History VideoGame / BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight

''Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night'' is a [=2D=] {{Metroidvania}} (or as the Kickstarter calls it, an "[=IGAvania=]") game for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]], UsefulNotes/XboxOne, [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]], UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, iOS, and Android. It is directed by Creator/KojiIgarashi and developed by [=ArtPlay=], DICO, and Creator/{{WayForward|Technologies}}. Creator/IntiCreates also originally assisted with development until they parted ways and were subsequently replaced by DICO.

** Shard abilities that are required to move through the castle (such as Craftwork's hand) consume very little mana on use, so a player won't find themselves stuck. Other abilities, such as inverting or traveling underwater, don't require mana at all.

*** In a similar manner, the Galleon Minerva’s first cannon will be treated as having already been fired to destroy the wall in a randomised run, since the player could randomise shards, leading to them having no fire attacks to light the fuse.

* BossInMookClothing: The Kunekune's creepy entrance aside, it doesn't get treated as anything more than another standard enemy in the game. However, it is ''extremely'' dangerous, especially at the point when you can first encounter it. It has relatively high hp, inflicts the very dangerous Curse status effect, and deals a lot of damage ''just by making eye contact with you''.

* {{Cap}}: 9:
** Mariam can only hold of each type of healing item / Poison / Waystones.

* CuttingTheKnot: You ''could'' scour the entire castle for [[spoiler:the one specific spot you must use the Invert ability to obtain the Aegis Plate in order to pass through the two spiked passages in the Entrance]], or you just [[spoiler:optimize for speed with the Tailwind Tome and Speed Belt, and use {{knockback}} to push yourself along the passages and run during the invinciblity frames, and maybe some form of healing for a buffer, in case you take more than the 6 or so required hits of [[PercentBasedValues 15% of Max HP the spikes do]] which would sap 90% of your HP, or more]]. This is after an attempted mitigatation by the addition of the second Iron Maiden in an update, requiring the Craftwork shard to carry it along while walking through the spikes, making it slightly more precise to tank through.

* DeathOfAThousandCuts: The Rhava Velar sword has weak damage, but it strikes ''five times'' for every press of the attack button and has the fastest attack rate of any weapon in the game on top of that. And if that weren't enough, it's also one of the few weapons[[note]]the others are Rhava Búlar, Flying Edge, and Oracle Blade[[/note]] in the game that don't prevent Miriam from moving while attacking.

* DiscOneFinalDungeon: The omniously-named Hall of Termination is situated at the uppermost portion of the castle and surrounded by regal decor that befits a FinalBoss that presides over it. Indeed, at the end of a long set of stairs sits a throne room where Gebel awaits. [[spoiler:But he's not the final boss. To continue further, the player must acquire the Zangetsuto and use it to force Gremory out of hiding.]]

** O.D. notes that "your kind hasn't discovered it yet" when telling Miriam about photography, suggesting that the creatures of the night are at least slightly more advanced enough to know how to utilize photography. [[spoiler:Dominique being the only other one who knows about photography raises some red flags in hindsight, though it's mitigated by O.D. also noting that if anyone among humans have come close to figuring photography out it would be the Church, which Dominique is a member of.]]

* HeartContainer: Throughout the castle, there are items that permanently increase Miriam's maximum health, magic, and ammo capacity.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The true BigBad, [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Dominique Baldwin]]]], eventually delivers a MotiveRant that reveals that [[spoiler:she was devastated by the loss of her parents to the first Demonic Invasion, and decided that any god who was willing to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to their followers while they suffered did not deserve to be acknowledged as a god]]. While [[spoiler:Dominique]]'s pain is understandable, [[spoiler:she]] says this in ''the same conversation'' where [[spoiler:she]] reveals that [[spoiler:she [[EvilPlan plans]] to summon [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Bael]], [[RedBaron the ultimate demon]], cause ''an even larger-scale Demonic Invasion'' in order to become a ''higher'' being than God, and [[LackOfEmpathy dismisses anybody who dies as a result]] as [[BlamingTheVictim too weak to deserve sympathy]]]], which is disgustingly hypocritical. Unsurprisingly, [[TheHero Miriam]] is not impressed at how twisted [[spoiler:Dominique]] has become since [[spoiler:her parents' deaths]].
** [[spoiler:Dominique]] also expresses anger that [[spoiler:Zangetsu would betray her by giving Miriam his sword to surprise-attack [[TheDragon Gremory]]]]. This coming from the same individual who [[spoiler:has been manipulating Miriam and her allies since ''the very beginning'']]. [[spoiler:In fact, it was Zangetsu becoming suspicious of Dominique's true motives and inquiring [[GoodAllAlong Alfred]] to learn the truth, that led to him "betraying" her in the first place.]]

