Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night E3 2017 Trailer & Gameplay

its elizabeth bathory the blood countess, though carmilla is a book based on her so the cv carmilla is a reference of a reference, ill look at it more later but holy fuck im excited for it

ooh just saw the update, im liking the moniker they gave her and im looking forward to seeing how she fits into the story and the dialogue she might have given her origins

And they had also played the demo? I mean, they could potentially get the impression from playing the older games and just watching Bloodstained's gameplay that it's slower because the 3D of it makes it somewhat appear slower. But yeah, if they've actually played the demo and still think it's too slow, then they're probably just remembering it wrong or being difficult lol.

I was thinking the new boss was Elizabeth Bathory as well, but the new, special Kickstarter update said it's Bloodless.



I actually like how the boss has her own name even though they could've gone with Carmilla or Bathory, it gives me the impression they're building their own lore in addition to borrowing from history already existing mythology. Still wondering why her name didn't get displayed in the actual boss fight, though.

We also saw Bloodless' butt crack when she rose out of the bath. I guess that answers questions people had regarding IGA's stance on nudity. I appreciate how it wasn't fanservice-y and felt like it was handled in a mature manner.

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As for the trailer and gameplay videos, I loved everything I saw. But my favorite details were the room at the 32 second mark curving on a 3D plane while the castle map stayed on a 2D plane and the rooms on the map getting filled in two spaces at a time instead of just one.

I was let down at how the long 12-minute video didn't have any music, though. When I heard the bell ringing in the background I thought, "oh, maybe there'll be a cool audio transition where the music begins once Miriam crashes the bell", but that didn't happen. I think the lack of music is having an impact on people's impressions.

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As for improvement suggestions...

-I think some of the character animations could be more fluid.
-I'd like to see a little bit of movement when landing or jumping chained/suspended objects.
-It looked like the bell that crashed went back into a straight vertical position before falling instead of falling in mid-swing.

I also hope Artplay uses all the negative feedback from backers who haven't kept up with the game and non-backers as an opportunity to go "You know what? You're right. We appreciate your feedback and it's valuable for making improvements so we can make the best game possible."

I also hope fans who have been following Bloodstained are gentle with/don't get overly defensive over other people's criticism. Let's try to maintain a welcoming community.

i watched all gameplay videos and i actually have a TON of things to comment. Everyone here knows i love to do deep analysis that no one reads, so, here goes, the longest post i ever made at this forum:

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Okay, we have a sixth Shard type, the Skill Shard, with gray color. As i said before, this is the substitute for Relics, the same idea used on Aria/Dawn of Sorrow with the Ability Souls. I think most of us expected that, but it is still nice to see that it happened.

The Skill Shard are integrated at the Shard Menu, with a simple ON / OFF mechanism.

Also, we also learned about Shard containers, a pillar that holds a Shard to be obtained. Aria of Sorrow had few of those, so, they are also making a come back. It is interesting, because you can do a lot of gimmicks with that. You are not forced to put progression abilities (abilities required to proceed) at Bosses, wasting good Shards potential. You can put badass shards for bosses AND put progression shards at pillars, protected by bosses. So, it is a win-win. I

Story-wise, i think that doesn't make much sense. Why Gebel would purposely let Shard Pillars around, knowing that Miriam can absorb Crystalized Demon power? Maybe, since he intended this to be Miriam's home, he put those around just in case? Or he actually WANTS her to unlock her full potential?

FAMILIAR AND LOTS OF SHARDS

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We got a Familiar (it's name is Dullahammer Head, by the way, funny eh?), it seems to be pretty basic. Floating around you, attacking when possible. I also hoped for something more fun and interesting, with more abilities and personality, but Bloodstained is such a huge game, with such a load amout of content that it is okay if it stays that way. Another thing that i noticed and it is quite interesting, is that the shard drop rate is quite high. It is not hard to obtain most of the shards. I think IGA mentioned once that the drop rate of Bloodstained was going to be higher than what most of his other games was, because Miriam basically depends on what enemies give her for forging and powers. If drop rate was too low, the player would be absurdly handcapped to fight. It makes sense.

