Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night ( Koji Igarashi ) PS4/X1/PC

Xenji

It is going to be a 2.5D exploration-focused, side-scrolling platformer featuring RPG and crafting elements, the music will be handled by Michiru Yamane ( Castlevania, Suikoden, Contra )

It will be Kickstarter funded and for the first time backers will actually be able to get a physical copy of the game.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night

Xenji

Pledged already for the $60 special edition, in less than a few hours its has already reached $436,643 in funding.

johnny_ultimate

Hey it's a famous game creator using Kickstarter to part fund an entirely new, unexpected game that departs radically from what they've done before!

Oh of course not, that would never happen! It's just another famous game creator using Kickstarter to part fund a retro throwback to their most famous work

Actually looking forward to this given the prestige, but I do think it's an increasing shame that pretty much every major Kickstarter project plays the nostalgia card like this. Highlights the limitations of the service and crowd funding in general IMO for all but games working on much smaller budgets. Also fear it means developers will be less inclined to experiment when there's the easy call of the nostalgia dollar.

No doubt this will be an excellent game so maybe the wrong thread for this more general complaint, but I dunno growing a bit jaded with a nearly constant parade of games looking backwards instead of forwards. Fingers crossed though that Igarashi can subvert expectations within the confines of the familiar formula.

Retr0gamer

While you are right JU, it's annoying that all these kickstarters that are wildly successful are never anything wildly new or inventive, I kind of file this one with Pillars of Eternity where just like Obsidian there are many imitators of the metroidvania style but nothing has even come close to the Iga games. Highly praised stuff like Guacamelee while good don't even come close.

K.O.Kiki

Also further proof that Konami are a shower of game-hating cúnts.

Wow even throwing back to Konami's most well know voice actor to sell it.

Hayter should take the cheque and phone it in :pac:

Edit: Also 100k to develop a nightmare difficulty mode ???? GTFO thats more like 300k after they do some numbers cheeky so and so's

gizmo

Retr0gamer wrote: »

While you are right JU, it's annoying that all these kickstarters that are wildly successful are never anything wildly new or inventive, I kind of file this one with Pillars of Eternity where just like Obsidian there are many imitators of the metroidvania style but nothing has even come close to the Iga games. Highly praised stuff like Guacamelee while good don't even come close.

It's almost like many gamers, despite clamoring for "new" things and berating publishers for not taking risks with projects are as risk-averse as those they criticise. :pac:

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Also further proof that Konami are a shower of game-hating cúnts.

Alas, if Konami were the only game hating ***** involved, Igarashi wouldn't be looking to KS to both provide additional, non-publishes based funding for the project and show there is interest in such a game.

Retr0gamer

The problem is that the game despite how successful it will be isn't worth a publishers time unless it has the potential to bring in millions rather than a few million.

johnny_ultimate

I'm not entirely convinced by that, I'm sure there are medium sized to smaller publishers who would happily support games like this however they can - there's clearly a market for it, even if it's niche. Given this has already received significant investment before the Kickstarter, I think this is as much pure marketing as it is the only thing that will get this game made - or at least a Kickstarter is a demand in return for the investment. There's the side of Kickstarter that's a glorified pre-ordering service - and, given the always significant costs of fulfilling rewards, it can't surely be just about the money.

gizmo

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The problem is that the game despite how successful it will be isn't worth a publishers time unless it has the potential to bring in millions rather than a few million.

That's certainly true of the AAA publishers but there's a nice group of smaller publishers who nearly specialise in these smaller projects. Devolver Digital being my current fave.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm not entirely convinced by that, I'm sure there are medium sized to smaller publishers who would happily support games like this however they can - there's clearly a market for it, even if it's niche. Given this has already received significant investment before the Kickstarter, I think this is as much pure marketing as it is the only thing that will get this game made - or at least a Kickstarter is a demand in return for the investment. There's the side of Kickstarter that's a glorified pre-ordering service - and, given the always significant costs of fulfilling rewards, it can't surely be just about the money.

