Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

The prospect of playing such a lovingly crafted tribute to the vintage heyday of Konami's seemingly abandoned Castlevania series more than makes up for a few out-of-place boss fights and a slightly too punitive death penalty. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon delivers a brief but effective burst of nostalgia, and thanks to its many creative modifiers it contains enough replay value to engage (and challenge) anyone who pines for gaming's bygone days. And this isn't even the "real" Bloodstained! As appetizers go, it's substantial — nearly satisfying enough to be its own main course.

Made with affection and artistry, this retro appetiser is a very pleasant surprise.

Curse of the Moon has a fun roster of unique heroes, but the slow-moving action quickly grows stale

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon keeps the lifeblood of the Castlevania series pumping with a condensed, and appropriately retro homage. It might not blaze the trail on anything new like a few other recent Inti Creates projects have, but it does exactly what it needs to do, and helps bolster the new legacy of Bloodstained proper before it's even out.

Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon is undoubtedly aimed at a very specific audience, and you'll know if you're part of that just by looking at the screenshots. If those, combined with words such as these, make your heart sing, however, it's definitely worth your time. It's like Castlevania just decided to come soaring back into all our lives, and how can that ever be a bad thing? Exactly.

I ask you to assess whether it is worth paying 10 euros for 2 hours of play, or you prefer to invest them in others whose duration is longer. In any case, if you are lovers of retro, go for it because it will make you spend an entertaining mini afternoon.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an amazing retro game that is familiar and fun.

Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon is a brilliant ode to one of Castlevania’s best

I had a feeling that Curse of the Moon would be a title that I was going to enjoy, but I wasn’t aware of how much I would immediately love this game.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a good game to get started in games like Castlevania at an interesting price.