Genre: Action platformer
Developer: ArtPlay
Publisher: Inti Creates

For the most part, and like fellow Inti Creates game "Blaster Master Zero", Bloodstained's artists strictly followed the NES palette and sprite limitations, and the result feels like an authentic release from that era, except in pixel-perfect widescreen grandeur. Strikingly however, the bosses do not follow these restrictions, and their introductions are almost startling!

In looking at the credits, it was "design-by-committee" for this work's soundtrack. Unlike the "Pontiac Aztec" though, the end product-- a selection of nifty "Famitracker" minor key-focused productions-- is surprisingly uniform and well-coordinated, even if the composition quality is somewhat uneven. Sound effects almost totally and faithfully stick to NES white noise-channel effects.

Like "Castlevania III", this Bloodstained title is a linear action platformer with light branching paths-and-collectibles mechanics. The four character switching concept works well, and the levels are thoughtfully designed to require the usage of each of them, along with a heavy sub-weapon orientation. Unfortunately, the stages feel a little too static and same-y.

The biggest problem facing Bloodstained is that the whole game feels caught in a no-man's land between the full-blown "Symphony of the Night"-style design, which modern gamers expect, and a traditional action platformer, where the game is absolutely no match for the genre's best. That said, this is by no means a bad game-- it's just a little flat.