At least it ain't an oil stain, those are nasty.
Man, this game couldn't catch a breath! While most people would agree that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is, at its core, a good game, it received a lot of complaints, mostly from players, regarding its performance. They said that the Switch version was unplayable, which was a flat-out lie as I finished the game on that console, and trust me, it's VERY playable even if it didn't have a tip-top performance. I read that performance on PS4Pro and XOneS was just as bad, with as many crashes and... that's a lie too, as I played the game on the basic PS4 and, lemme tell you, it was a fun, fun time.
Since I already talked about the game at length on the Switch entry, and the game remains pretty much the same, I'll delve into the little things I noticed on my second playthrough. But first, I'll start with the performance... The game is beautiful, and it plays great. Back in the Switch version I got used to saving before talking to any NPC, to protect myself from crashes, but after a lot of paranoia induced saving I realized that... it isn't an issue on this version. I read that the PS4 version also crashed when reading books or talking to NPCs, but that was NEVER an issue on my playthrough. And I played the unpatched version. There are a few frame drops here and there, sometimes in areas that aren't even graphically intensive, or during moments that don't even have a lot of things moving around at the same time, but they aren't intrusive or detrimental to the player, at all. I'll admit that the game crashed one time in the final area, the Ice Tomb, but it was a single crash, a stark comparison to the crash-prone Switch version. This is the best way to experience the game, no ifs or buts, although I still think that a handheld console feels better for this genre.
One feature I really hated is that accessories and hats show on Miriam's model. This wouldn't be an issue if I didn't want stat boosts... without looking ridiculous. Like the stone mask, it has some pretty good stat bonuses... but Miriam looks hideous wearing it. In these games I usually use accessories to boost my Luck, and thus get better goodies, but I hated having to use that Santa Claus hat for so long since Miriam looked dumb. At least the ribbon, later in the game, conferred better stats and didn't look as silly. Miriam has a great visual design, and these 'funny' accessories kinda detract from how good she looks.
The game is still fantastic, I still think it's one of the best, and largest, Metroidvanias Koji Igarashi ever made, however, on this second playthrough there were two areas that rubbed me the wrong way. Firstly, the underwater section. You get two means to traverse these parts: First, with an optional Soul that lets you shoot water stream jets to propel yourself in the opposite direction. It's imprecise and not a fun way to move around underwater. Then you get a Passive ability that lets you sink and walk underwater.... but you move at the speed of molasses, making it impossible to dodge the underwater obstacles. The worst part about it is that you can't mix both means of traversal, either you toggle the Sink ability On or Off, because if it's on, you can't use the water jets. I was so happy the moment I was done with the underwater caverns.
The other area that feels a bit week is the penultimate environment, the Den of Behemoths. Firstly, it has got a very uninspired theme: Giant versions of enemies you've already fought, while traversing through enlarged areas you've already explored, The Garden of Silence specifically. But each zone of this area is so massive in size that exploring it becomes a chore. It's the only zone I didn't bother to fully explore, because it was so boring, and due to its size, it could be a bit hard to figure out how to get into some of its nooks and crannies. Enemies in this Zone also have a particularly low Shard drop-rate, which made it even more of a bore. Add to that the fact that, for a Metroidvania, this is a rather lengthy game, so by the time you arrive to this area you might be starting to feel a bit burned out, so the fact that it's made of enlarged-recycled stuff kinda kills the momentum. Luckily, the are ends on a high note, with a fun boss fight against the Gambler, and then the game picks up back again with the Ice Tomb. Still, I think Bloodstained would be a better game if the entire Den of Behemoths got cut, and this is a hill I'd die on.
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