this is a solid followup to the iga legacy of the castlevania metroidvanias. i really like how it carries the soul system similar to aria and dawn of sorrow; two games i extremely enjoy. i am glad this game is also not linear like portrait of ruin and most of order of ecclesia. i have a couple of gripes with it though. i feel the game gets somewhat tedious hunting down the next objective. i am not asking for a guiding point as that would ruin the point of the game, but there are times where i autistically look at the map searching for where i potentially am unable to access due to missing an ability. two: i feel some of the 3d character models look off. i get that its an indie game and iga can't reuse rondo of blood or symphony of the night sprites anymore but there's absolutely room for improvement in that department. i find the length another thing i don't care for as much; i like shorter runtimes in my metroidvanias so i can replay them more often. id rather have a game with a shorter runtime with quality level design rather than a gigantic runtime with lacking areas. in this department, portrait of ruin and order of eclessia are more tempting for me to replay than this game because those two have a good runtime compared to bloodstained. despite my gripes, i have enjoyed my time with it and hope iga and his team can improve on this game with the planned sequel coming whenever it eventually happens.

i am not complete with the game as i am only halfway through the game as of writing this. this is a really good game. i just find the completion process annoying. finding all the red coins and flowers are good. i like that part. the 30/30 stars (essentially health) part is the shit i dislike about the game. too many enemies can just take baby mario away just out of nowhere. this pisses me off so much. i know the completion bonus is dogshit i still gotta schizo rant about how completing the game is annoying. why i keep attempting to complete these levels is due to me finding the levels really easy to just breeze through without the completionist side in mind. the most recent level i played was 4-2, where i focused on completing it then switched to just rushing through halfway through and the game got almost braindead. despite my incessant bitching and moaning i still like the game and collecting smiley flowers and red coins which absolutely add depth to the level design.