Koji Igarashi, former producer of the Castlevania franchise, has revealed he is working on a gothic 2D action game. Titled Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, it will serve as a spiritual sequel to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Are you going to miss it?
This game designer and former Castlevania producer is remembered for the cult classic PlayStation title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, released in 1997 and recognized as one of the best in the series. Igarashi enjoyed it so much that he launched a crowdfunding campaign among fans to make a sequel. Thanks to the generosity of fans, over $900,000 was raised, allowing studio Inti Creates to develop the game for PC and consoles.
A spiritual sequel in all but name
While it won't be an official sequel—since after Igarashi's departure from Konami, the company still owns the rights to the Castlevania franchise—Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will carry that spirit. This new action-adventure game will retain the 2D gothic horror style with RPG elements. Players will explore a vast castle filled with powerful demons, defeating them to enhance the abilities of three new characters: Miriam, Gebel, and Johannes. The adventure can be played solo or cooperatively with a friend.
Bloodstained is being developed by Inti Creates, a Japanese studio that already has Kickstarter experience with Mighty No. 9, the spiritual successor to the Mega Man series that was successfully funded. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is being developed by Koji Igarashi alongside Inti Creates and will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac, and Linux. The game does not have a concrete release date yet, but it is expected to arrive in March 2017.
