Symphony of the Night Mastermind Reveals New Game, Bloodstained

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night developer Koji Igarashi has announced his next project, a 2.5D "Igavania"-style title called Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The game is in development for PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Igarashi is bypassing a traditional publishing deal for the project, instead looking to Kickstarter to get the game off the ground. He's launched a crowdfunding campaign, seeking $500,000 to make it a reality.

The developer explained that it has already raised some funds for Ritual of the Night. Money raised on Kickstarter will be used to increase the overall product budget and to release physical Xbox One and PS4 discs as backer rewards.

Igarashi is serving as Ritual of the Night's director/producer. Another veteran attached to the project is Castlevania series composer Michiru Yamane, who is working on the game's music. Development duties are being handled by Inti Creates, the Japanese studio behind Mega Man 9 and Mighty No. 9.

For lots more on Ritual of the Night, be sure to read GameSpot's interview with Igarashi and check out some screenshots in the gallery below, along with some backstory information.

Igarashi announced his departure from Konami last year. While at the Japanese publisher, he produced more than a dozen Castlevania titles, beginning with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 1997. He is known for transforming the series into a more adventure-oriented direction known as "Metroidvania."

Ritual of the Night backstory:

The 18th century has come to a close. Rapid advancements in science cast a dark shroud of doubt on the magics of old. The world begins to focus on the tangible.

Alchemy appears a new hybrid of science and magic. The Alchemist Guild, fearing pressure from new scientific discoveries, begins spreading word of a plague of demons that threaten the world if too much faith is placed in Science. This, of course, is a ruse to protect their power and wealth.

However, scientific progress cannot be stopped, and its advancements darken the hearts of the upper Alchemist elite. They begin to gather the “pure children" as test subjects to fuse with dangerous dark magics, a process that turns the children into “demonic magnets" that call demons to earth.

The Alchemists wait for the world to beg for their help, for they know the demon plague, which they set into motion, can only be slowed by their hand. Or so they thought…

In an ironic turn of fate, the Alchemists Guild disappears. 10 years after that fateful day, a monstrous and twisted castle filled with demons appears in the dilapidated spot that the greedy Alchemists once called home.