** Miriam is repeatedly warned that absorbing Shards en masse is dangerous and potentially fatal, since her body may not be able to handle such a massive influx of demonic power all at once. You can pretty much streamroll everything in the castle and cram Shards into Miriam's body as much as you please and she won't be any worse for wear. [[spoiler: The source of this information is unreliable]]. Although, [[spoiler:Johannes was the first one to raise the concern, and he was just being cautious]].

* GottaCatchThemAll: Get all the shards and Gebel's Glasses become available in a chest near Johannes. They give infinite MP.

Due to the absolutely massive amount of promised content, features are gradually added on to the game since its release through a regular update cycle. The game received its first major update on May 7th, 2020, adding Zangetsu as a playable character and a Randomizer Mode. Additional content added through updates includes Boss Revenge (where you fight Miriam as playable bosses), a surprise playable character for the main game in Bloodless, and Classic Mode, a sub-game where you play through a reformulated version of the game in the style of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaI''.

** The stained glass panel used as a WarpWhistle is a portrait of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda a blonde man with a green hat and clothes playing a flute]].

* BonusBoss:
** There are four rooms locked by extremely well-hidden keys throughout the castle, three of which hold extremely powerful optional bosses: the Master Carpenter, the Millionaire's Bane, and the Revenant. These bosses can also be farmed for their shards and items (which are needed to eventually craft the best gear in the game).
** O.D. warns you that there will be consequences if you don't return his books to the library before the end of your journey and gives you an additional warning if you borrow the Tome of Conquest which combines the effect of several other books. If you have it in your inventory when you enter a specific room in the final area, [[spoiler:O.D. himself shows up as a bonus superboss, capable of stopping time]].
** [[CreatorCameo Koji Igarashi]] himself is available to challenge as a bonus to those who backed the original Kickstarter or as paid DLC.
** There is also the Eight-Bit Overlord, the boss at the end of the secret Eight-Bit Nightmare area. Like the bonus bosses behind the locked doors, the Overlord can also be farmed for its shard and item. The item it drops is needed to upgrade the Eight-Bit Weapons to their strongest form.
** The crossover areas both have their own bosses at the end. The boss of the area based on Journey in particular is strong enough to do significant chunks of damage to an endgame Miriam. [[spoiler: And you need to have reached TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon in order for the area to be available in the first place.]]

* CreatorCameo: Game director Koji Igarashi appears in the game as a {{D|ownloadableContent}}LC BonusBoss. His likeness is also on a portrait in the room that leads to the 8-Bit Nightmare.

* EmptyRoomPsych: The game has several of them. The biggest example by far is Celeste's Room, a special room inside the Livre ex Machina. It requires a key to open it in exactly the same way as the BonusBoss rooms. Inside there's a lot of cool stuff: a painting to look at, several music boxes to listen to, and a pair of chairs that the player can sit in, which causes a ghostly figure to appear in the opposite chair after a few seconds. The room doesn't do anything else, however. Many, many players spent a lot of time in frustration trying to figure out the non-existent puzzle.

* FlechetteStorm: The Chisel Barrage Directional Shard, dropped by the BonusBoss Master Carpenter. Once fully upgraded, it shoots a near-continous stream of chisels out, giving it one of the highest DPS levels of any shard.

** Orlok Dracule is a vampire found in Livre Ex Machina who will actually ''help'' Miriam, as well as allow her to take out books, over time allowing her to take more books and even granting her an especially rare one. [[spoiler:However, if Miriam travels to the endgame area with that book still in her inventory, Orlok will become a hostile BonusBoss. If beaten, he begrudgingly goes back to being non-malicious and, in fact, regards Miriam as his new mistress.]]

** A BonusBoss can use a ColorCodedTimestop with projectiles as one of his attacks, with the visuals and audio cue referencing none other than [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders DIO]]. In fact, [[spoiler:it's important to note that he's voiced by ''[=SotN=]''[='s=] Alucard (in both langauges), known for his name spelled [[SdrawkcabName backwards]] being his father's. Do the same trick here, and...]]

