playing handheld. That still doesn't absolve the fact this game should be much better technically. It's a 2D game and it simply should have been limited so it runs perfectly on the Switch. It seems with the stupid "pro" PS and XB about, they ramped up the graphics for those before trying to scale them back for the Switch. Bad move!

@BENDsli Same here.

Personally, I'm kinda happy that they dropped the ball on this one. With all the upcoming releases and my backlog, they just made my decision making process a whole lot easier.

Not buying this one at all. Launch a broken game, not going for it even if it gets patch eventually. At the very least, fixing the Switch version should of been top priority, but clearly it's not. I'll just stick the DS Castlevania games, and Symphony of the Night.

The Switch version is still totally playable, whilst its rather annoying that it is a pretty poor quality ( no surprises by now surely ) port it isn't broken like everyone makes out. I have put enough hours into it and i'm not infuriated by input lag or anything else. It could look much much better and as an original backer i wish i had opted for the PS4 version.

One of the worst ports ever, at least on Switch. There's no reason for this game to be released in this state; as a collector of physical copies, they can release 10 patches that fix SOME of these issues: it's meaningless to me.
Having said that, I'm traded my copy for the PS4 one and I'm in love with the game. It's such a shame they didn't do the right thing for the platform that needed it the most (since I've read the Switch version was the best selling one).

Disgusting and disappointing update, they should focus first to release fix for Switch port, I cannot play with that input lag!

ive really enjoyed the game, a few frame rate issues but nothing that affects the game. Also input lag is frustrating but you get used to it pretty quickly, i did anyway.
Yeah its not as pretty but i have enjoyed it all the way through.

I hate this game. Even when I will finally play it, whenever it is "really" fixed - I honestly doubt it'll be good enough to make up for all the anger, frustration, and disappointment it has ALREADY made me feel.

I was one of the FIRST backers of this game on Kickstarter. I paid $110 for this game to happen.
I am waiting for a "fix" - and while I'm waiting, a DLC already came out! And there is talk of another one! Just shows how "urgent" the fix is, to the company. Priority rank: 4 out of 5.

This game shouldn't have been released for the switch at all. That's what is going on here.
The fix could take half a year judging by how slowly they're moving.

What I THOUGHT I was backing: A retro style 2D Castlevania style.
What I was actually backing: A ridiculously heavyweight 2.5D game.

Did you know?:
The game was ready a year ago or more. The release was delayed so much.. you know why? Because the Creator's ego was offended some backers called the graphics "outdated". Maybe it's because the internet is new to him that it surprised him that it's not always good reviews.
So he made sure the graphics were... "Upgraded".
Ridiculous. Unnecessary. Just disappointing on so many levels...
Who cares about the graphics? When I back an Indie game, I'm basically shouting: "I want good content! Graphics are secondary to me!"
One has to be blind or deaf to miss this obvious point.

Now I get to see players who played on the PS4 and Xbox One satisfied well I wait for a fix to something that was supposed to work in the first place.

Pain. This game is causing me pain. I wish I'd never backed it. I wish I could get my money back, so I could sit by the sidelines and laugh at the backers, while I wait to see if it is fixed at all.