I haven't been keeping score, but I did just take a look at my list and realized I've crossed off over 20 games in this Game Pass PC binge. Let's keep the momentum rolling! BACKGROUND:
I'm a casual fan of Castlevania, and a big fan of the Metroidvania genre in general, so the Kickstarter for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was one I was aware of (but didn't really follow). At the time, it was planned for release on the Wii U, so I waited for that, but it never came to pass because the Switch was revealed during the game's development. As such, I found myself waiting for the Switch version instead. Before Ritual of the Night came out, the companion game Curse of the Moon (which was one of the stretch goals of the Kickstarter campaign) came out. I got that game and really enjoyed it (more on that here), and that made me more excited to check out this game. Though I'm about a year late, I'm getting around to it now thanks to Game Pass PC. PLOT: Ritual of the Night is set in 18th century England. The Industrial Revolution is in full swing, and the Alchemy Guild's members are upset that people are turning to machines over their craft. In what is probably up there as one of the most extreme responses to being ignored, the guild begins messing with the occult and starts summoning demons in a roundabout attempt to scare people into relying on alchemy. It ends as well as you expect, as the country is absolutely devastated by the onslaught of demons. The game begins in earnest a decade after this disaster. We follow a woman named Miriam, who is accompanied by former Alchemy Guild member Johannes on a journey to Arvantville. They came here to investigate an ominous castle full of demons, and hopefully find a way to stop further disaster. Along the way, they'll encounter other curious characters, like Zangetsu (the enigmatic swordsman), Dominique (the helpful exorcist), and Alfred (also from the Alchemy Guild). They'll also come face to face with Miriam's old friend Gebel, who is responsible for the castle's existence and is planning a terrifying attack. Miriam is unique in that she's a Shardbinder. That means she is the result of the alchemists' experiments to fuse demonic crystals to human bodies (resulting in the notable stained glass patterns on her skin). Because of this, Miriam is able to use the powers of demons (by absorbing their crystal shards) to her advantage, and she will need all the help she can get if she hopes to stop Gebel. Gebel is a Shardbinder himself, however, so Miriam has an uphill battle ahead of her. I was concerned that they'd make this game's story a little too close to Castlevania (which is usually some variation of "find the dumbass vampire in this whack-ass castle and kill their ass"), but I have to say that this is pretty different. I like the concept of the demon apocalypse actually being caused by humans, and I found the whole idea of the Shardbinders interesting. Of course, the "hero explores monster-infested castle and kills chief asshole in castle" is similar, but they do subvert expectations a little bit at the end. Overall, I liked the story (largely because of the world-building), but I wouldn't say that it's perfect by any stretch. There are a few contrivances here and there, and there are certain things that could have used clarification. A lot of my qualms revolve around the game's big twist, so I can't really elaborate without spoiling anything. One thing I can elaborate on is that some of the relationships between characters could have used fleshing out. Interestingly, the game has three endings, but two of those endings actually result in a game over. I would have liked these bad endings more if they actually took the time to explore the consequences of your actions; instead, all you get are a few lines of cryptic dialogue from the characters before you're hit with the game over. PRESENTATION: Though Ritual of the Night's gameplay has a 2D perspective, everything from characters and background elements are full 3D models, coming together as what's referred to as a 2.5D perspective/style. The models look great and the level designs are memorable, though I found some of the animations to be a bit off (the human characters tend to have weirdly slow and awkward movement, for example). The designs in this game are rather inspired. Miriam herself has a really cool design (the stained glass thing is such a neat idea), and there's a lot of variety in the demon designs (a few of them are incredibly weird in a good way, and some of the bosses look absolutely wild). Having played Curse of the Moon first, it's pretty awesome to see characters, enemies, and locations fully realized in 3D. The music feels like classic Castlevania soundtracks, with symphonic tunes that complement the gothic vibe of the game. The first area of the castle alone has amazing music. This game has full voice acting, and it's pretty decent, although the lip syncing with the models isn't that great. GAMEPLAY: I've said "Castlevania" three times already, so you can probably guess that Ritual of the Night plays like a Castlevania game. Though that is correct in itself, it would be more accurate to say that it plays like the Metroidvania-style Castlevania games (e.g. Symphony of the Night and nearly every other game after that). That means you've got one huge-ass map to explore, abilities to find, collectibles to collect, and loads of backtracking. Ritual of the Night also retains the RPG elements of Symphony of the Night-style games, which means you earn XP when killing enemies, you have various stats to keep track of, the ability to change your equipped weapon and armor, access to consumable items, and you even earn money that you can spend at the shop. In terms of weapons, you have a good number of options, from different swords, clubs, lances, axes, and even guns. They all do different types of damage, which means certain weapons may be more or less effective on certain enemies. Some are even imbued with special properties like elemental damage. The guns are unique in that you can use various ammo types to change things like damage output or add status effects. Enemies come in all shapes and sizes, and while you can apply the same "hit it until it dies" strategy to most of them, there's actually some benefit to mixing and matching your loadouts to deal with different enemies. Some enemy types are weak to specific weapons or types of elemental damage, for example. Either way, killing enemies not only gives you XP, but they can sometimes drop various items that can help you on your journey. The most unique drop