Recent reviews by Blue Stigma

PROOF THAT THE STRONGEST 7/10 GAME WILL ALWAYS TRIUMPH OVER THE WEAKEST 10/10 GAME

Angeline Era is a game about the joys of discovery.

It's a brilliant game that certainly has novelty through its bump combat system (which hasn't been seen since what, Lagoon in 1990?), but is filled with so many smart decisions and personal touches that it's hard not to smile when you're playing it.

Its main claim to fame is the search mechanic, through which a single button reveals any nearby secrets. It's a simple, genius mechanic that gives the game that sense of wondrous discovery people romanticize in Metroid or The Legend of Zelda on NES, but neither without being obtuse nor too obvious. You start with (almost) everything you need to reveal all of the game's various secrets; finding them is just a matter of perspective. By simplifying the process of searching for secrets, there's no reason not to indulge your curiosity by poking around any stray odds or ends you find: it COULD just be something worthwhile. The search button is easily the smartest inclusion in Angeline Era, and what propels it higher up my list of 2025 indie releases.

Because Angeline Era is so focused on player discovery, I can't say too much else without spoiling the experience outright. The bump combat is simple, yet clever and honest; the presentation is charming and evocative of various N64, PS1, and PSP titles all at once; the core gameplay loop is addictive and perfect for short, bite-sized play sessions; the enemy design is extremely varied, with clever use of enemy formations to amp up difficulty; and dialogue is very down-to-earth, with a personal touch filled with sincerity - be it whimsical or serious.

It's not for everyone, but those who cut your teeth on games like old-school 90s RPGs, Zelda, or Ys should absolutely play Angeline Era. Those yearning for a game that affords them the freedom to explore and simply discover will find a lot to love here.

GO ORBO !!!

TL;DR: HORNY CASTLEVANIA 2
ACTUALLY A PRETTY SOLID AND LENGTHY GAME ON ITS OWN MERITS
NOW WITH A WAY BETTER SOUNDTRACK THAN THE ORIGINAL RELEASE

IT'S LIKE THE PRICE OF A BACON CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES AT FIVE GUYS SO IF YOU'RE FINE WITH SPENDING $12 FOR THE SLOPPY WHITE SAUCE SPECIAL INSTEAD THEN GO FOR IT

Most FPSes nowadays follow a defined standard of what came before.
Ultrakill, as it currently stands, looks primed to help set that new standard for FPSes to come.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a spiritual successor to Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. That is the one, undeniable truth of this game which is immediately apparent to anyone familiar with Konami's famous, vampire-slaying franchise. Anyone interested in this game is either a curious fan of the franchise who bought it anyway, someone who was recommended the title by such fans, or a fellow who saw the game in some form online and thought it looked cool. This brief review is targeted more towards the first camp, but has a few details that may interest those in the latter two camps.

At first glance, Curse of the Moon is a solid crack at the classic Castlevania formula. There's classic 2D action/platforming, grueling knockback, bottomless pits, and relatively sparse health pick-ups. You quickly unlock the additional partners through the first 3 of 8 levels, and learn how to use every character's new abilities and subweapons to access alternate paths in stages or take down enemies more efficiently. It's very simple stuff, and might seem like a shallow imitation of the NES classic this game is paying tribute to. After all, that game had dozens of levels to play through, with several character-specific stages and a myriad of ways to replay the game up until the final set of levels in Dracula's castle. On the surface, Curse of the Moon seems like it fails to live up to the pedigree of its predecessors.

That is, until you beat the game and unlock Nightmare Mode.

The greatest strength of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon lies not in its originality, but in its execution. Where Dracula's Curse excelled in offering the player several different stages to play as they journeyed to the eponymous Castlevania, CotM excels in opening up its doors on replays, giving the player more tools to experiment with. Every level and every new player encourages experimenting, whether it be with characters in what is essentially NG+, or trying to play normal mode as an omnicidal, vengeful edgelord.

Curse of the Moon is, without question, a proper successor to the classic Castlevania style of gameplay. It's a game that allows you to play in the ways that make the game more enjoyable for you. If you're the type of person who enjoys completely breaking levels apart with character-specific mechanics, CotM will accomodate you. Just the same as CotM will accomodate those who seek a challenge through limiting themselves, facing stronger foes, or taking the harder, more daunting routes in stages.

Not every aspect of the game is a winner. Some of the boss fights are true challenges in their own right, some are absolute annoyances in some modes, and some are too formulaic. The music and arguably visuals don't match up to to the legacy of the Castlevania series. The additional endings obtained for playing through the game in incredibly obtuse, arbitrary ways that only exist for achievement fodder are borderline padding and don't unlock anything, as the main three endings do.

Were it a proper entry into the Castlevania franchise, Curse of the Moon would - in my mind - be ranked between the likes of the very first game and its prequel, Dracula's Curse. As it stands, Curse of the Moon is a welcome return to form that manages to stand on its own legs. While it absolutely uses the foundation of a prior game as a basis for its entire design, the resulting creation is such a simple game that accomplishes much of what it set out to do.

For a "one 'n' done" game, $10 might be a bit too steep for Curse of the Moon.
For those looking to revisit this one every now 'n' then alongside the other classics in the Castlevania series, anything lower than $10 is an absolute steal.