IMPROVED HUD AND GRAPHICS

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The game looks REALLY nice. I'm baffled by such negative comments about it's graphics. For me, they are great, with a hiccup here and there, but they look really beautiful and detailed. The HUD was improved too. "Level Up" message is more badass. Miriam getting a Shard is more polished (and that scream...some didi'nt like it, i loved it, matters of opinion i think heh?) Also, the MINI-MAP at the top right is really useful and, thinking about it now, why the hell not a single Castlevania ever had that?

BETTER LAYOUT AND SCENERIO GEOMETRY

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One thing that CastleDan was a warrior fightning for it, was the overall layount geometry for this game, and i have to agree, they improved a ton. You have ups and downs, different shapes and paths to walk on, and the game really doesn't feel like it is going to be room after room after room like, unfortunately, some Igavanias had before. I also gotta say that the procedural generation is doing it's work. You can see a lot of really "unique" places and variations, and that is also a plus.

HIGHER DIFFICULTY

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IGA said at one of the sites that they raised the difficulty, and we can see that at this new Demo for the E3. Enemies are tougher, hit harder and have interesting attack patterns. The game still feels a bit empty, but i think that's still because it is at Alpha in development, but i'm glad that the game will not be as easy as Symphony of the Night, and also not as hard as Order of Ecclesia (that could be a turn off to some people).

A POWERFUL, MENACING AND BADASS BOSS

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Bloodless is such a interesting boss. A creature that controls blood using her mind (as IGA has said) and creates everything with blood, from umbrellas to her own attire. I loved her attack patterns, she is not easy to defeat, she can heal herself absorbing her own blood that is lost when you attack her. I also liked the fact that, as she gets damaged, her dress starts to tear appart and fall down. IGA has said that he wanted to approach to a Gothic Horror with a bit of erotica, and i liked that. Also, she gives a Trigger Shard (fitting, considering the Shard's color, heh?) and THEN the Demo ends before we can see what that shard is!

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The game needs some polishment. The graphics are great, but some parts of the scenario still feels static and too stiff, like the candleliers (we are complaining about this so much that they will end up fixing that). You have some really ugly moments, like the one pictured above, when the bell falls down and hits the debris. It's a ugly blocky mess. It's quick, but noticeable. 
I don't see the game being "slow" as such a majority feels, but i think that's just me. The game also feels empty, but i think that's because it is Alpha.
The Familiar Shard (Dullahammer Head), Summon Ape (from Ape) and Gieremund Shard are all blue. And they are all summoning things. I see a pattern here. That i didn't like it much.

Also, a tip: try to put one of the Bloodstained music (those loops at youtube) while watching the gameplay videos. It makes A HUGE difference.

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Enemies and Shards shown at the Demo:
Enemy: Gieremund.
Shard (Possibly Trigger): Name is unknown. But it can be seen at one of the videos, with Miriam throwing a blueish Giremund, so, i guess it is Trigger.
Origin: Hard to track, but it seems to be of European Mythology. Gieremund is a female dog or wolf, mate of another legendary creature called Isengrim.
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Enemy: Okyupete.
Shard: Unknown.
Origin: Okyupete is a variation of Ocypete (English translation: "swift wing") was one of the three harpies in Greek mythology. The other ones are Aello (already confirmed as a enemy some updates ago) and and Celaeno, also known as Podarge.
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Enemy: Morte Bone.
Shard (Directional): Bone Thrower. Throws bones.
Origin: Original enemy. Although Morte means Death in spanish and portuguese.
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Enemy: Light Elemental.
Shard: Unknown.
Origin: Elementals are spirits of nature in many European legends.
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Enemy: Dullahammer Head. 
Shard (Familiar): Dullahammer Head.
Origin: It's the head of the Dullahammer enemy from Galleon Minerva. Dullahammer is actually a variation of Dullahan, a headless fairy, normally represented as a monstruous knight that keeps riding. legend says that if Dullahan stops, someone dies. 
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Enemy: Lance Armor.
Shard (Trigger): Spear Throw.
Origin: Living Armors are a common thing at many legends.
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Enemy: Ape.
Shard (Trigger): Summon Ape.
Origin: Apes. Of course.
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Enemy (BOSS): Bloodless.
Shard (Trigger): Unknown.
Origin: Bloodless is obviously based on Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a hungarian noblewoman famous for a legend (never truly confirmed) that she liked to bath herself in blood (blood from virgins, most probably her maids, no less) because she thought that could keep her beauty. Carmilla, a vampire woman from Castlevania, that is based on the literature character Carmilla (created before Dracula, by the way), on Castlevania, was a mix-match of Elizabeth and the literature character. 
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Shards on Shard Pillars: Fire Cannon and Double Jump. As a side note, Fire Cannon is actually a Shard from Morte Cannon enemy. It is probably there just to show of it's improvement.
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Equipment Shown at the Demo: Short Sword, Knife, Claymore, Katana, Rapier, Leather Whip, Headband, Scarf, Potion, High Potion.

