Experiencing Bloodstained: Let's Just Call It "MegaMetroidVania".

I admit, I did not support this via Kickstarter. That's mostly because I've been burned on Indiegogo and until/unless these services get required to either deliver on time or provide partial refunds, and get held accountable for regular communication, it's not going to be for me.

But I digress.

I skipped this game for a very long time, despite regular cries that it was "the spiritual successor to Castlevania". Let me tell you something. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was the best in the series, simply because it chose to do something different than just platforming. I felt that Symphony of the Night (lauded as "the best" by many online) went too far backward towards regular platforming again. The 3D versions of Castlevania, many of which I skipped, also didn't do it for me.

But Bloodstained?

What I Liked

✅ It's a very accessible game, easy to get into, with very simple controls.

✅ Graphics are quite good (although it's pseudo-3D rather than full 3D)

✅ English voice acting and plenty of it. Decently done for the most part.

✅ A wide variety of weaponry means you can basically play your way.

What I Didn't Like

⛔ Because of aforementioned variety of weaponry, it tends to get a bit overwhelming.

⛔ Feels too "simple" - the vast majority of what I played took place in the same dungeon, which was basically a combination of scenes but all stuck indoors. (Goes back to my point about Simon's Quest, where there's a pleasant mixture of indoor and outdoor for variety and freshness.)

⛔ The game implements an RNG engine for the shards. The shards themselves tend to be a bit frustrating because again, there's simply too many of them and too many options. When you get nearer to the end the most usable of these becomes obvious; thus, I would rather have seen something simpler. (This is where the Mega Man reference comes into play, because you basically inherit demon powers and in some cases, use them to bypass obstacles.)

I didn't walk away from this game entertained or even passably impressed. It's a good time waste game, I would say. If I were stuck on a train for hours it'd be one of the first games I turned to as a time waster, because that's what the game is - a (beautiful looking) waste of time.