Can he play anything else though? :D
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KickStarter Bloodstained - Koji Igarashi's new metroidvania game
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RoSoDude
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Ummm... are you guys not noticing the important aspects of the visuals, notably how the art style and lighting model help ensure that the sidescrolling gameplay remains eminently readable? Yeah, the cutscenes look pretty flat and mediocre, but during actual gameplay the character and enemy designs stand out from the backgrounds, attack animations are crisp and distinct, the interactable parts of the stages are very clear, and overall look of the game is detailed and colorful without being overwhelming. I prefer sprites too (with some parallax 3D backgrounds, perhaps), but they've done a great job making sure the visuals don't detract from the core gameplay.
For the record, I didn't kickstart (I don't as a rule), and I have no ulterior motive for defending the game. But you guys are looking for decline in the wrong place; all the gameplay they've shown points to a properly designed Castlevania experience the likes of which we haven't seen in nearly a decade.
For the record, I didn't kickstart (I don't as a rule), and I have no ulterior motive for defending the game. But you guys are looking for decline in the wrong place; all the gameplay they've shown points to a properly designed Castlevania experience the likes of which we haven't seen in nearly a decade.
Tehdagah
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It looks too much like Aria of Sorrow. The game feels like it's being made by people who ignored every other Metroidvania released in the past 10 years.
Eggs is eggs
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I'm a Castlevania fan but it just feels like he's making Symphony of the Night 2018. Not sure where the hype/interest is coming from.
RoSoDude
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Because Symphony of the Night 2018 is exactly what I want? I love the Igavania gameplay formula. Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia were more of the same too, just with a few new ideas and design directions here and there. All great stuff. I haven't had a new game of this sort in nearly 10 years. Bloodstained is looking to return to Igarashi's Symphony of the Night kitchen sink design roots but with the Sorrow games' soul system and the intricacies of Portrait of Ruin's combat -- hopefully it'll measure up to Order of Ecclesia's level of challenge as well.
Don't see why that's a problem. I don't want Igarashi to try to ape Hollow Knight; I want him to make the sort of game he has a proven track record of making brilliantly. There's room for different takes on the Metroidvania formula in the market, and there's certainly been no proper Castlevania replacement in the intervening years since Konami gave it the axe.
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Wunderbar
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torrent file full of viruses?
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Tehdagah
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"It's just like the old games" is no excuse to neglect any kind of innovation. The Castlevania games you mentioned (with the exception of Dawn of Sorrow, which was a direct sequel) all had a new, characteristic mechanic.
Although I don't think it would be enough. What Igavanias need is better enemy design; actual challenging enemies instead of walking lootbags. Mirror of Fate did it well.
Damned Registrations
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New map layout, new enemies, and new items are innovation enough. If you want innovation go play with some motion controls or some other trendy shit designed for people who hate games.
Tehdagah
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I want innovation because I like games.
"New map layout, new enemies, and new items are innovation enough"
No, they aren't. Significant innovations = inverted castle in SOTN, card system in Circles of the Moon, soul system in Aria of Sorrow, swapping characters in Portrait of Ruin, a more advanced combat system in Mirror of Fate.
RoSoDude
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I too care for innovation, but I don't mind if it's incremental. I don't like when developers try to reinvent their own wheel by radically moving from their peak on the design landscape (which is what I would worry about happening if I saw Iga borrowing from other contemporaries). Oftentimes it portends a move down the slope rather than up even if there is a more global optimum to be found further along that direction. It's sort of a "go big or go home" concept, but with the added caveat that a game designer with hard-set design priorities is likely to be somewhat myopic about the view from their current vantage point, and thus unlikely to take the necessary bold strides to find a new peak. Sorry if I'm stretching out this visual metaphor too much, but it's one to which I'm quite partial when it comes to thinking about game design philosophies.
There are certainly new ideas in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as well. There's a fleshed out crafting system, there are some creative new familiar designs, there's a new type of aimed attack which complements the old subweapon/spell type of attack, and there's a type of shard ("Effective") that no one knows anything about. But yes, most of it is just a mash of previous Igavania ideas, which I'm fine with. We're still not privy to the breadth of combat options, player upgrades, enemies, bosses, and level content on offer so I wouldn't jump to conclusions. I also don't think it's a problem that the game doesn't necessarily have a unique idea to call its own, but rather presents a highly competent mixture of other ideas which are finely tuned to complement one another and produce something which becomes brilliant as a whole. This is what kitchen sink design is all about, and it's the "je ne sais quoi" element that I believe causes people to hold Symphony of the Night in higher regard than the more recent Castlevania titles which have largely surpassed it in tight design excellence. Bloodstained looks to be the most "feature-complete" Igavania to date while still learning lessons and incorporating the subtleties from the previous iterations, which is what has me so pumped for it.
Also, taking Mirror of Fate as a positive example for 2D Castlevania design?!
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Machocruz
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From making four 8/10+ games in a row to Pretty Decent 
Great Deceiver
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The only IGA game I'd rate in 8/10 territory is SotN.
That's only because OoE is 10/10, right?
Great Deceiver
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OoE was pretty cool, that is true. Definitely better than the previous SotN clones, and much harder. Alright, you win.
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