KickStarter Bloodstained - Koji Igarashi's new metroidvania game

[Ash]

Wait, are we jumping from "I dislike the art style and animations" to "It seems absolutely awful" now? I think IGA deserves at least a little more respect and faith. He was one of few making actually competent games in the dark ages of the late 00s, and hasn't made anything since*. Generally a decent track record.

There are (minor) red flags with this game I won't deny, but those are warning signs and not absolute indicators.

*OK there's some kinect game listed here but it's a way better track record than most, and even then it still seems to be gameplay-centric game rather than some walking sim or shineumatic low grade movie wannabe trite.

 

[RoSoDude]

Wait, are we jumping from "I dislike the art style and animations" to "It seems absolutely awful" now? I think IGA deserves at least a little more respect and faith. He was one of few making actually competent games in the dark ages of the late 00s, and hasn't made anything since*. Generally a decent track record.

There are (minor) red flags with this game I won't deny, but those are warning signs and not absolute indicators.

*OK there's some kinect game listed here but it's a way better track record than most, and even then it still seems to be gameplay-centric game rather than some walking sim or shineumatic low grade movie wannabe trite.

All the GBA and DS Castlevanias ranged from good to superb, and Igarashi was at the helm of all of them except for Circle of the Moon. That's 2002 - 2008, an era of conspicuous decline in gaming at large, but one where Igarashi's games only got better as they went along (and in my humble yet heretical opinion, eventually surpassing Symphony of the Night by a slim margin). Not anything to scoff at, and certainly reason to exercise caution before throwing Bloodstained in the bin with Mighty No. 9, which by all rights was headed by a businessman who didn't have the design DNA of the series he was attempting to reformulate deep in his blood. That comparison in particular is an unfair and unfortunate one, I think.

I still have my own reasons to be skeptical, but I'm still hopeful that my man Iga will be able to pull it off again.

 

[jungl]

8 bit gets really tiring after a while on your eyes and the initial appeal is lost. When is it going to become the the next hipster thing to have 360p 32-62bit ps1 sprite graphics for everything but apparently that takes too much effort.

 

[aweigh]

Yeah I always wonder why they don't do SNES-style 16-bit graphic indie games, it's always NES-style 8-bit or "pixel art" shit.

I suppose it's simply "too much work". We can only dream of once again having new 2d games made in Saturn-style 32-bit glory with vibrant colors and thicc animations... perhaps in 15 years?

 

[newtmonkey]

I think it's a combination of:

1) Too much work to make detailed graphics (ffs they cannot even match the best of 8-bit graphics)
2) All these hipster indie game people idolize the NES
3) Probably most of them only played "8-bit" games through emulators, and believe that games all looked like legos up until Sony/Microsoft saved the world and ushered in the age of HD gaming

I would rather the indies pursue low poly early PC (or to speak language these indies are more familiar with: PSX/Saturn/N64) stuff, which would look fine in modern PC resolutions if designed properly.

 

[Tehdagah]

Wait, are we jumping from "I dislike the art style and animations" to "It seems absolutely awful" now? I think IGA deserves at least a little more respect and faith. He was one of few making actually competent games in the dark ages of the late 00s, and hasn't made anything since*. Generally a decent track record.

There are (minor) red flags with this game I won't deny, but those are warning signs and not absolute indicators.

*OK there's some kinect game listed here but it's a way better track record than most, and even then it still seems to be gameplay-centric game rather than some walking sim or shineumatic low grade movie wannabe trite.

The problem is that the game looks outdated and derivative when compared to other recent Metroidvanias. Igarashi and his team seems to be stuck in the past.

 

[Somberlain]

I'm very fabulously optimistic about both Bloodstained games

 

[Ash]

The problem is that the game looks outdated and derivative when compared to other recent Metroidvanias. Igarashi and his team seems to be stuck in the past.

Lol I have zero problem with that. They can go back to 1997, when the metriodvania was at its most complex and beautiful (Symphony)...though also the most unbalanced sadly.

What recent takes? Hollow Knight and what else?

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

The problem is that the game looks outdated and derivative when compared to other recent Metroidvanias. Igarashi and his team seems to be stuck in the past.

Well, it is the reason of the people being interested on it, isn't it? A new but unofficial Castlevania game with the metroidvania style. That "stuck in the past" thing is what we are searching for. If it is being done poorly or not... we must wait for until the game releases to confirm if it is gud or not.

 

[Tehdagah]

The problem is that the game looks outdated and derivative when compared to other recent Metroidvanias. Igarashi and his team seems to be stuck in the past.

Lol I have zero problem with that. They can go back to 1997, when the metriodvania was at its most complex and beautiful (Symphony)...though also the most unbalanced sadly.

What recent takes? Hollow Knight and what else?

Almost every exploration-based Castlevania had an innovation. SOTN had the inverted castle, COTM had the cards, Aria of Sorrow had the soul system, Portrait of Ruin had the swap system, Order of Ecclesia had the glyphs, Harmony of Despair had co-op (yeah the game recycled a lot of things but at least it was experimental) and even the fairy recent Mirror of Fate evolved the combat system of the series. Then there are indie Metroidvanias with more elaborated platforming (Ori, Guacamelee, Knytt).

When I watch these Bloodstained videos, I see a character slowly exploring the samey flat corridors, with no real platforming challenges and fighting enemies that offer no threat.

