If you've played SotN or any of its contemporaries like Axiom Verge or Shadow Complex you know what to expect. Controls should be mostly familiar too. Using an Xbox-style gamepad for my demo, X handled attacks and A was for jumping, while magic attacks were mapped to Y and the right trigger.

My admittedly brief demo took place on a boat infested by all manner of ghastly creatures. I went from room to room as protagonist Miriam; clearing out harpy-like creatures and hulking, headless suits of armor on the main deck with edged weapons and fisticuffs. I then jumped downward through platforms and took the fight to jellyfish and barnacle-covered cannons below decks.

It's worth noting that I didn't encounter any of the "get skill to unlock new area" tropes the genre is known for. But with each new area I entered, the mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen filled in. Once or twice, it showed doorways that weren't visible in the game with my current loadout, a coy tease that there were plenty of secrets tucked away in the haunted ship.

I leveled up a handful of times and found a bunch of new gear (including a pair of "kung-fu boots" that increased my kicking damage), too. When it comes to magic, spells are called "Shards" in Bloodstained parlance, and I unlocked both fire and ice incantations. Combat is light and quick, and the aforementioned ice magic attack can counter the possessed cannon's salvos.

My only gripe is that I couldn't quite get the timing right to successfully evade incoming attacks. That the evade command (a quick jump backward) was awkwardly mapped to the left bumper button didn't help either. The placement is even more perplexing considering the B button doesn't have a function assigned to it.

For run-of-the-mill enemy encounters it wasn't too big of a deal. Once I found a weapon that worked for my play style -- a rapier -- I didn't take much damage. Its longer range meant I didn't have to be nearly as close while attacking enemies, and thus, offered a bit of protection compared to attacking bare-handed. And, unlike the claymore which covered even more range and did more damage, the comparatively smaller sword wasn't slow to swing.