you can get from enemies are Shards. Along with weapons and armor, you can equip various Shards to give Miriam access to all sorts of abilities. There are different types of Shards, but they can be narrowed down to spell-type Shards (which you cast manually and expend MP on use), Shards that give you passive buffs, Shards that summon familiars, and Shards that grant you special abilities. Some of these Shards actually serve as your traversal upgrades; for example, double jump is something you acquire by absorbing the Shard of a boss. I very much like the idea of Shards, as it reminds me of how you take the ability of the boss after defeating one in a Mega Man game, and I like how some of them end up being the answer to certain puzzles. My only issue is that Shards are still technically a random drop for majority of the enemies, so you have to grind if you want a particular one. You can also make Shards stronger by acquiring duplicates, but again, that's more grinding. I personally didn't have any issues getting the Shards I wanted in my playthrough, but I could see this potentially becoming a source of frustration for other players. In addition to Shards, enemies can drop materials. These are used in the game's alchemy mechanic, which allows you to put various raw materials together to create consumables, weapons, armor, and more. You can even enhance your Shards through this mechanic. It's a simple crafting mechanic that really comes in handy, but since a lot of the materials are random enemy drops, there's still unfortunately an element of grinding to it. The game's map is pretty expansive, and there are a good amount of areas that are hiding secrets like chests, health upgrades, and even optional bosses. You can also find journals that either expand on the game's lore or teach you special techniques (like a unique command input for specific weapons that gives you a special attack, something I thought was really neat). Backtracking is made relatively easy thanks to a number of fast travel points, though you'll still be doing a lot of walking around for certain areas. Overall, I had a fun time scouring every corner, but I do have one specific issue with how the game handles a specific aspect of exploration. It's a typical Metroidvania trope to have areas that are blocked off until you get an ability that lets you pass through. Ritual of the Night does that well for the most part, but the problem is how it gives you some of those abilities. One of the items that lets you get past a specific area is in a random chest in a far corner somewhere (which you may or may not think to check), another Shard ability you need to progress through an entire section of the map is obtained from a regular enemy (as opposed to a boss, which you are guaranteed to fight at one point or another), and it's entirely possible to not get another key item if you're not particularly chatty with NPCs. It's extra weird as well because some of the mandatory bosses you fight in this game don't actually give you progression items; why not just put them there? Having played my fair share of these games (and having sat through more obtuse puzzles than what I encountered here), I didn't really get stuck for very long, but I can easily see this frustrating other people who maybe aren't as explorative as I am. Games like this have a tendency to make you sweep every last nook and cranny for a solution (because surely the answer must be around here somewhere), and as much as I enjoy doing that, one can absolutely take that idea a bit too far (which I feel this game did). I suppose it's more in line with how the older Metroidvanias used to be, but I think it's a design aspect that hasn't aged well. Another thing that could end up confusing other players is the multiple endings. As I mentioned, two of those endings result in game overs, and the solution to opening the way for the true ending isn't immediately obvious (but is hinted at). This is definitely another case of "keep exploring and you'll find the answer", but I found this instance less egregious (mostly because the reveal was a genuinely badass moment). Once you've beaten the game, you can either take a crack at another playthrough on another difficulty, or even play through the entire thing as Zangetsu instead of Miriam (who plays quite differently). In addition, there are extra modes like Boss Rush, Speedrun Mode, Boss Revenge (a mode that lets you face off against Zangetsu/Miriam as one of a small selection of the bosses you fought in the main game), and Randomizer Mode (which allows you to randomize certain aspects of gameplay). You can actually customize Miriam's look via an NPC and change things like her hair and skin color. I thought this was fun, but I found it odd that the clothing you equip is inconsistent in terms of whether Miriam's model would be updated or not. I observed that most outfits don't change her default, but some do. I'm not outright criticizing this (outfit swaps aren't as easy to program as it looks), but I did just find it strange. I think I've covered everything (or mostly everything), but I do want to mention something about Miriam's movement. She has the ability to backstep (which does what you think it does), but I found it to be rather finicky to use. Not only does it have terrible range (which means you can't dodge too many attacks), it sometimes just doesn't register my input. Kind of a shame because it's a useful and stylish mechanic. VERDICT: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night manages to be a great spiritual successor to Metroidvania-style Castlevania games with its tried-and-true gameplay, but it manages to carve out its own identity with its unique setting and the novel Shard mechanic. Although I do have my qualms with how the game handles progression items, and how it has some grindy aspects to it (remember: I'm not one to grind in any game), I still really enjoyed playing through the whole thing. I highly recommend this for any Castlevania fans who are itching for a new game in the same style; after all, Koji Igarashi (mastermind behind a lot of fan-favorite Castlevania titles) was the lead developer for this title. I think this is also a good entry point for players who aren't familiar with this style of game (as there is no burden to catch yourself up with decades of Castlevania lore), but I must warn you that this game a) can be grindy, and b) can have some particularly frustrating roadblocks to progression. Here's the game on Steam: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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