** When you fight Igarashi as the DLC BonusBoss, he fights like classic ''Castlevania'' Dracula on steroids, teleporting around the room, throwing fireballs (among many other devastating moves), and only being vulnerable in the head. His shard gives you the ability to [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight chuck glasses of wine on the floor]].

** The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sword Whip]]. It can be obtained by defeating the BonusBoss [[CreatorCameo "Igarashi"]], who himself wields the Sword Whip. This boss is available only in the DLC pack or to those who backed the original Kickstarter.

The Website/{{Kickstarter}} [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night campaign]] was launched on May 11, 2015. The first wave stretch goals were reached within hours of the campaign's launch, and since then stretch goal after stretch goal was revealed and subsequently crushed. By the end of its campaign on June 12th, it had raised a whopping '''''$5,545,991'''''[[note]]Not counting the additional $200,000+ from [=PayPal=] backers[[/note]], becoming the most funded video game on Kickstarter, after ''VideoGame/TormentTidesOfNumenera'' held that record for over two years, and remained so for about a month before ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}} III'' surpassed it. It is also the ninth most funded Kickstarter campaign overall.

In 2023, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X_54wp1xiU a second Classic Mode]] is announced to feature the BigBad of the game, [[spoiler:Dominique Baldwin]], as the playable character as she ventures through a gameplay similar to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest''.

In 2023, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X_54wp1xiU a second Classic Mode]] is announced to feature the BigBad of the game, Dominique Baldwin, as the playable character as she ventures through a gameplay similar to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest''.

* DownloadableContent: Thanks to meeting every one of its stretch goals from the Kickstarter campaign, the game will feature 13 free post-launch downloadable content packs, which includes a Classic Mode, Chaos Mode, a {{Speedrun}} Mode, a Randomizer Mode, a BossRush Mode, Boss Revenge Mode, local and online co-op multiplayer, two extra playable characters, and a "Pure" Miriam outfit. Late into the game's development, a formerly backer-exclusive DLC, which features IGA himself as a superboss along with a special shard and the Sword Whip weapon as a reward for defeating him, later became available to all players as the "IGA Back Pack" DLC. Additionally, there will be various cosmetic [=DLC=] packs players can purchase to further customize Miriam's appearance.

** To keep players from getting frustrated by grinding for valuable loot, any item that is crafted is automatically added to the shop in the next room. So after forging an item, you can later buy more of it and break it down to get those hard-to-find loot drops. Of course, this means that you have to go grind for Alkahest instead, but that's a much more common drop.

** There's a jump canceling trick during underwater fights after you acquired the Deep Sinker shard. Normally, a jumping attack with a Greatsword forces you to wait until Miriam lands the downward strike before you can perform another move. However, [[ButtonMashing mashing the jump and attack buttons]] while underwater allows Miriam to spam the downward strike without waiting for the entire recovery animation.

* LagCancel: Miriam can use her backdash to cancel her normal attack. Well-timed jump landing can also do this as well.

* AllForNothing: The Alchemy Guild's horribly unethical experiments ended up having the complete opposite effect of what its members wanted. The goal of binding children to demonic power and sacrificing them to unleash the first Demonic Invasion, was to convince the world that there were problems that only the Alchemy Guild could solve, winning the people's trust and then profiting off of it. Instead, the complicit Guild members were found out [[TooDumbToLive and executed]], and the Alchemy Guild folded.

** One enemy, Tamako-Death, is a rocker chick complete with an electric guitar. Electric guitars only started showing up in [[TheGreatDepression the 1930s]] as a jazz instrument - the rockers appeared almost three decades later.

** The moon is also this, as its frequently seen in various parts of the game. [[spoiler:It's a clue for how to get the true ending.]]

