Chris Daniell

This game is fantastic! I have savored my adventure thus far and am really having to fight hard not to let my excitement spoil anything for potential players. Being an old skooler to video games in general (my first system was the Atari 2600), I am relieved to see Igarashi deliver such an amazing, polished product from the long road it has come from. I greatly enjoyed inti creates 8-bit (although semi non-canon), Curse of the Moon refresher that was released, as some might have forgotten or were new to the ‘IGAvania series’. I feel this was well played in generating interest to a potentially lost series within the new generation of gamers. Ritual of the Night, builds upon the depth of Symphony and its later, although mostly handheld, iterations. bringing an increased RPG layer on top of what we remembered. The ‘2.5’ style of graphics are top notch for this type of gamestyle platform and make creative use out of the multiple layers of depth within each stage. I will go as far as to say that the assets and effects top a similar effort from the big N, as seen in the last several Smash Bros games. The incorporation of fighting game style inputs isnt new but now more than ever, the collision and precise timing of special moves, are products of next gen hardware and software as more frames of animation are allowed for a seamless experience within a platform game. I think Koji not only wanted to bring Nostalgia but also deliver it in a way that is current. He (and not to forget WayForward by any means) put much detail in not just the minute intricacies of the mechanics and lore, but also the voice acting and character interaction as portrayed from an audio perspective. I could go on, but simply put — Ritual of the Night is a MASTERPIECE of its kind in the new era of gaming. - 5/5

So far this game has been fantastic! I have really tried to hold back from playing it last night as some friends opted for the retail version. My first mission I played the gunslinger class but, as the skill tree lent more slightly to what it was titled, I had to aid others and became more of a medic, keeping a good angle at the horde with my back in the corner, picking off lingering enemies that could sometimes get the flank on us. The character development had a cool and witty persona which fit well with the ambience and other npc’s banter. Character models, animations and overall graphics (textures and other environmental effects) were top notch. Controls were sensible and I felt right at home with the default scheme. One thing, an and extremely small gripe could be lining up with some of the climbing and other various interactions, as I felt I had to line my character almost completely flush with the terrain to receive the action prompt. I can see this being a simple adjustment made forthcoming. 5/5 - zombie budget blasters