Koji Igarashi says he’s planning more Bloodstained games

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night producer, Koji Igarashi has confirmed he intends to create future games in the series.

The action adventure game, which raised more than $5 million on Kickstarter, released in June to a favourable critical reception.

Speaking to Game Informer magazine (and transcribed by Destructoid), the former Castlevania producer said that he sees Ritual of the Night as “a starting ground for the next step,” and that he’s planning on creating a series “after putting so much effort” into the new IP.

A retro spin-off game, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, was also released in 2018.

However, Igarashi added that he’s also interested in crafting “more games of the genre with different world settings” in the future.

Igarahsi also alluded to the performance issues present in the Switch version of the game at launch and suggested that the logistical challenges of studio outsourcing was to blame.

Igarashi said that he “didn’t expect [the Switch port] to be as bad when it was released” and re-confirmed that developer WayForward is helping optimize the Switch edition.

“When you’re working with an outsourced studio, it can be difficult to match the quality line when things changed,” he said.

“With Bloodstained, we would first share our goal with the outsourced studio and make sure we both agree and determine the necessities, but even with proper planning it’s difficult to reach.”

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell wrote in VGC’s Bloodstained review: “Bloodstained doesn’t quite eclipse the games Castlevania inspired: it’s too much of a nostalgia project, uninterested in what has come to pass during Koji Igarashi’s absence from the limelight.

“But it remains a clever and absorbing play, and worth experiencing, whether you’re a Castlevanian or not, for the smashed opulence of its world.”

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was added to Xbox Game Pass in September.