** Zangetsu Mode is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Zangetsu retains the special moves he had in his boss battle, but it plays more like a straight side-scroller instead of a metroidvania game.
** Using a not-so-secret CheatCode enables Bloodless Mode. She's [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter mechanically distinct from either Miriam or Zangetsu]], but unlike Zangetsu she has the ability to upgrade her powers by finding crystals scattered around the castle, making her gameplay more of a halfway point between the standard and Zangetsu modes. She also starts in her boss room instead of in the Galleon Minerva, and the player is given free leisure to explore the castle at will.
** Aurora Mode is probably the most thorough extra mode in the game so far since it's been in planning for a good chunk of the game's development time until it was subtly hinted in 2020. She has her own story that's told with rhyming poetry like in her original game and her gameplay is a mixture of Miriam and Bloodless: she can collect and use a small selection of shards that represent the cursed forms of her friends that she can have upgraded with Johannes, and depending on which ones she has equiped, her stats will also change. The functions of some shards also differ from the one Miriam has. Finally, she gets a unique familliar in form of Igniculus and a fixed Directional Shard, both of which are upgraded with items found in chests and white shards that're found in shard holders and gotten from bosses.

* BittersweetEnding: In the True Ending. [[spoiler:Gremory, Dominique, and Bael are defeated, and the castle is destroyed. But the remaining villagers, Miriam, and Johannes are the only two survivors of the ordeal. Gebel, Alfred, and [[UncertainDoom presumably]] Zangetsu are all dead, leaving the two to mourn their deaths. On top of that, even with the castle destroyed, there are still demons loose upon the world and Gremory has seemingly escaped. There is a ray of hope for Miriam's future, though, as Johannes informs her that Alfred suggested some improvements that could be made to the methods used to stop the crystals from overtaking her body and now believes he can halt it permanently.]]

* GameGourmet: There is a fairly extensive food system in this game. You can prepare a variety of food and drinks, and consume them to restore your HP and MP, and gain a permanent stat boost the first time you consume a particular dish.

In 2020, ''Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Kingdom}} Kingdom: Two Crowns]]'' have joined forces. The Deadlands update for ''Kingdom'' has Miriam, Zangetsu, Gebel and Alfred as playable rulers. Meanwhile ''Bloodstained'' has a ''Kingdom'' DLC where Miriam goes to a short area from the ''Kingdom'' world.

** Miriam and some of the other characters are in ''[[VideoGame/{{Kingdom}} Kingdom: Two Crowns]]'' and in return ''Bloodstained'' has a DLC where Miriam takes a short trip to an area from ''Kingdom'' where she'll fight the Breeder boss and win the Archer familiar from it (you can keep returning to this area and refight the Breeder for additional Archer shards).

** The way to access the new area that works as a crossover with VideoGame/{{Kingdom}} is also very obscure: after you beat Bathin, a new crown item is added to the shop that only costs 1G to buy. Buying and wearing it while boarding the train in Bridge of Evil from the left side then allows you to enter a new area by reaching the right side of the train and opening the door that would normally let you skip to the end of the train ride.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: It's possible for a randomizer seed to be unbeatable, if key items are locked behind other key items or themselves, like if both the Aegis Plate and Craftwork shard, and / or [[spoiler:the Zangetsuto]] is in the final two areas, since said areas are only accessible with said item. At least only Craftwork or Invert or High Jump are needed for the "Defeat Gebel" goal, while "Defeat [True / All] Evil" needs at least the spoilered item and Dimensional Shift to reach the final boss.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: It's possible for a randomizer seed with the "Defeat True Evil" or "Defeat All Evil" goal to be rendered unbeatable if [[spoiler:the Zangetsuto]] is placed in either of the final two areas, since said areas are only accessible with said item. Fortunately, the item is not required for the "Defeat Gebel" goal.

** Doppelganger vs. Aurora: The Doppelganger of Miriam can trap itself below the doors, and then can't escape, just trying to run at Aurora if Aurora keeps flying. The Doppelganger of Miriam is stopped by the stage geometry, allowing Tristis to just attack it forever, and Oengus is Aurora's only weapon that has enough range to deal damage without triggering any further attacks, which would eventually get the Doppelganger to FlashStep and free itself.

* BossArenaIdiocy: Standing behind or on the axle in the Master Carpenter's room stops his only attack that could functionally hit the player character to be blocked by that very axel, indefinitely.

** Nightmare Difficulty. Its enemies have the same stats as Hard difficulty, but Miriam's level is permanently set to 1 for the entirety of the game.[[note]]Essentially, this is similar to ''Portrait of Ruin''[='s=] and ''Order of Ecclesia''[='s=] Hard Mode Lv 1.[[/note]]