Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Curse of the Moon 2 brings classic 2D action and a dark, 8-bit aesthetic together with modern playability

NA release: 10th July 2020
EU release: 10th July 2020
JP release: 10th July 2020
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Inti Creates
Nintendo World Report Review: 8/10
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Version Played: PC

The third Bloodstained game is another 8-bit style adventure, carrying on the story of Curse of the Moon (although not following from a specific ending). That said, with the games having multiple continuities and the characters being extremely bland, I find it very difficult to care about what is going on in these games.

Curse of the Moon 2 is very much more of the same: you have a new cast of characters to choose from to work through a new classic style Castlevania game. Zangetsu with his short sword and short jump. Dominique has a spear for longer range and can bounce on some objects, which is fiddly, Robert has a gun and low health, and Hachi is a dog in a mech suit that can become invincible.

The difficulty has ramped up a lot, mainly from the platforming side, with lots of difficult jumps and nasty tricks. It comes across as difficult for the sake of it, and I just didn’t like the levels due to it. It does offer you multiple “chapters” which let you play the 8 levels with different sets of characters – including all the characters from the first game, which is neat. You’ll eventually get a final one with all characters, with the last level having an atrocious vertical shooter segment.

On paper, this offers more than the first game, as all previous characters do return after a few play throughs, but I just wasn’t fond of the levels, One neat thing is that you can find some permanent upgrades (such as more magic), although these are often hidden behind the abilities of a specific character, who you may not have access to at that point. It’s a decent game, I just liked the first a lot more.

Fine

Overall, though? Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is a great game that pays loving homage to the classic old-school Castlevania games. Here’s hoping this does well enough so Inti Creates can go even bigger with a third entry.
Zachary Miller, Nintendo World Report

Remake or remaster?

I wouldn’t mind some emulation-style enhancements to this.

Official Ways to get the game

Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 2 is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch.