Posted Mon May 11, 2015 at 11:03 AM PDT by Justin Clark
Brand new 'Castlevania' inspired platformer needs your help!
(UPDATE: 'Bloodstained' hit its $500,000 Kickstarter goal in about four hours! There's still 32 days left on the project!)
The signs were all there: Koji Igarashi starting a website, swordorwhip.com with not so vague references to the series, a fantastic Dev Play vid by Double Fine with Igarashi dishing all sorts of behind the scenes gold about 'Symphony of the Night' (which is so worth a watch but it's also almost 2 1/2 hours long), and then, telling folks to tune in on Monday for something big.
Well, the something big's here: Just like Keiji Inafune's 'Mighty No. 9' is a brand new 'Mega Man' in all but name, Koji Igarashi, joined by Japanese game dev veteran collective Inti Creates and beloved 'Castlevania' series composer Michiru Yamane, is making "a gothic, exploration-focused action platformer" titled 'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night'. Which, naturally, looks and sounds like a beautiful, new, current-gen 'Castlevania'.
The premise is this: "You are Miriam, an orphan scarred by an alchemist curse which slowly crystallizes your skin. You must battle your way through a demon-filled castle summoned by Gebel, your old friend whose body has become more crystal than flesh."
Despite the godfather of the genre coming back to claim his territory (and don't call it Metroidvania. See that Dev Play video.), it apparently hasn't been an easy road to even get to this point. According to a brief interview with Game Informer, Igarashi says, "There were several bigger publishers that really liked the pitch and the game, but in the end, perhaps they didn’t feel it was a popular enough genre, or that it wasn't viable for today's current gaming market. Fortunately, we found some investment that would allow us to get close to the budget we need to make the core game, but even then, the condition of this funding was to first prove the desire for the game I'd drawn out." And it's with that in mind that Igarashi has taken the game to Kickstarter, with the goal of raising an additional $500,000 to get his stretch goals handled. As I type this sentence, it's already passed 300,000. We think it'll be fine. But of course, he can always do more.
The pitch trailer, with some brilliantly winking 'Castlevania' references, is embedded below. The Kickstarter has a delivery goal of March 2017. You can get in on some of the sweet backer action, see more concept art, and hear the first pieces of score Michiru Yamane has composed for the game right here. Enough talk. Have at you!
Source: Kickstarter, Game Informer
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