Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an action game with platform game features. It was developed by Inti Creates. The development of the game was supervised by Koji Igarashi who during the years 1999-2011 was the main producer of the Castlevania series. The game is a prequel to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Plot

The main protagonist of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is Zangetsu – a demon hunter who travels through the dark realm in order to reach the castle of the powerful fallen angel and to kill him. His task isn’t easy, but he isn’t alone in his pursuit – during the journey, he releases many warriors who might join him. Among them, there is Miriam (whose body shines because of hundreds of crystal shards), an old alchemist Alfred, and Gebel, a young man who hates humans and alchemists. It is worth mentioning that the outcome and ending of the story depend on the choices made by the player.

Mechanics

The events in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon are presented from a side perspective. During the game, the players are traveling through dark locations, avoiding traps, and fighting enemies. Among the latter, there are powerful bosses.

The four playable characters are the game’s distinguishing feature. Zangetsu can eliminate opponents with a sword (Zangetsuto) and sometimes, he can use a ball on a chain, magic spells, and demon’s essence. Miriam is equipped with a whip and sidearms – a dagger and an axe. Alfred can use powerful alchemy spells (although he has weak defenses) and Gebel uses the dark energy and can fly as a bat, which enables him to reach inaccessible places.

The players can freely switch between the freed characters. This provides an advantage on the battlefield (each character has an individual health bar) and enables the players to use passages available only for specific warriors. The locations are non-linear and more than one path usually leads to the target. The paths open for all protagonists are usually longer and more dangerous.

Game modes

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon can be played on one of two difficulty levels. In the Casual mode for the beginners, the players have unlimited health points. On Veteran difficulty, the number of lives is limited to three. Modes can be changed at the beginning of the game, when the players load the game, or on the Game Over screen.

Technical aspects

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon features a retro, two-dimensional pixel art graphics and a chiptune soundtrack.

Last updated on 15 May 2018