What to Play: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

by Opaque Senator, GGR Video Game Reviewer

Kickstarter campaigns have a lot of challenges when it comes to gaming. So many times people back a project and either nothing comes to fruition or the result is less than what was desired (looking at you Mighty No. 9). Every now and again we get titles that do well. The Bloodstained series of games is one such project. The main title for the campaign Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night got enough backing that a bonus title was created called Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (I will shorten this to CotM from here on). I picked up the aforementioned Ritual of the Night for Christmas last year, but did not really want to go through it until I played its counterpart. With the recent release of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 I figured now was as good a time as any to jump in (that and again, Steam Summer sale made all the prices awesome).

Let me say up front, if you are a fan of classic NES style, 8 bit games, this is title you should definitely look at. CotM looks like a classic NES Castlevania title. Not to mention, it plays like one too. And it sounds like one, too! Here’s the theme from stage 2 called Frigid Hell.

Ahhhhh, love the 8 bit sound. Enjoy as you continue to read.

In this title, you take over as main protagonist Zangetsu, a demon hunter who takes a real pleasure in his work. The first three stages each have you encounter a boss who is holding captive the soul of another traveler. First you free Miriam, then Alfred, then Gebel. Now, what you do with these travelers has a bearing on how the rest of your journey in this game will play out. CotM has multiple endings (5 that I've counted so far). The main “good” ending to the game is after freeing these folks, allowing them to join the adventure with Zangetsu. Each character can be selected as playable, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They can also be switched on a dime much like in Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.

Zangetsu is a sword wielder, has good states and medium attack. But he is pretty short ranged. Miriam is the Belmont-like character: using a whip with good range, has the most health and high jump, but struggles with diagonal enemies. Alfred is the mage of the group, with powerful spells, but a limit to how many can be cast. Otherwise he is the squishy one. Gebel is the Alucard of the group, who doesn't have the ability to change out special weapons, but can turn himself into a bat and fly around obstacles. His main point of attack is also like a shotgun blast of bats, it angles up and 3 short range projectiles come out at short distance. Each switches up game play and reveals different pathways due their their various abilities.

I liked all 4 characters, but my favorite was probably Alfred. I love the power in his special abilities, as he can summon a surrounding shield of fire, shoot an ice blast at enemies freezing EVERYTHING, even bosses at least for a bit, summon clones, or this giant electrical storm attack that wreaks havoc on bosses. His fragile nature forces smarter play, which I like.

I also really like the partner mechanic in general. It's quick and easy to switch between characters. I also found the bosses decently interesting, and they all have a final attack once you beat them that you need to avoid. Each character has their own ways to take on the enemies, and you'll want to maximize them all the best you can.

However, you do not need to bring these party members along with you. You can choose to ignore all or some of them, or you can flat out kill them for being demonic beings. If you choose to slay them, Zangetsu gains an additional ability for each one, making him the OG. All of these choices presents you with a different way of progressing through the stages, different options for pathways, and different endings to the game with other unlocks.

You can progress through the game on Casual or Veteran mode. Casual is a great starting point to people new to this style of game, or just never got into something like this and want a comfortable journey. There's infinite lives and none of what we call in the gaming world “knock back.” Knock back is basically when your mid jump or stationary and you get by an enemy or projectile, and it sends you flying backwards...usually down a bottomless pit...

Veteran mode adds a life count and the knock back in there, making this a much more traditional romp with some added frustration, but earns a better feeling of accomplishment upon completion. Completing the game on casual or veteran doesn't make too much difference for things, it's more the choice of how you choose to handle the characters. In addition to those modes, there are also difficulty settings to be chosen. You start off no matter what on normal mode. Completing the game adding all4 characters to your party unlocks Nightmare mode, which is a harder play through of the main game without Zangetsu but with the other 3 party members from the start. Completing Normal mode by killing all the party members unlocks ultimate mode, which gives you Zangetsu with all of those abilities AND the party members. Each methods also has a different ending to the game.

Now, replaying the same game over and over? This must take forever! Actually no, the main game is about a 2 hour go, 3 max if you’re really new to the formula or get frustrated easily. But even with the lives there are unlimited continues, so you will eventually progress. And as I mentioned before, there are multiple pathways littered throughout the level, so you won't be doing the same thing the same way in any play through, especially if you're going for the multiple endings. Then again, there's nothing stopping you from beating the game once and seeing 95% of what's there. I can definitely see someone getting a little fatigued after the second play through But I think there's enough variety that most people who like these style games will get their bit of money's worth.

CotM was a lot of fun, and a great retro-style game to go through. I'll be picking up the sequel in the near future for sure. Game play is solid, if you like what they are emulating, music is good (though the tracks don't stick with you as much as many other 8 bit music can, and there's a lot of variety and difficulty levels to enjoy. It ties to give something to all styles of platform players, which is a definite plus!

So, for those who have stayed until the end...you get to help choose what review I do next! I have a couple of larger games on my docket I have yet to complete. One is the main game to the Bloodstained series I mentioned, Ritual of the Night. Another I have yet to complete is Final Fantasy 7: Remake. Also, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another I'm looking forward to. So in the comments of this article on Facebook, Twitter, or the main article on the GGR site, make your choice! The one with the most votes by a week after publishing will be my next major review!

A. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
B. Final Fantasy 7: Remake
C. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 

That's all for now! As always, in the truly opaque world, I hope this makes things a bit more clear...