Spiritual successor to the classic Castlevania-style “Metroidvania”, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night sits in Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained range as the full-fat, exploration-led entry (as opposed to the retro spin-offs). On PC via Steam, it goes up against modern genre staples like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells, but leans harder into RPG systems: gear, crafting, levelling and a huge spread of abilities that let you break the map open in different ways.

Who is this for?

Pick it if you like methodical castle-crawling, secret routes and incremental power growth, with combat that rewards experimenting rather than sticking to one weapon. The story is serviceable, but the real pull is the steady drip of new movement options and build variety as you collect shards and kit out your character.

• Three playable characters — different movesets keep replays and late-game content feeling distinct.
• Ability “shards” — mix-and-match powers to tailor combat and traversal to your playstyle.