Yup, and as above some of the stretch goals appear to be things that a smaller publisher may not deem worthy of investment given the potential returns. It's a pretty interesting idea to be fair although, like many here, I'd still like to see smaller more interesting titles get the attention instead.

MrMorooka

Coincidentally played through Aria of Sorrow over the bank holiday weekend. If this game can compare to that, it might be good. But in general, I'm not going to pay money for a game that doesn't even exist, and may never exist. The involvement of Inti Creates is worrying, giving the bad things I've head about Mn9. I also find that with these KS games you get very young teams(since experienced programmers and developers will care about stuff like long term salary, health insurance and benefits that you can't get from a fly-by-night crowdfunded company), so they come off feeling sort of cheap, and generally suffer delays and problems from a lack of development expertise.

Personally I also love the Castlevania aesthetic, lore, and enemy design, and a game with that gameplay but without that layer just won't appeal to me as much. Exploring a generic dungeon instead of Dracula's castle with iconic enemies like Death, Legion, abilities to transform into a vampire bat, the feeling of an ongoing conflict between Dracula and humanity(bolstered by the fact there are so many games out there in different eras but in the same universe) and the whole gothic feel is just not the same.

I will agree, that with all the metroidvania games out there, only Super Metroid, SotN and the Iga portable vanias are actually any good.

Nonetheless, if the game comes out, and it's good, and there is not a ridiculous amount of content locked to backers, and the game is not full of memes and references to other games(already the developer of Dust has talked about getting his weapon design in the game, and you just know there will be a ****ing creeper enemy or pickaxe weapon), I will pick it up retail.

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I'm not entirely convinced by that, I'm sure there are medium sized to smaller publishers who would happily support games like this however they can - there's clearly a market for it, even if it's niche. Given this has already received significant investment before the Kickstarter, I think this is as much pure marketing as it is the only thing that will get this game made - or at least a Kickstarter is a demand in return for the investment. There's the side of Kickstarter that's a glorified pre-ordering service - and, given the always significant costs of fulfilling rewards, it can't surely be just about the money.

It's not about money at all. It's more about man power. With a small project like this you will be dedicating the same amount of manpower to the project that you would dedicate to a bigger production.

It's the same with smaller publishers, they can only really dedicate to so many projects before you stretch yourself thin. Someone like Devolver would also have to hire japanese speaking staff which is an even bigger overhead, there really are no equivalents to those smaller publishers in Japan.

MrMorooka wrote: »

The involvement of Inti Creates is worrying, giving the bad things I've head about Mn9.

I'd actually say that the involvement of Inti Creates is a good thing since they have a track record of delivering finished projects and most of their games have at worst been good and at best been absolute classics and they have a great background in working in 2D game design considering their previous work with Capcom. I played Mighty No. 9 in Japan at the weekend at the indie festival and it seemed like a lot of fun to me, not sure where the negativity is from?

MrMorooka

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I played Mighty No. 9 in Japan at the weekend at the indie festival and it seemed like a lot of fun to me, not sure where the negativity is from?

Some quotes from reddit.

Because the people who played the beta/demo have been overwhelmingly disappointed. Maybe the ones who are just happen to be very vocal. I played it and found it to be garbage, I backed what I was lead to believe was a megaman clone, by the founder of megaman. What I got was some horrible abomination that feels awkward to play, has no difficulty, isn't fun nor engaging at all. It also looks like ****.
I cannot possible foresee it becoming good as it is apparent to me the very foundation of the gameplay is flawed.

Bland, repetitive gameplay, mediocre music, terrible visual design, and controls that are just functional.

Shoot enemies 2-3 times, dash, repeat infinitely.

Aside from the disappointing visuals, they took the homage a bit too far and didn't bother to innovate on it at all. It's more of a cut and paste job than a reimagined tribute.

