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“Bloodstained is a good Metroidvania” would be the most fitting description I can use for this game. It does nothing outstandingly well, yet everything is polished enough to be considered above average.

The word Metroidvania is a combination of the originators (Metroid and Castlevania). Over time this genre has been popularized by Indie developers as the money needed to produce a Metroidvania is on the low side for a game.
But nothing never caught the mystique of the original titles and especially Castlevania Symphony of The Night and Super Metroid has become the platonic ideals and whenever a Metroidvania gets released, the first question is:
Is this game as good as one of them?
As of writing this review, Metroid Dread is going for a victory lap, yet Bloodstained was the first spiritual “sequel” by the maker of Castlevania Symphony of the Night: Koji Igarashi. While not the only responsible person, his name has been deeply connected with the word Metroidvania. As such a subcategory of Metroidvanias is called Igavania (Metroidvania that with a gothic theme, castle, and RPG mechanics). You are allowed to guess what specific genre Bloodstained belongs to.
In terms of criteria for an Igavania: Gothic theme and RPG mechanics. Yet I would say that this name was coined by marketing. Especially Bloodstained is something that “suffered” from superb reception, even at its conception. The Kickstarter campaign was extremely successful and instead of the targeted 500k goal, Bloodstained reached 5 million freedom dollars.
Spoiler: This does not show at every corner of Bloodstained.


Bloodstaineds greatest asset is the gameplay but it also lacks many problems.
The basic principle is that shards exist and they provide you powers. Every shard has a type and of every type one shard can be equipped. Almost every enemy drops its own unique shard.
This is insane and makes (as well as breaks) the game. Do you want to go for a magic build? Possible. Strength? Possible. Speed? Also possible. Multiple different weapon categories stand ready to be utilized and everything is more or less viable.
Where is the catch? It is too much and most things can not be used with reasonable effort. Shards have to be farmed and upgraded. Some shards are easier to be farmed and some are easier to be upgraded.
Sometimes shards are easy to be done for both. Of course, the attention-paying reader will realize:
Don’t I need only one shard?
Well, no. Shards become stronger, if you have more of them in your inventory, up to a maximum of 9. So you need to farm the shard multiple times and have to upgrade one single shard to the max.
This means that your first run will always be: Which shard can easily be farmed and maxed?
And after that most players will not go for a second run in New Game + which makes much of the toolbox useless. Bloodstained suffered from that approach because the game itself becomes unpolished over time: If everything needs to be viable but you do not have the time to make specific challenges for different builds. This means that most enemies become objects to be damaged rushed and smart approaches are unnecessary. If your build provides range and damage, you already reached perfection.

And this idea of creating much without depth is noteworthy at anything that is not the soundtrack (the OST slaps).
The visuals can be great yet sometimes the textures look like early PS2. The story has potential but it remains flat and uninteresting. The characters have great introductions but they are never given the time to properly develop. Duality is the name of the game, nothing can be in this game without being not polished.
Still: Throwing so many new things at the player at any moment is interesting and creates an adrenaline rush of exploration and curiosity: Any step is interesting and will be rewarded with something. Even something like a wall can be
It is difficult to express how good this part is and this makes Bloodstained a great game although it also stops it from reaching the status of a masterpiece.

Bloodstained is short of being a masterpiece because its ambition could not compete with its possibilities. Yet the experience is magical and provides exactly what (I) needed. The need and longing to visit the next corridor and find something new carries this game and makes it so good.
Everything else is neat and may become more relevant with the sequel.

Originally posted by author:

As of now, meme curators dominate Steam. So consider following me for reviews that actually cost me some time (and effort) to create. I don't think this will change much, but the majority of my readers are not followers. I am still going to pump my heart into these reviews.
https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/

[quote] [url=https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/]Check out my curator page for more awesome reviews[/url] [/quote] [h1]TL;DR[/h1] “Bloodstained is a good Metroidvania” would be the most fitting description I can use for this game. It does nothing outstandingly well, yet everything is polished enough to be considered above average. [h1]History Lesson[/h1] The word Metroidvania is a combination of the originators (Metroid and Castlevania). Over time this genre has been popularized by Indie developers as the money needed to produce a Metroidvania is on the low side for a game. But nothing never caught the mystique of the original titles and especially Castlevania Symphony of The Night and Super Metroid has become the platonic ideals and whenever a Metroidvania gets released, the first question is: Is this game as good as one of them? As of writing this review, Metroid Dread is going for a victory lap, yet Bloodstained was the first spiritual “sequel” by the maker of Castlevania Symphony of the Night: Koji Igarashi. While not the only responsible person, his name has been deeply connected with the word Metroidvania. As such a subcategory of Metroidvanias is called Igavania (Metroidvania that with a gothic theme, castle, and RPG mechanics). You are allowed to guess what specific genre Bloodstained belongs to. In terms of criteria for an Igavania: Gothic theme and RPG mechanics. Yet I would say that this name was coined by marketing. Especially Bloodstained is something that “suffered” from superb reception, even at its conception. The Kickstarter campaign was extremely successful and instead of the targeted 500k goal, Bloodstained reached 5 million freedom dollars. Spoiler: This does not show at every corner of Bloodstained. [h1]The Loop – Great And Terrible[/h1] Bloodstaineds greatest asset is the gameplay but it also lacks many problems. The basic principle is that shards exist and they provide you powers. Every shard has a type and of every type one shard can be equipped. Almost every enemy drops its own unique shard. This is insane and makes (as well as breaks) the game. Do you want to go for a magic build? Possible. Strength? Possible. Speed? Also possible. Multiple different weapon categories stand ready to be utilized and everything is more or less viable. Where is the catch? It is too much and most things can not be used with reasonable effort. Shards have to be farmed and upgraded. Some shards are easier to be farmed and some are easier to be upgraded. Sometimes shards are easy to be done for both. Of course, the attention-paying reader will realize: Don’t I need only one shard? Well, no. Shards become stronger, if you have more of them in your inventory, up to a maximum of 9. So you need to farm the shard multiple times and have to upgrade one single shard to the max. This means that your first run will always be: Which shard can easily be farmed and maxed? And after that most players will not go for a second run in New Game + which makes much of the toolbox useless. Bloodstained suffered from that approach because the game itself becomes unpolished over time: If everything needs to be viable but you do not have the time to make specific challenges for different builds. This means that most enemies become objects to be damaged rushed and smart approaches are unnecessary. If your build provides range and damage, you already reached perfection. And this idea of creating much without depth is noteworthy at anything that is not the soundtrack (the OST slaps). The visuals can be great yet sometimes the textures look like early PS2. The story has potential but it remains flat and uninteresting. The characters have great introductions but they are never given the time to properly develop. Duality is the name of the game, nothing can be in this game without being not polished. Still: Throwing so many new things at the player at any moment is interesting and creates an adrenaline rush of exploration and curiosity: Any step is interesting and will be rewarded with something. Even something like a wall can be It is difficult to express how good this part is and this makes Bloodstained a great game although it also stops it from reaching the status of a masterpiece. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Bloodstained is short of being a masterpiece because its ambition could not compete with its possibilities. Yet the experience is magical and provides exactly what (I) needed. The need and longing to visit the next corridor and find something new carries this game and makes it so good. Everything else is neat and may become more relevant with the sequel. [quote=author] As of now, meme curators dominate Steam. So consider following me for reviews that actually cost me some time (and effort) to create. I don't think this will change much, but the majority of my readers are not followers. I am still going to pump my heart into these reviews. https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/31884377-If-It-Is-Insane/ [/quote]