Inti Creates has just announced Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, an action-adventure platforming title that will be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. The news was unveiled during the New Game+ Expo live stream, but the announcement did not include a release date.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a sequel to Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, a 2D scrolling platforming title that was released in 2018. The game will still be supervised creatively by the Bloodstained series creator Koji Igarashi and is set to feature four playable characters, three of which are new. These characters have unique gameplay options, abilities, and different ways to approach finishing the game’s challenging levels.
Curse of the Moon 2 is said to employ the classic 8-bit aesthetic from the platformers of yesteryear. As for its storyline, players assume the role of Zangetsu, introduced as “a swordsman from the Far East who bears a deep grudge against demonkind.” Players must battle their way to the demons’ stronghold but not without the help of a cast of new characters, each with their own skills to make the journey a little easier. These characters can be switched to at any time depending on if you feel like changing your approach to the challenges, or if the situation demands it. Each will have their own life bars, increasing your survivability as a whole. As for the aforementioned “when the situation demands it”, certain levels are laid out in such a way that only certain characters can pass through obstacles or defeat certain enemies effectively, so try all of them out and see what their strengths and weaknesses are.
The three additional characters are:
- Dominique, a priestess equipped with a spear capable of healing and reviving allies, as well as bouncing on enemies to reach high places.
- Robert, a skilled former soldier who is an excellent marksman. Owing to his high firepower but low defense skill, Robert is considered the glass cannon of the team.
- Hachi, who is a Welsh Corgi outfitted with a set of magicked armor. Hachi’s role mainly revolves around tanking damage with his high HP and the ability to traverse dangerous terrain and obstacles.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is set to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Here’s hoping there’s also a Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night sequel in the works as well, and you can check out a review for that title here.
- Expansive gameplay built on a very solid set of mechanics.
- Huge areas to explore, with a lot of secrets in between.
- Good amount of variety not only in weapons and powers, but also the enemies.
- Huge amount of replayability, with more free DLCs on the way.
- Topnotch music and sound design.
- Art style can be quite amiss on some people; even downright ugly for some.
- Sports quite a number of irritating bugs and other minor issues, all adding up to downgrade the overall quality.
- A general lack of polish, coupled with the Switch version being outright unplayable due to the fact.
