When Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon came out two years ago, developer Inti Creates crafted something so close to Castlevania III that I was instantly in heaven when I played it. It was an amazing homage and update to the classic Castlevania formula that was honestly just a throw away created as a Kickstarter bonus for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon. So you can believe I was super excited when out of nowhere Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 was announced and quickly thereafter was released.
And it turns out Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a really good game. But, I did come out of it not quite as high as I was on the first one.
Like its predecessor, Curse of the Moon 2 takes inspiration from the classic Castlevania format, specifically that of Castlevania III. The game is broken up into levels, and while there are some alternate routes, the game is generally fairly linear. Our hero Zangetsu will meet up with other characters who can join his quest (or not).
These additional characters all play very differently from each other and each have special attacks and abilities unique to them alone. While it is not necessary to take on these additional characters, going it alone makes for a much harder experience. And on the note of difficulty, Curse of the Moon 2 is significantly harder than the original. Even the returning casual mode, which does away with a life counter and eliminates knockback, has seen an uptick in how hard it is (but should still be manageable for most players). Levels are a bit more intricate with some more challenging platforming, enemies a bit more deadly, and bosses a bit more extreme.
Curse of the Moon 2 went the more of a good thing is better route and for the most part, I can’t argue. The game still looks great, plays great and the length has been stretched to provide more of the experience. All good things. But the core just seems a bit off. The bosses seem to lack the WOW factor that they had in the first one and the new companions for Zangetsu aren’t quite as cool as the originals. Make no mistake, the bosses still are pretty epic and the companions are fun and different to play as, especially the dog in the mech suit, but it’s just not quite as good.
The game isn’t really over when you finish it either. To get the full experience (and the true ending), the game requires you to play through it multiple times. Each playthrough offers new challenges, like having to play without the healer companion, but also new rewards. It’s smart and well done, I just wish the game was enticing to me to return to as the original was. Still, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a really good game and one that is showing Bloodstained is really the answer to Konami’s poor handling of the Castlevania series. And fans should celebrate that, both classic fans and the Igavania ones.
4*
