Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Classic Mode Review

Igarashi was not misleading you with the title of his new Bloodstained classic mode. The new addition to the base Bloodstained experience is most definitely inspired by earlier Castlevania releases. Namely the original Castlevania. It features Miriam as the protagonist, has her wielding a familiar whip weapon, and collecting assist weapons that use the game's stained glass flower petals as usage currency. You'll also find the score based gameplay returns, and that you can collect point based items to increase that score along your journey. Unlike the core game though classic mode has you pushing your way through several level settings of familiar Castlevania inspiration while dealing with bosses, and lesser enemy types that replace and simultaneously mimic their Castlevania counterparts. 

Visually the mode is presented in a 2.5D art style akin to Bloodstained's own base design. That being said the layout of the levels differ greatly from the core game's levels, and bring back a retro inspired layout meant to try your patience. Including the usual platforming chaos peppered with stairs, and pitfalls that make getting from point 'A' to point 'B' all the more difficult. Speaking of difficulty Miriam takes on that Simon Belmont feel as her movements, and reactions are slow, and the knockback from enemy attacks, brutal. With the enemies constantly respawning, and moving more quickly than Miriam the trek from beginning to end is all the more trying. It is the purposeful difficulty spike that was brought to us in the original US release of Castlevania, but far worse. Those glutton for punishment will no doubt enjoy this take on Bloodstained.

Personally, I feel the development team's time would have been better spent on creating a rogue-like version of Bloodstained even if it meant reworking the level design from the ground up. They met the stretch goal for it, and in all honesty it would have been more welcome than Classic Mode has proven to be. Classic mode is a proper pisstake that could have easily remained retro, and instead adhered to a more 'Symphony of the Night' build. What we get though is a retro slap in the face. A trip down memory lane that all Castlvania fans would have liked to have forgotten. I don't like it, and and definitely feel it was a waste of development resources. That is me though.