Bloodstained Curse of the Moon

🎮 Steam ⏳ 10 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Classic Castlevania Tribute #

This is a retro-inspired action platformer created by Inti Creates as a companion project to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It serves as a love letter to classic NES Castlevania games, particularly Castlevania III, with its 8-bit visuals, gothic atmosphere, and deliberate platforming. It even has some of the same creators of the original classic Castlevania titles making this game, so you know that you are in for an amazing experience.

Strategic Character Switching #

The MC is called Zangetsu, a demon slayer who can recruit other characters along the way, including Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel, which are all playable. Each character has distinct abilities that add strategic variety and allow for multiple ways to approach stages and bosses. Switching between them in real time is one of the game’s strongest mechanics, encouraging experimentation and tactical play. Not a very unique mechanic, for example, Trine has done this a very long time ago, but since the level design is very high quality, it makes it so that this mechanic is masterfully implemented.

Short Yet Replayable #

The game is short, often completable in just a couple of hours, but it makes up for that with branching paths, multiple endings, and several difficulty modes that reward replaying. I highly recommend doing 100% on this one, it is very rewarding and it was really meant to be played this way, the regular mainline quest is just half of it, but be aware that it’ll be a much more challenging playthrough. Its music and pixel art capture the spirit of late-80s action games, while subtle quality-of-life improvements prevent it from feeling dated, so if you are no a fan of this I recommend skipping this one.

Faithful Gothic Action #

While some people may find the controls stiff compared to modern platformers, the overall package delivers exactly what it promises: a polished, faithful homage to the golden age of side-scrolling gothic action. It’s a compact but memorable experience for fans of classic Castlevania or anyone looking for a nostalgic yet well-crafted challenge. I’m a big fan of the Castlevania series and I consider this one of the best games that I’ve ever played, don’t skip it if you are into any of that to any extent.