Retr0gamer

Well I was told by a guy from Inti Creates after the beta that what they have shown is just a tutorial and the rest of the game is much tougher, especially the bosses. I really liked the dashing mechanic, found it a lot of fun to use and it was satisfying setting up combos, although not as much fun as Gunvolt, the other recent Inti Creates game. I'll wait until I read some real journalistic responses because Reddit user quotes really aren't anything I'd base a purchasing decision on.

Xenji

It took just over 4 hours for the game to reach its $800k goal, in 24 hours it now has $1,430,222, Koji is really held in very high esteem by many gamers.

Retr0gamer

Let's just not mention Nanobreaker...

Xenji

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Let's just not mention Nanobreaker...

But..the gore...the violence....the blood...

Zapp Brannigan

Backed.

johnny_ultimate

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's not about money at all. It's more about man power. With a small project like this you will be dedicating the same amount of manpower to the project that you would dedicate to a bigger production.

Bit confused about what you mean here. Surely money is necessary to secure this manpower?

Anyway I remain unconvinced that a lot of these retro throwbacks wouldn't get made without Kickstarter, and ultimately they serve more as marketing campaigns and 'gamer approved' preordering systems (often years before the final thing is finished). I don't think Kickstarter alone can sustain even many medium-budget games without significant investment from elsewhere - just look at what happened with Broken Age, which was pretty much as successful as you can hope to be on Kickstarter. And ultimately when it comes to original games, there seems to be a very clear limit with crowdfunding (some of the high-profile successful ones just about hit the €100,000 mark, which is barely enough to sustain a one or two person team when you take expenses into account). It's simply disappointing that the potential of the platform seems so very limited these days, with only what I'd consider very safe bets like 'spiritual successors' to fan favourites hitting the funding ceilings. Would be nice to see an example of a major creator enjoying this level of success without having to fall explicitly back on their past work and the creative limitations that ensue.

Xenji

Bloodstained is now the most funded video game ever on Kickstarter, it ended with $5,545,991.

YouSavedMyLife

Xenji wrote: »

Bloodstained is now the most funded video game ever on Kickstarter, it ended with $5,545,991.

Holy ****

penev10

Xenji wrote: »

Bloodstained is now the most funded video game ever on Kickstarter, it ended with $5,545,991.

Vita and WiiU versions too due to demand.

Xenji

penev10 wrote: »

Vita and WiiU versions too due to demand.

Will look great on the Vita, cross save as well.

Lahinchians

Very happy I just picked up a vita then

MrMorooka

Xenji wrote: »

Bloodstained is now the most funded video game ever on Kickstarter, it ended with $5,545,991.

Of course, even that is really not enough to make the game- it is getting outside funding. Remember that 10 devs for a year (with overheads) is likely to basically eat $1m straight off the back.

Mr. K

Even without enemies, this looks so good!

Yesterday's email update prompted me to check out much I spent backing this - $110. Clearly, the prospect excited me quite a bit. Thankfully, it still does.

Retr0gamer

Anyone play the E3 demo yet. I'm quite impressed. Really does capture the Iga-vania style down to a tee. Plenty of work still left but they are definitely heading in the right direction with this.

Links234

Watched Jim Sterling's vid of it earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHus7BLqReA

Yeah, looks alright.

He also had to offer a sincere apology after that went up though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5iSYuKPvzY

Doodleking

It's kinda a 2D Castlevania revival

Xenji

Doodleking wrote: »

It's kinda a 2D Castlevania revival

Igrashi was the producer on around 15 Castlevania games and a writer on a few of them as well.

Xenji

Still optimistic as I have backed it, hoping it is a great game.

Sephiroth_dude

Check for your code Xenji

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlDq0FQS15o

weemcd

Fuck me lads you waited 3 years for that?:rolleyes:

johnny_ultimate

weemcd wrote: »

Fuck me lads you waited 3 years for that?:rolleyes:

That’s a bonus 8-bit spin-off game rather than the main game. Not that a spiritual successor to NES-era Castlevania is something to be sniffed at

Mr E

WayForward joins the Bloodstained development team
https://nintendoeverything.com/wayforward-joins-the-bloodstained-development-team/

I think the game is still a while away if they have a new team joining to help (although a great team - WayForward are amazing).

