Update: Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has met its $500,000 Kickstarter goal.

Original Story:

Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night is often heralded as one of the best games of all time, but its producer Koji Igarashi left Konami a little over a year ago. We finally know what he's been working on all that time, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The game is already partially funded, but Igarashi is turning to Kickstarter to help complete funding.

As you can see on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's Kickstarter page, Koji Igarashi has teamed up with developer Inti Creates (Mega Man 9, Mighty No 9, Azure Striker Gunvolt) for a new 2.5D game that looks very much like a spiritual successor to Igarashi's work on the Castlevania series.

The story focuses on an 18th century Alchemist Guild that calls forth a demon plague and then disappears. Ten years later, a monstrous castle filled with demons appears in the same spot that the Alchemists once called home. A young orphan woman who had been cursed by the Alchemists awakes with amnesia and sets off to defeat the evil in the castle. The game is missing Dracula, but otherwise it sounds similar to the Igarashi's Castlevania games. All of the game's enemies and Gothic art style are based on theancient grimoire Lesser Key of Solomon.

One unique twist to Bloodstained's gameplay is a crafting system. Throughout the game, players collect magi-crystals, which they can combine to create new skills, buffs, and magics.

The team is looking to raise $500,000 on Kickstarter in order to offer Xbox One and PS4 console discs as backer rewards.

Our Take

This is certainly exciting news for Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night fans. As a longtime admirer of many of Igarashi's titles, I'm hoping that this Kickstarter blows through its goals. I'll certainly have my eye on this game.