Koji Igarashi’s Castlevania Successor is Revealed as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Full Disclosure: I have financially backed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Kickstarter.

Koji Igarashi has revealed his Castlevania spiritual successor, following endless teasing from an unknown source. Koji Igarashi previously left Konami in March of last year, only to put his dream game on hold a few months later. This is that dream game of his.

The game is known as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and its a 2.5D action game for consoles. It’s meant to bring back the style that made both Igarashi and Castlevania famous. The development is being handled by Inti Creates, the studio known for Mighty No. 9. Michiru Yamane is handling the soundtrack as well.

The story found within Bloodstained is the sort of experience you’d expect to see in a Castlevania game. The protagonist, Miriam, is adopted as an orphan by an alchemist – however she’s used as the host for some kind of dark alchemy-based curse. As she was in a deep sleep for a decade, the curse grew within her, and eventually she wakes to find demons entering her world.

There is a primary antagonist, Gebel, who Miriam will eventually challenge, as well as Johannes, who is touted as a suppor character. Miriam is only 18, while Gebel and Johannes are in their 30s. You can find profiles for each character, below:

Main Character: Miriam (age 18)

Picked up as an orphan by an Alchemist at a young age, she became a host for the dark Alchemists’ curse. Although the magicrystals were fused with her body at a young age, for 10 years she lay sleeping while the curse matured to its full form. It was during this period that the demons arrived, meaning that she missed their appearance and awoke with a mild form of amnesia, not quite fully understanding what happened to her.

She is a woman of few words but strong of purpose. Her youth is deceiving, making her seem confrontational and quick to judge, though in reality she is constantly evaluating her next step. The pain she felt as an orphaned child fuels her compassionate desire to protect her loved ones and friends.

Antagonist Character: Gebel (age 30)

Original host for the magi-crystal curse that summons demons to the planet. He was the only one to survive its effects at such a high level. He destroyed the guild that created him, but in doing so realized he was no longer human and had no place on Earth. This in turn, lead him to summon the demon castle from hell to appear on the planet.

It is said that his real purpose in summoning the castle was to give Miriam a place of her own, but as his Magicrystal disease progressed, he soon forgot his own reasoning. The more he surrounded himself with hellspawn, the quicker the magicrystals engulfed his body. He continues to plot the downfall of man, and how to best convince (or use) Miriam to achieve his dark ambition.

Support Character: Johannes (age 30)

A member of the defunct Alchemist guild and Gebel’s best friend. The only Alchemist who dissented with the plan to call demons to the earth to cement Alchemy as the prevalent philosophy. His rejection of the other Alchemists’ scheme is what kept him from sharing their fate. He has a vague understanding that Miriam’s awakening and the demon castle’s appearance are no mere coincidence.

He is a caring, optimistic, and emotional individual, making him ill-suited for the work of an alchemist. However, his alchemic knowledge is the one thing keeping the magi-crystal curse from consuming Miriam entirely. He continues his devout study in hopes of stopping Gebel and avoiding the mistakes of the Alchemists before him.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is going to be funded by Kickstarter, and Igarashi is hoping to have the game come to PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

The game will be exploration-focused, alongside your expected RPG and crafting elements. The Kickstarter is looking for $500,000 in funding. If you back the game, you’ll get a digital copy, as well as the option for a “Special Backer Edition” physical copy, which comes with a swordwhip, hidden boss, and Kickstarter-edition slipcase across all platforms.

The crowdfunding campaign has the following stretch goals: