During the New Game Plus Expo, famedCastlevaniadeveloper Koji Igarashi, and Inti Creates showcased the world premiere trailer forBloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, a sequel to the popularBloodstained: Ritual of the Nightspin-off. While no official release date has been announced, the trailer for the newestBloodstainedentry concluded by stating the title would be coming soon to Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
The originalBloodstained: Curse of the Moonwas an 8-bit inspired retro-platformer thatserved as a stretch goal and prequel for theBloodstained: Ritual of the NightKickstarter.That campaign notably holds the distinction of beingthe most-funded video game Kickstarter to date.Curse of the Moonwas developed over a period of only six months, and enjoys excellent reviews on Metacritic and Steam. WhileRitual of the Nightwas intended to pay homage to “Metroidvania” titles molded in the image of Nintendo’sMetroidseries, and Igarashi’sCastlevaniagames,Curse of the Moonhearkened back to older titles in the franchise, such asSimon’s Curse.
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The sword-wielding main character ofCurse of the Moon, Zangetsu, wasrecently added as a playable character inRitual of theNight, and returns as the follow-up’s leading man. He is joined by three other eccentric characters, including Dominique, a spear-wielding exorcist, and Robert, a balding sharpshooter. However, it seems likely that Hachi, a corgi who dons a robotic suit to fight demons, will be the one to steal the show. Little else has been revealed about the title, but it seems like a safe bet for fans of classic platforming action.
Koji Igarashi is undoubtedly theCastlevaniafranchise’s greatest auteur, and his departure from Konami was reportedly rooted in frustrations about how the company was handling the franchise, similar to how Keiji Inafune went independent to create the Mighty No. 9 after Capcom allowedMega Manto lie fallow. TheBloodstainedKickstarter markedIgarashi’s first foray into independent game development, and the project likely enjoyed it’s meteoric success, based on the strength of his name alone.
Both entries in theBloodstainedseries has been received with critical acclaim from critics and players, though the Kickstarter game’s development suffered several setbacks. The crowdfunding campaign initially launched in 2015, and while the game was originally slated for a 2017 release window, it ultimately launched in 2019. Furthermore, versions of the game were planned for both the PlayStation Vita, and the Wii-U were both scrapped. More recently, there have been disgruntled rumblings fromNintendo Switch players who were unhappy with their port.
Given the “coming soon” tagline attached to the reveal trailer, and the originalCurse of the Moon’s speedy development, the sequel will likely arrive soon—possibly before the year’s end. Even if the wait ends up proving longer, eager fans looking for something to similar have a wealth of wonderfulgames likeBloodstainedto choose fromin the meantime.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2is coming soon for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
