PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I have been a gamer all of my life. I grew up on the NES playing games like Super Mario Bros and Castlevania. Imagine my excitement when I start seeing 8-bit and 16-bit-style games making a comeback. I know there have been many others along these lines the past couple of years, but none got me more excited then seeing the trailer for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon! If you are curious to see what I’m talking about, check out the trailer below.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon was a stretch goal on Kickstarter for Koji Igarashi’s (Castlevania series) newest game, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Indie game company Inti Creates are the developers of both Bloodstained games. While Ritual of the Night is a more modern take on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an 8-bit prequel that was sent out early to backers and on May 24, 2018. It was eventually released and is now available on all current gen platforms via download purchase.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a story about Zangetsu, a demon hunter who bears a deep grudge against any kind of demonic creature. He feels the existence of a very powerful demon with a terrifying aura and embarks on a journey seeking to destroy this Archdemon. Along the way, he encounters allies who are willing to help him stop this Archdemon from taking over the world.
The game borrows a lot of its mechanics from the NES classic, Castlevania III. For example: one of the gameplay mechanics is swapping between four different characters, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses, but I will get to that in a little bit. While being very similar to Castlevania III almost to the point of plagiarism, this game ends up being a true homage to that metroidvania style gameplay, while being innovative in its own right.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon looks and feels exactly like the games it is paying homage to. The 8-bit-style graphics and gothic settings are a true love letter to the Castlevania’s of old, even including the character, Zegetsu, and his weapons of sword and whip. The boss fights, however, play out more like the ones in Mega-Man, where the bosses are epic set pieces and have specific weaknesses that the other playable characters you can swap between can possess.
Speaking of the other characters, the core mechanic of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is swapping back and forth between these unique characters at a moment’s notice. You have the Demon Hunter, Zengetsu, who uses sword and whip; the Alchemist, Alfred, who uses a rod and alchemy but has a smaller health bar; the Shardbinder, Miriam, who uses a whip and dagger while being able to slide; and Gebel, a vampire-like character who has a darkness attack and can turn into a bat and fly long distances.
Swapping between characters is actually very easy. Just press one of the triggers and you instantly switch between them without losing a beat. That is what makes Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon so much fun. I spent plenty of time experimenting with each character, figuring out their strengths and weaknesses. A word of warning, however, if you lose one of the characters in combat, they will be gone for the rest of that level, until all of them are dead and you have to restart.
The next thing I want to talk about is the score. Michiru Yamane, who composed the scores for many of the classic Castlevania games, is the composer for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. The music has the same vibe and atmosphere that we all know and love from the games this one is paying homage to. When I first started the game and heard those familiar chimes and orchestral sounds, I felt this warm sense of nostalgia wash over me, and it brought me back to when I would be playing video games as a child. Needless to say, it brought a smile to my face.
Overall, what did I think of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon? I absolutely loved everything about it, from the graphics, the score, and the gameplay. It was what I was expecting and then some! The game was challenging, but not to the point where I got frustrated and wanted to quit. It even has options to play it with unlimited lives or go old school and play with only three lives. The story was also intriguing and gave me just enough of a taste that I cannot wait to play Ritual of the Night when that gets released. With a price tag of $9.99, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is worth every penny, and I can’t recommend it enough!