 

[Theldaran]

Yeah I always wonder why they don't do SNES-style 16-bit graphic indie games, it's always NES-style 8-bit or "pixel art" shit.

I suppose it's simply "too much work". We can only dream of once again having new 2d games made in Saturn-style 32-bit glory with vibrant colors and thicc animations... perhaps in 15 years?

Isn't that aesthetic what RPG Maker aims to emulate? Too bad every and each RPG Maker game is shit, if not a money grab.

 

[LESS T_T]

8-bit style spin-off (which was a stretch goal) Curse of the Moon is coming this month:

Out now.

Looking at forums, sounds like even veteran difficulty is pretty easy for... veterans, and hard difficulty (which may or may not be hard) is not available at first.

 

[Machocruz]

It would probably be retarded to say "wait for Steam sale" for this since it's only $10, but the bosses being cakewalks is massive decline. I don't need Castlevania 1 level difficulty in my life right now (or maybe I do), but some of bosses in the GBA and DS games hit a sweet spot.

 

[Great Deceiver]

The game is cool and the extra characters were probably a nod to Castlevania 3, which is also nice, but they do trivialize the whole thing. Still, it's a neat little game with some cool chiptunes and you could do a lot worse for 10 bucks.

 

[Great Deceiver]

8 bit gets really tiring after a while on your eyes and the initial appeal is lost. When is it going to become the the next hipster thing to have 360p 32-62bit ps1 sprite graphics for everything but apparently that takes too much effort.

The only 8-bit 'style' game that is impressive from a graphics/music perspective is Shovel Knight. There are many technical write-ups that detail how the team were careful in maintaining the overall aesthetic of NES games, but with some modern elements that would not be possible on an actual NES - no sprite limit, expanded color palette (although still very much reduced), more music channels, etc.

Most of the rest is just low-effort pap by hipsters who suffer from acute imaginary nostalgia for a period they didn't live through, or understand. There is no artistry in them, just a lack of imagination and an inability to rise up to recent tools.

 

[Machocruz]

They did a pretty sweet 8-bit rendition of Kratos in Shovel Knight. Bosses overall look pretty great in that game.

 

[Ash]

It would probably be retarded to say "wait for Steam sale" for this since it's only $10, but the bosses being cakewalks is massive decline. I don't need Castlevania 1 level difficulty in my life right now (or maybe I do), but some of bosses in the GBA and DS games hit a sweet spot.

Nuh Uh! Gamez were ooonly challenging back in the day becoz arcade machines! You're brainwashed to think challenge is a good thing! I am glad games like Assassins Creed are eazy pease.
-some retard

 

[aweigh]

Games like Assassin's Creed are insanely hard...





















...to like!

 

[flyingjohn]

I don't think anybody plays assassin creed for the difficulty.It is mostly a virtual tourism simulator.

 

[aweigh]

Yeah I remember when first AC game out I torrented it and played it specifically cuz of the graphics and "crowd AI". Back then I still got excited about new things in video games. Never finished it, lost interest half-way through.

I actyually think the Prince of Persia reboot games are 10x better, and it's kind of a shame that the rebooted PoP series had to die in order for AC to live. I actually really enjoyed the reboot of the rebooted PoP games, the 4th one that was cel-shaded. Never finished it either but it was enjoyable.

 

[flyingjohn]

Yeah I remember when first AC game out I torrented it and played it specifically cuz of the graphics and "crowd AI". Back then I still got excited about new things in video games. Never finished it, lost interest half-way through.

I actyually think the Prince of Persia reboot games are 10x better, and it's kind of a shame that the rebooted PoP series had to die in order for AC to live. I actually really enjoyed the reboot of the rebooted PoP games, the 4th one that was cel-shaded. Never finished it either but it was enjoyable.

Isn't the reboot the one with no deaths,traps, time powers and dumbed down combat?And doesn't it have the horrible assassin creed colecthon bullshit as well( orbs are scattered around)

I actually prefer the last game(forgotten sands) even though it was a mediocre clone of the originals.

 

[Ash]

I forgot they rebooted PoP in 2008. Let me guess, it was a dumbed down piece of shit. Yep, of course it was.

Sellout soulless motherfuckers in the game industry, nearly the lot of them.

 

[deama]

I played that cel-shaded PoP. I remember enjoying the graphics, story, and ending, but the game itself was pretty easy (you couldn't die).

 

[Great Deceiver]

Sands of Time was a surprisingly great game that was released in the middle of the darkest age of popamole. Not surprisingly, Mechner was directly involved. It was charming, whimsical, and although it couldn't really compare to the first two games, still retained some modicum of challenge.

2008 PoP was full on, unadulterated garbage. There was nothing salvageable about that game. I'm glad it died.

 

[Lutte]

hardly another Mighty no.9.

Thing is, random indie devs on a shoestring budget can make that sort of game with much better, less floaty physics (despite being a touhou doujin that includes flight/air mechanics), and in not-8bit 2d which somehow seems impossible these days for those larger budget guys who go all "if it's not 3d it's going to be too muhexpensive".


It's seriously disappointing to see these people beg for crowdfunding when this is all they can achieve. There's many doujin developers in japan who would have been more worthy of that kind of funding than bloodstained. If you're not averse to bullet hell mechanics (mostly on bosses), koumajou is a treat and a reminder to look outside of the big names.