Bloodstained - The Scarlet Engagement announcement

 
 It has been like 6 years since Bloodstained Ritual of the Night got released and Koji Igarashi decided he still got the game and decided to make a sequel! Dubbed as Bloodstained The Scarlet Engagement, this Igavania will be released on 2026 with Multiplatform release on Modern consoles and PC, No Nintendo Switch 2 yet but I reckon the likelihood will be still high considering Ritual of the Moon got Switch Physical release. 

From what has been revealed so far, Scarlet Engagement will take on a century before Ritual of the Moon thus serving as some sort of prequel. But what stands out for me from this Bloodstained is the return Dual character tag team gameplay which is from Portrait of Ruins. This is quite big deal for me because among Nintendo DS Igavania, Portrait of Ruin had the best gameplay experience for me. 

To me, Bloodstained Ritual of the Moon is not exactly the best ever Metroidvania game but it is decent enough to satiate the thirst for Igavania and sufficient to make me invest my attention toward this particular Sequel. Hopefully Koji Igarashi will deliver a good Igavania experience with Scarlet Engagement and if things go well, we could still expect a 3rd Bloodstained main series in the future.

Bloodstained Ritual of the Moon

 One of the most anticipated Kickstarter game out there and this one doesn't disappoint! Bloodstained Ritual of the Moon is the answer that Koji Igarashi gave to the fans after the void of his version of Castlevania for almost a decade. It took four years in development after successfully gaining backing from Kickstarter and unlike Mighty No 9, it  does satisfy the expectation. I played Bloodstained from Switch which is the worst version of the game at the moment due to graphic issue because the game actually look gorgeous in PS4 but Iga did promise to fix the issue.

 The strongest point of Bloodstained is the gameplay which  takes the best bits from each Igavania starting with Symphony of the Night until Order of Ecclessia. Personally i did have fun with this game and enjoy it, however it is still not perfect enough to surpass Iga's Crown Jewel, Symphony of the Night. The weakest point of Bloodstained for me is lack of the immersion and storyline. The Maps in the game had a solid start but it gets rather dull after going past the Train Area. Also for some reason you don't feel that attached to Miriam compared to Alucard or Soma but it can be fixed eventually. For now i have completed my first run and tried to finish my weapon collection in preparation for New Game+ once the patch is out. In conclusion Bloodstained is a solid Metroidvania title which will fulfill the longing for Igavania fans and deserved the support. I think Iga could use for some good writer to help him on the Sequel should he planned for one.