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Well, that was the LONGEST post i ever did in my life at this forum. I hope people enjoy it! (well, i hope at least someone reads it). 

That's all folks!

Loving what I'm seeing so far, especially with the camera swivvle at 0:33. Yes, yes, and YES, I am excited about the possibilities 2.5D can do now. I too have some other things I noticed, however.

1. I also agree somewhat that the running is slow. But I also feel like it's been like this for other Castlevania games (for me, noticably Order of Ecclesia and Dawn of Sorrow, and the former only because I'm so used to playing the game with boots that give higher running speed. MAYBE Harmory of Dissonance too, but I was more preoccupied by the fact that jumping felt weird in that game). I think it's also worth mentioning that combat plays a gigantic part of the 2D Castlevanias, and I feel like making map progress in the castle isn't as noticable when you're trying to keep yourself from getting your ass kicked (if that made any sense). After looking at the gameplay a bit more, I felt like that was the case.

2. Localization related stuff like voices and UI text. Mostly UI text. During the demo that was released last year, I noticed that some of the text had fonts that looked like the stuff that you can get off of your typical Windows computer, and I just put it down as a footnote in my mind, thinking that it was it was just placeholder stuff, but now I'm a tiny bit worried. I don't know, not having fonts that are unique to the game makes the game feel not as hand crafted and I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it's just something to keep in mind. I know, nitpicking the details. Not so much to say about the voices, just that the Japanese voices are there and the English ones aren't. Whether this can be interpreted as good or bad is up to you, but I have an inbetween, leaning towards good.

2. Ms. Bloody Lady-who-may-be-Carmilla-or-someone-else-inspired-by-Elizabeth-Bathory. This isn't so much a development related thing, but just something I wanted to point out. From my limited knowledge of Japanese to English transcription, our new boss has at least four moves, one of which I couldn't transcribe properly (the tornado, I need to go back and listen to it more and I'll come back to the post when I can): Blood Arrow, Blood Rain, and Blood Steal (heh). A lot of apsects of the fight seem to affect either the boss or Miriam, which is good and creative. Blood Arrow is a screw attack with the umbrella that hits Miriam, but in Blood Rain the umbrella protects Miriam. The blood on the ground may be from Blood Rain? I wasn't paying that much attention, but I'm glad it serves more than an aesthetic purpose, which is for Blood Steal which is, well, Soul Steal but not with monsters. Thinking about it more, it's a pretty thought out fight.

Edit: Ugh, transcribing is weird. All I can hear from the tornado attack is like, "re-" (as in "red") and then "circle" maybe.

If they did that, her feet would be sliding across the floor. It's not that simple, I'm afraid.

The fact the game is noticeably harder is great to me. I'm just as much a fan of the punishing old pre-IGA Castlevania games and Ecclesia being a much more grueling, demanding game is one of the reasons its my favorite of IGA's. I can understand why people fund it a turn off, but as long as Bloodstained is more difficult than say, Symphony of the Night or Harmony of Dissonance I'll be happy. Aria of Sorrow was a good benchmark for difficulty that satisfied pretty much everyone, and this does seem to be closer to that game.

Oh boy, every major gaming website that posted this news is full of comments like: "the graphics look like sh*t" / "the animations look like sh*t" / "the movements look like sh*t", and the best of them: "this is MN9 all over again".

Seems like this is the only place on the internet that isn't flooded with negativity. It's really sad, people have set their standards too high with indie games that it has become impossible to please anyone nowadays, it's just complaints on top of more complaints and a lot of toxicity. I really hope all this negativity doesn't drive away people from Bloodstained.