Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

The game is good, but you need to play it on HARD mode to enjoy it. Normal mode is too easy. You don't even need to learn the Bosses attack patterns, simple button mashing does the job. It's not only counter productive but it will ruin your experience. After coming from Blasphemous and Hollow Knight, I completed 40% of the map without dying once in this game. Then I felt playing this way is meaningless, I have to higher the difficulty level. Sadly the HARD and NIGHTMARE modes are locked until you finished the game on NORMAL. But there is a way around, a cheat code. You have to change your profile name from the default MIRIAM to NIGHTMARE (all capital letters) at the beginning of the game. Then you will find all difficulties are unlocked from the start.

I wish I could play this for the first time a second time

Started Bloodstained Ritual of the Night completely blindly. I have never played a metroidvania game before, but thoroughly enjoyed what Bloodstained had to offer. The game ain't without its shortcomings tho; in fact, there are quite few of them that hold back this latest entry in the franchise. Nonetheless, it has been a delightful experience.
Pros:
(+) Strong gameplay elements.
(+) Gazillions of weapons, items & skills for different types of play-styles (skills are absurdly fun).
(+) Obscene numbers of enemy variants & well-designed levels keep the experience always fresh & exciting.
(+) Big badass boss fighting.
(+) Grinding isn't a complete chore.
(+) Exploring the castle feels like an enthralling adventure.
(+) Atmosphere & soundtracks elevate the game.
Cons:
(-) Some of the worst (& lazy) side quests ever. Mostly fetch quests & killing 'x' numbers of enemies.
(-) Primary objectives aren't specified properly. Can get frustrating as you don't know what to do next.
(-) Balancing issues. Some skills that you get in earlier levels can carry you through the whole game, making it uninspiring to acquire (& level up) late-game skills.
Neutral:
(+/-) Okay-ish story. Not bad, not great either. Thankfully, everything else makes up for it.
N.B.- The story progression is linear. There are no choices in the game.

What an amazing game. Satisfying and deep progression means you can craft a godlike character should you wish it. There is a ridiculous amount of variety with weapons, movement techniques, and skills. I switched builds a few times just to try things out. There's so much content in here, but I only have time for one fairly thorough playthrough right now. I'd keep on playing it if I had more time because of the fun factor.
Two pieces of advice: High Jump can be chained once you obtain it. Passive skill shards become permanent (and can be stacked!) once you enhance them to Rank 9. Another piece of advice, you can grind your way past difficult encounters via more character levels, better equipment, stronger shards, restocking on food/potions, and making passives permanent. I love my greatswords.
Now go forth and break walls... and maybe slay a few demons while exploring a huge castle. If this game is in your backlog, get to it! I waited a long time, but when I started, I could not stop.

