Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

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Summary

"“Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon”is packed with the retro charm that made the legendary 2D action games of the 80s so enjoyable.

Take control of one of four characters that can be interchanged at any time during gameplay: The sword-swinging exorcist Zangetsu, the whip-wielding heroine Miriam, the magic using alchemist Alfred, and Gebel, who can turn into a bat and take to the skies.
Finally, you can experience multiple endings depending on how you interact with the characters you meet.

This project is the 8-bit style game promised as a stretch goal of the 2015 Kickstarter campaign for "Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night." Backers of the Kickstarter campaign are encouraged to check the Kickstarter page for updates."


Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Activation Instructions

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Reviews & Ratings

100
Review by Iron-Mike [user]
September 30, 2021

Perfect love letter to Iga-vania fans. Great controls, combat, gameplay loop and upgrade system. Loved the boss fights and the crystalPerfect love letter to Iga-vania fans. Great controls, combat, gameplay loop and upgrade system. Loved the boss fights and the crystal upgrade system. Due to lack of new Metroid and Castlevania games, fans have had to turn to games that are close copies but not quite as good.

70
Review by Mattaclysm [user]
August 26, 2019

Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon is what I would say is a pretty solid throwback to the old school Castlevania games. The game also adds in aBloodstained: Curse Of The Moon is what I would say is a pretty solid throwback to the old school Castlevania games. The game also adds in a few extra elements to make the game play more interesting, such as, being able to swap between different characters (which become available as you progress through the first few chapters). The presentation and graphics as well as sound design are nice. It's a game that does a great job at making me feel nostalgic towards the good old Nintendo days.As much as I enjoyed Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon, however, I did feel there was several annoyances. One, for example, was how short the game is. Going into the game not played it before, I was surprised to find out that the game was around an hour in length. This is mostly due to there being a degree of replay value, as you need to play through it more than once to get the true ending (this might be a little nit picky, but it should be noted as either way you look at it - the game is very short). My second problem was how awkward jumping could feel during certain areas that required very precise platforming. Very often I found myself over shooting jumps creating a very frustratingly difficult experience as I plunged to my death on more than several occasions. I understand trying to stay true to the retro vibe, however, I felt this could have been a bit more modernized with a bit more accurate jumping. Getting over that part, I would say that the game is pretty good otherwise. It's definitely worth checking out for anyone who was a fan of the Castlevania games on the original Nintendo.

50
Review by StriderKiwi [user]
August 2, 2018

Overall a competent throwback that has more than most games from the time it's emulating but still feels lacking compared to contemporaryOverall a competent throwback that has more than most games from the time it's emulating but still feels lacking compared to contemporary games.Also, while I backed it on Kickstarter it took me weeks to get my code after non-backers were able to purchase.

60
Review by XBLA Fans
June 26, 2018

The asking price isn’t too overwhelming for what’s there, and the game is definitely a lot of fun when you cast aside the few issues it does have. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an overall experience in itself, and a great game to hold you over until the release of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night at a later date.

80
Review by Xbox_Alive [user]
June 11, 2018

the 8-bit style has given me many fond memories over the year’s no more so than the fantastic game that is Castlevania. Anything that tries tothe 8-bit style has given me many fond memories over the year’s no more so than the fantastic game that is Castlevania. Anything that tries to replicate the Castlevania style has got my attention immediately and if they manage to nail certain aspects properly then I end up having a very enjoyable time with that said game. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon does exactly that and whilst it has similarities to Castlevania it also adds its own unique touches, which is of course awesome. What I really like about this game is that it has a lot of variety in a number of areas and that’s definitely the case when it comes to the characters you can play. Each character has their own different moves and little quirks so this means playing as each character is a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. Another thing that has a lot of variety running throughout it are the stages in the game. There aren’t a lot of stages but playing each different stage was an incredible amount of fun because each stage is cleverly designed and they also have the added bonus of having lots of secrets to find. Unfortunately though you can complete these stages quite quickly and in terms of content there isn’t a great deal for you to sink your teeth into. There also isn’t a great deal of replayabilty present either and you’re highly unlikely to return back to the game once completed which is a shame because the content that is here is absolutely fantastic and I just wish there was more of it. I also wish that the game was a little more challenging because I didn’t suffer with many challenging moments. Don’t get me wrong the bosses are challenging but most of the gameplay can be done quite quickly without too many problems. Speaking about the bosses I found them to be very enjoyable and very cleverly designed as well. Battling each boss was exciting from start to finish and as I’ve already said they do put up quite a bit of a challenge, but despite this challenge I never got frustrated because they’ve got the perfect balance of being fair and challenging at the same time and the responsive controls ensure that you don’t end up with any cheap deaths, which is great. The presentation side of the game is absolutely brilliant in my opinion. If you like a true retro 8-bit style then you will absolutely love what this game has to offer and in the end the visuals and sound design do a fantastic job in making you enjoy the game even more. At the end of the day to say I enjoyed my time with Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon would be a massive understatement but I just wish it had more content. That being said the content that is here grips you from start to finish and this game does more than enough to get a recommendation from me.

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Game Information
Release Date May 23, 2018
Publisher Inti Creates
Content Rated T (Teen)
Game Modes Single player
Player Perspectives Side view
Genres Platform, Adventure, Indie
Themes Action, Fantasy
Platforms PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch