During the Bloodstained Kickstarter campaign in 2015, Inti Creates promised a stretch goal for a retro bonus game with Koji Igarashi, and the developers announced it as Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon for PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Switch, and PC at BitSummit Vol. 6.
Here’s the official trailer, starting with a message from creator Koji Igarashi:
During the Kickstarter campaign for Bloodstained one of the stretch goals was for an 8-bit game, and Curse of the Moon is that game. It was promised that backers who supported the developers with a certain amount will receive a code for the game. Those backers will get the codes soon via the official home page or a Kickstarter update.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is inspired by the legendary 2D action games from the 80s, where you’ll get to take control of one of four characters that can be interchanged at any time during gameplay.
We have the sword-swinging exorcist Zangetsu, the whip-wielding heroine Miriam, the magic-using alchemist Alfred, and Gebel who has the ability to turn into a bat and take to the skies. The game offers multiple endings that change based on how you interact with characters you meet.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon will be available for those who backed the game enough for the bonus. It’ll also be available as a digital download for $9.99/€9.99. The game releases on May 24, 2018 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PC.
Here are more details about the game from Inti Creates:
Survive the horrible night as you form new alliances and battle against demonkind in this retrostyle action game! Thanks to the awesome success of the “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night” Kickstarter brought to you by Koji Igarashi, this 8-bit spin-off has come to life! You play as the swordsman Zangetsu, and must decide if the adventurers you encounter throughout your journey will become friend or foe. Choose wisely, as your decisions will effect the ending of the game!
Game Flow
Battle through stages filled with fearsome enemies and dangerous traps, each with a massive boss waiting at the end.
Travel through the treacherous stage!
Defeat the enormous boss!
Gain a trusty ally!
After defeating the boss, you’ll meet with a fellow adventurer who was captured. Speak with them and convince them to join you on your perilous adventure!
Core Gameplay 1 – “Increase your combat abilities by recruiting allies”
Allies have their own life bars, so with each ally you recruit, your survivability is greatly increased! ※Different characters have different max HP, however.
▲ Where you’d normally die and get sent back…
▲ Where you’d normally die and get sent back… You can instantaneously switch to allies you have recruited at any time!
▲ Each character has a unique attack style and range, giving you lots of versatility!
Core Gameplay 2 – “Shortcuts that only allies can access ”
Allies have special, unique abilities which allow them to use shortcuts to skip parts of stages or access new areas! There are no special items obtainable by going the long way around, so take every shortcut you can find!
▲ With Miriam’s high jump, you can clear the raised platform and access the door to the right.
If your allies are out of commission, you’ll have to travel longer routes, where strong foes await. When their life gets low, be sure to switch them out so they’ll be available when you need them.
▲ With Miriam down, only the bottom path is accessible.
▲ Usually, routes open to everyone are longer and more treacherous.
▲ Allies can also give you access to special items.
Core Gameplay 3 – Multiple Endings
Curse of the Moon has a variety of endings which change depending on your play style throughout the game.
The choices you make when encountering the other adventurers for the first time are key.
Core Gameplay 4 – Casual Style
Curse of the Moon has two play styles, “Veteran” and “Casual.”
Choose “Veteran” style to experience a difficulty reminiscent of older games.
Even if you’re a fan of challenging games, sometimes you just want to take it easy! “Casual” mode is perfect for times like that.
▲ An enemy’s attack knocks the player to their death…something very familiar to retro game fans.
▲ On “Casual” style, things are more forgiving. Attacks don’t knock the player back, and lives are unlimited, alongside other changes.
● Changing Style
Style can be changed when starting a game, loading a save file, or on the Game Over screen.
Lastly, here are details on the playable characters:
Zangetsu
The protagonist of Curse of the Moon. He is a master swordsman who holds a deep grudge against demons and alchemists. With the highest HP and attack power, Zangetsu is a jack of all trades with no particular downsides. He can use 3 different sub-weapons: a ball-and-chain, magic charms, and demon essence.
Main Weapon： Zangetsuto
The Zangetsuto blade slashes quickly but with a short reach. It’s easy to use, and due to its speed, can dish out high DPS.
Zangetsu’s Playstyle
Each character goes into battle with a number of sub-weapons or abilities that use WEAPON points along with a single, unlimited-use main weapon.