The Ultimate Sacrifice?
To call the Kickstarter campaign for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night a success would be an understatement. The game was funded in a day and blew past its stretch goals. Gamers were excited for the title, but then Mighty No. 9, another Kickstarter video game, released and was critically panned.
Mighty No. 9 was a far cry from what its Kickstarter campaign promised. Worst of all, the title terrified gamers into thinking other titles they backed on Kickstarter would turn out just as horrible, including Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Well, allow me to reassure you that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is nothing short of a masterpiece.
In Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, you take the role of Miriam, a “Shardbinder.” She has numerous alchemic crystals lodged in her body that give her powerful abilities, including the power to absorb shards of demonic essence that give her magic spells. Her job is to explore a castle summoned from hell and stop Gebel, another Shardbinder who’s gone mad.
Luckily, Miriam isn’t alone. Her two closest allies are Johannes, an alchemist who crafts items, and Dominique, an exorcist who serves as Bloodstained’s de facto merchant. Throughout the game, Miriam also runs into other side characters, including Zangetsu.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is, simply put, the best metroidvania to come out in years, but what else can you expect from Koji Igarashi, the man who perfected the genre?
Like many metroidvanias, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night organically teases you with platforms and areas that can only be accessed with specific abilities. These locations open into new levels, squirrel away hidden items, and provide much-needed shortcuts. It’s a blast revisiting levels with new abilities because you never know what (helpful) secrets lurk in Bloodstained’s gothic castle, especially since the game looks gorgeous.
Bloodstained’s developers worked some black magic on the Unreal Engine to make the game look like an anime. The characters and textures pop; the mood lighting is extra moody, and you will never confuse one area for another thanks to varied and beautiful architecture. Bloodstained even features fun little extras that give the castle some extra life, such as chairs Miriam can sit in to take a load off and bookcases that hide journal entries.
Moreover, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night carries on Castlevania’s proud tradition of featuring some of the best music to grace a video game. Bloodstained’s soundtrack sets the mood even better than the scenery, and I can easily see gamers fondly remembering various songs long after they finish the game.
Combat in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is as simple and satisfying as the Castlevania games on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate notwithstanding). Miriam can cast spells that cost mana and swing plenty of weapons to kill demons. Plus, she can moonwalk out of danger.
As Miriam defeats enemies, she levels up her stats and finds weapons, equipment, and spell shards. She also discovers health, mana, and ammo (some weapons are guns) upgrades out in the open and hidden in breakable walls. Also, some items wait in treasure chests that are helpfully marked on the mini map.
Virtually every kind of medieval weapon imaginable is available in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, including swords, spears, and whips. Best of all, weapons feature different attributes and swing arcs that make them ideal for different situations.
For example, blunt weapons like clubs are effective against armored enemies, while piercing weapons like rapiers and spears chew through flying enemies and have more reach than clubs. Plus, some weapons include elemental affinities such as fire and poison for extra damage.
Equipment, meanwhile, improve Miriam’s various stats, but there is a give and take for each piece of equipment. Some may increase her melee damage at the cost of defense, while others can make her more resistant to elemental damage but less likely to find loot. Customization is paramount and lets you turn Miriam into a glass cannon, a jack of all trades, or any other build imaginable.
As for shards, they constitute Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s magic system. Miriam can equip five different types shards at a time. Each shard unleashes a different kind of spell, from shooting lightning bolts to summoning faeries. There’s a shard for everyone, and for every playstyle there’s a shard.
Bloodstained also includes a sixth type of shard, Passive Shards, that don’t need to be equipped and include powers such as a double jump and the ability to swap between item loadouts.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night also goes one step further by individually modelling most pieces of equipment and including bonus features for certain items and spells.
For example, the Toy Boots squeak whenever Miriam walks, the Spiral Sword purees enemies by damaging them multiple times per swing, and Conjure Shards that summon spectral demons occasionally create a gargantuan, screen-clearing attack. These extras are as necessary as the chairs, but it’s a treat discovering all of Bloodstained’s secrets regardless.
Combat is nothing without enemies, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is stuffed with demonic foes, each with their own weaknesses, loot, and tactics. It’s a thrill to enter a new level just to see what new monsters await. Plus, odds are you will find at least one enemy that will make you scream. Or laugh because a random chair Miriam sits in turns out to be a Mimic.
the game also includes a home base that Miriam should revisit every so often. Johannes, who resides in this home base, can create a multitude of helpful items out of random materials found in chests and on enemies.
He can craft healing items, weapons, and foodstuffs that heal Miriam and provide a permanent stat boost the first time she eats a new dish. Plus, Dominique sells anything Johannes creates but only after he makes it, just in case you need more omelettes but can’t find Dragon Eggs.
Johannes can also upgrade various shards to strengthen their associated spells, such as increasing the number of projectiles or increasing their reach. Better yet, Enchant Shards that are fully upgraded transform into Passive Shards that provide permanent buffs, which frees up the Enchant Shard slot for another shard with a different bonus.
The home base also includes some quest givers. Quests are all simple “Fetch X” or “Kill Y” missions that are so easy you will usually complete them without realizing it. On a side note, the “Kill Y” quests all require Miriam to avenge the deaths of townsfolk, many of whom are named after classic Castlevania protagonists.
Moreover, some bonus NPCs wait in the wings of Bloodstained’s castle, including Todd the Killer Barber (an obvious nod to Sweeny Todd) and Orlok Dracule (O.D. for short).
Todd only changes Miriam’s appearance, but much like the chairs, he is a fun little extra that gives Bloodstained’s castle a bit more life. As for O.D., he is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s Alucard in everything but name. He is also a librarian vampire who loans out books that increase stats.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is as close to perfect as fans of metroidvania games could hope for. Exploration is absolutely a blast; the enemies are as enjoyable to kill as they are creative, and aspects such as backtracking and grinding are actually fun. Plus, plenty of other game modes await after the final boss is slain, such as Boss Rush. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has enough to keep gamers hooked for nights on end, and it’s only going to get bigger as time goes on.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is as close to perfect as fans of metroidvania games could hope for. Exploration is absolutely a blast; the enemies are as enjoyable to kill as they are creative, and aspects such as backtracking and grinding are actually fun. Plus, plenty of other game modes await after the final boss is slain, such as Boss Rush. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has enough to keep gamers hooked for nights on end, and it’s only going to get bigger as time goes on.

Think of Castlevania Symphony Of The Night with a female protagonist and cooking mechanics.
Sounds good? Then you'll have a great time.