It looks like a duck and walks like a duck... Koji Igarashi, assistant director of Symphony of the Night, and producer of the Castlevania series from Chronicles up to Harmony of Dispair, has unleashed his Kickstarter to fund the spiritual successor to his special brand of Metroidvania... err, I mean Igavania!
First teased on the website SwordOrWhip.com, IGA's latest has now been revealed. Told by publishers that "gamers no longer care for this style of game," he aims to strike out on his own to "continue exploring and refining the genre." His latest exploration focused action platformer is Bloodstained, planned for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, and in addition, Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
During the writing of this past paragraph, funding has just exceeded its goal of $500,000, and continues climbing with over 7,000 backers, currently growing at a rate of three to five per second! With 32 days to go, stretch goals of an art book, second playable character, nightmare difficulty mode, and and voice acting by David Hayter are sure to be met! Bonus Kickstarter achievements include an exciting 8-bit remix of a featured game tune, "silly cheat codes," and "getting IGA to cosplay for your amusement!"
The soundtrack will be composed by Michiru Yamane, famous for Symphony of the Night, Bloodlines, Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, as well as awesome soundtracks from other series like Contra, Rocket Knight Adventures, Ganbare Goemon, and Skullgirls! Also joining for sound design and direction is Ippo Yamada of Inti Creates, with a history of working on nearly a dozen Mega Man titles among other Capcom titles.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night stars protagonist Miriam, an orphan and cursed by dark Alchemists. Antagonist Gebel pans to manipulate Miriam to achieve his evil plans. Dissenter Johannes aims to help Miriam, his best friend, to understand what has happened to her since her ten year sleep has left her unaware of her state.
Confirmed are trademark RPG elements, a sprawling map featuring Gebel's hellish castle, crafting through alchemy, and a variety of weapons.
Sounds like everything a fan of Igavanias would want in a game! With a tentative release date is around March of 2017, the wait promises to be a cursed nightmare!
Source: Kickstarter
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