Retr0gamer

They have a reputation for putting games out so hopefully it means we see the game soon and it doesn't become bloated with feature creep.

At least we got Curse of the Moon out of it which is a GotY contender.

nix

is curse of the moon good? it looks short and maybe not worth the money im thinking.. I'm looking for something like dead cells but with more story i guess.... Hollow knight was good but i kinda got bored of it... Same with salt and sanctuary

Retr0gamer

nix wrote: »

is curse of the moon good? it looks short and maybe not worth the money im thinking.. I'm looking for something like dead cells but with more story i guess.... Hollow knight was good but i kinda got bored of it... Same with salt and sanctuary

It's excellent, even better when you get it for free as a backer.

It's more of a linear game though. More Castlevania 3 than a metroidvania. It is short though.

YouSavedMyLife

nix wrote: »

is curse of the moon good? it looks short and maybe not worth the money im thinking.. I'm looking for something like dead cells but with more story i guess.... Hollow knight was good but i kinda got bored of it... Same with salt and sanctuary

THE MESSENGER. I just finished it today, fantastic game.

Retr0gamer

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

THE MESSENGER. I just finished it today, fantastic game.

This man has great knowledge. Take his advice.

johnny_ultimate

I really liked The Messenger, although felt the second half of the game (those who’ve played it know what I’m talking about) was somewhat awkward at times due to some clunky backtracking - it was a brilliant idea that wasn’t fully realised IMO. It came admirably close, but the level design can’t quite keep up with the two different things the developers are trying to do.

Still, lot of admiration for the game for what it did, and it feels great to play for long stretches (retro feel with just the right amount of modern bells and whistles). Definitely recommend it. Not Celeste or Hollow Knight great, but it’s been a particular stellar year or two for 2d titles.

YouSavedMyLife

So this game is out in about 7 hours, sneaked up on me. Anyone played the early access versions of the game? Worth the 35 Euro?

Nody

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

So this game is out in about 7 hours, sneaked up on me. Anyone played the early access versions of the game? Worth the 35 Euro?

Not played the early access version but $28 kickstarter reporting in :P

Retr0gamer

I think I'll drop everything for this. Just love the Vania games and SotN is a masterpiece. I hope they went the extra mile with all the unnecessary detail that went into SotN.

Mr E

I saw this link on Facebook (if you're interested in watching a review).

Summary:

great game, great music, some glitches but nothing game breaking. Final score: 8.5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrxvERVN7ig

YouSavedMyLife

Bought it and been playing for about an hour and a half. Magic seems really strong. It does alot of damage, there are lots of mana pick ups and mana replenishes over time. There are no health pick-ups so far from what i played, so buying potions seems a must. Don't recall if the older Castlevania games had potions or not...

Animation cancelling is in the game, it was the first thing i checked when i got a weapons So im using a whip which has alot of recovery time, but if i jump and land an attack just before i land i can go right into another attack and then cancel the animation on that with a backstep and go right into another attack. Satisfying.

So yeah, its keeping my attention thus far.

Retr0gamer

Animation cancelling and no health restores is in line with the metroidvanias.

I'm waiting on it to download. ****ty internet here means I'm only getting 150 kb/s

Sephiroth_dude

Week early for backers?

Star Lord

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Week early for backers?

Don't think so, today was the release date (switch is this day next week)

[Edit]
Maybe I'm wrong, doesn't seem to be available on the ps app anyway... But heard people say they bought it, and weren't backers, so I don't know...

There on Xbox to buy, didn't realise it had local co-op. Could be one for us to row over here :pac:

Retr0gamer

Played a little of it last night. Quite impressed so far but it's early days. The graphics have improved a huge amount since the E3 demo. Also they have nailed the movement, it's a joy to control.

Seems to be a lot of weapons and systems to play around with as well, hopefully they get a little crazier later on.