Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a superb sequel. It has everything that made the first game a surprise hit, but expands and adds to it with a level of care that shines through the whole thing.
Inti Creates could've done "more of the same" and called it a day, but the new characters lend Curse of the Moon 2 a ton of flexibility, the co-op support is commendable, and the subtle refinements can be found far and wide if you go back to play the original game after spending a weekend with the sequel. Curse of the Moon isn't just some quaint offshoot of Bloodstained. It's leading the charge.
Wonderful game, great story, music, gameplay. A love letter to classic Castlevanias. I wish these developers make sequels for Bloodstained. I have enjoyed this game much more than main Ritual of the night. Zangetsu is the coolest character, I also love Gebel and Robert, while Miriam, Dominique and dog are fairly uninteresting.
I absolutely love this game and I think it's a masterpiece. But there's a lot you might want to know before playing.
First up is that there's a really big difficulty spike after around the 1/3rd of the game. After that the game stays REALLY HARD. Like, NES Castlevania 1 hard, or maybe even Castlevania 3. However, the game is always fair, it's just really unforgiving. There's 2 difficulty settings and make no mistake, the "veteran" difficulty lives up to its name. There is no shame in switching to "casual", it can save your nerves and a lot of time. "Veteran" really requires you to learn the ins and outs of everything in the game, to fully understand all abilities and skill of each character, enemy and boss. Learning that was VERY rewarding for me, but many might find it too difficult so that's important to keep in mind.
Second is that the game takes around 20 hours to TRULY finish. There's many "final" bosses, but to reach the final final boss you have to kinda beat the game 3 times. On the second run there's the difficulty spike, and every run has different level design, but the themes of the levels and bosses at the end of them stay the same.
Third is that, personally, I think reaching the end is super worth it. The ending section is absurd amazing in all the right places and the true final boss is one of my favourite final bosses in gaming. There's a ton of unexpected things in the ending, and they are only in the ending section, so to really see everything this game has to offer you have to reach the "secret" final boss.
If you like hard platformers and Castlevania aesthetic, then this game is a must buy.
If you liked Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, then you will like Curse of the Moon 2. It's more of the same, but in the best way: more levels, more characters, a cleaner interface, and lots of balance tweaks to make everyone play a bit better. You should check out Curse of the Moon first, since it's an excellent game on its own, but if you have a hankering for '80s Castlevania action, then Curse of the Moon 2 will give you everything you need.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a great mix of old and new, and one of the best 2D action games you can get on any platform right now, especially with how replayable it is and how varied your options as a player are, now if only the jump mechanic was more flexible.
It's still a classic Castlevania homage at heart, but it has an eccentricity that feels right at home alongside the giant kitty-cats of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. When a game seems to be having this much fun at its own expense, it's hard not to join in.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 could've easily fallen into the Mega Man 10 trap – that is, another retro-styled follow-up that fails to make much of an impression since the gimmick has lost its lustre. Indeed, it does feel like the game could've been a little more ambitious, either in changing-up its design or upgrading its aesthetics to 16-bit level. But thanks to its somewhat higher difficulty level and a wider cast of characters, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is an extremely solid game that very slightly edges out its already excellent predecessor, and old-school Castlevania fans will absolutely love it.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a somewhat uneven sequel. On one hand, its new playable characters create some of the most ingenious stretches of retro platforming in recent memory. The myriad abilities at your disposal create an open-ended experience, and dismantling tricky challenges with your broad toolset is one of the game's greatest pleasures. But difficulty spikes and a few sequences that clash with the game's fixed trajectory jumps can make some stretches feel a little tedious. At its best, the game synthesizes the appeal of NES platformers with great boss fights and simple but nuanced systems. At its worst, it emulates the frustrating elements of games from this era with a little too much accuracy.
Overall, this was a nice treat! I didn't play Curse of The Moon 1, but I had no trouble getting into the unique multi-character play style. I enjoyed working my way through the levels, which are designed nicely to benefit the characters' differing abilities and movement. However, I did think there were a few too many gotcha's (usually involving bottomless pit deaths) and a few of the bosses just weren't fun (lava snake immediately comes to mind.) The core gameplay is still fun. A nice game at a good price.
Can't sit through more than 10 minutes of the first level before wanting to smash my head against the wall. The distorted tinny music loop drive me crazy. It overwhelms the entire experience and all I hear for the next hour is that horrible music. I know all the want to be cool kids will say oh you gotta listen to the retro music cuz it's so cool. But piss off I listend to that music for two decades now I want the option to turn the music down. I know the first game didn't have the option either that wasn't a standalone title it was a side project by now as a stand alone release it should have audio sliders. I wanna see the games not doing anything that new or interesting.
SummaryKoji Igarashi and Inti Creates are back with more retro sword-and-whip action!
Curse of the Moon 2 brings classic 2D action and a dark, 8-Bit aesthetic together with modern playability. The multi-scenario structure of the previous title returns with an epic new story supervised by IGA (Koji Igarashi) himself.
Players take control ...