- Sub-weapon: Ball-and-Chain – Attacks diagonally upward to deliver a single, powerful blow against enemies above Zangetsu.
- Sub-weapon: Magic Charms – Thrown diagonally downward, and upon contact generates a magic sphere which hits repeatedly.
- Sub-weapon: Demon Essence – Zangetsu uses a demon’s essence to increase his main weapon’s attack power for a short time.
Zangetsu’s Unique Skills
Upon meeting certain conditions during the game, Zangetsu will awaken new skills.
- Crescent Moon – A downward slash that attacks in a large arc.
- Blood Moon – Zangetsu can jump once more in mid-air
- New Moon – A high-speed dash.
Miriam
A young woman whose body was implanted with Shards by alchemists. The long reach of her whip, along with her dagger, rapier, axe, and sickle sub-weapons, is perfect for taking out weaker enemies. She can jump higher than any other character, and her slide lets her access tight spaces!
Main weapon: Whip
Though slow to attack, her whip boasts incredible reach. She’s able to strike at enemies from outside their attack ranges.
Miriam’s Playstyle
With her 4 varied sub-weapons, Miriam’s combat ability rivals even Zangetsu’s. She’s also able to use her abilities to access routes that other characters cannot.
- Special Action: High jump – Miriam is able to jump higher without any special command. Useful for evading, movement, and attacking.
- Special Action: Slide – Can pass through narrow passages. However, it is not particularly fast
- Sub-weapon: Dagger – Throws a dagger straight forward. While their attack power is low, daggers can be thrown rapidly and consume few WEAPON points.
- Sub-weapon: Rapier – Throws 3 rapiers diagonally upward. With proper aim, all 3 swords can connect for big damage.
- Sub-weapon: Axe – While its range is short, it delivers a powerful blow to enemies at close-range.
- Sub-weapon: Sickle – Throws a sickle straight forward. The sickle will return after a short time, striking enemies again.
Alfred
An alchemist who searches for the Liber Logaeth. Alfred uses powerful alchemical magic for his subweapons. Of his 4 different magic sub-weapons, his special lightning magic, Voltaic Ray, can take down bosses in one shot! His weak point is his especially small life bar.
Main weapon: Rod
Alfred attacks with a rod weapon, but it is short and slow. You’d be better off finding other ways to fight.
Alfred’s Playstyle
With the right magic equipped and plenty of WEAPON points, he can waltz through any situation. However, his extremely small life bar requires special care.
- Sub-weapon: Burning Sphere – A temporary barrier of flame. Works well in situations with many enemy projectiles or low-health enemies.
- Sub-weapon: Frostcalibur – Fires an immense sword of ice directly forward. Enemies it contacts will be frozen and can be used as platforms. Enemies aren’t all it can freeze…
- Sub-weapon: Voltaic Ray – The strongest alchemy. It attacks enemies repeatedly, but will be hard to find and equip
- Sub-weapon: Soul Vision – Produces a copy of Alfred directly in front of himself. While weak, it compensates for Alfred’s reach.
Gebel
A young man who was also implanted with Shards like Miriam, he detests humans and alchemists alike. While Gebel does not have a sub-weapon, he uses his WEAPON points to activate his flight ability. Also, as his main attack is aimed upwards, he is naturally capable of extremely powerful anti-air combat! Along with his combat strength, he excels at acquiring items and travelling through shortcuts.
Main weapon; Summon Darkness
Gebel attacks with bat-shaped dark energy in a spread pattern diagonally upward.
Gebel’s Playstyle
Gebel can use weapon points to transform and fly freely through areas. While his main weapon excels at anti-air combat, its trajectory leaves him powerless against crawling enemies.
- Sub-weapon: Immortal Metamorphosis – Gebel transforms his body into a stained-glass bat, allowing him to fly in any direction.
- Special Action: Siphon Blood – Gebel’s attack while transformed. A horizontal tackle that deals damage to enemies.
- Special Action: Quick Ascend – Gebel can spend WEAPON points to quickly ascend while transformed. Useful for evasion and movement.
- Special Action: Cancel Metamorphosis – Cancels the transformation and returns Gebel to normal.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon releases May 24, 2018 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PC.
