Castlevania-Style Game Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night's Release Date Narrowed, Slightly

The latest Nintendo Direct was packed with news, and also narrowed down when we can expect to finally play Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, but only slightly. The brief look at the game showed its heroine Miriam fighting demons, as well as a closer look at the character customization features. It ended with a new release window: Summer 2019. That date is likely across all platforms, not just Nintendo Switch. Those include PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Previously the game had been delayed into 2019, an announcement that came alongside the cancellation of the Vita version. More recently, the Mac and Linux versions were canceled as well. Those who backed the game for one of the canceled platforms can swap their request to a different platform. Some of those cancellations, like for Wii U and Vita, are a sign of just how long the game has been in development. It originally reached its funding goals on Kickstarter in 2015.

The project is a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and similar "Metroidvania" games, and it's being helmed by Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi.

Players eager for Bloodstained got a small taste of it with a bonus game that was produced as a stretch goal. Castlevania: Curse of the Moon was made by developer Inti Creates, and serves as a prequel to Ritual of the Night. It also models itself after an earlier Castlevania game. It's currently a free game for Xbox Live Gold members for the month of February.