The big lesson of the week: People really still love Castlevania.
Koji Igarashi, one of the most well-known names associated with the venerable vampire-hunting video game series, took to Kickstarter with his next project aimed directly at fans of the Belmont legacy. He describes Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as an "Igavania," which means it's "a gothic, exploration-focused action platformer."
So... you know... Castlevania.
Bloodstained follows an orphan named Miriam as she tries to dispel an alchemist's curse that is slowly turning her skin into crystal. Her quest for salvation brings her to the chambers and corridors of a demon-filled castle, where her former friend Gebel -- who seemingly suffers from the same curse -- commands the evil forces arrayed against her.
The Kickstarter reached its $500,000 funding target in just four hours. It currently stands at close to $1.4 million pledged by just shy of 18,000 backers, with 31 days to go before the funding period ends.
Kickstarter said Bloodstained is the third-fastest game project to reach $1 million. Last week's Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to Nintendo 64's Banjo Kazooie, and Torment: Tides of Numeria are the the only two Kickstarter projects to reach $1 million raised more quickly.
Kickstarter analytics site Kicktraq notes that the project is currently trending toward a final tally of more than $22 million, but the project hasn't been live long enough for the site to deliver a formal projection. Kickstarter funding is rarely a constant through the life of a project, so Kicktraq's early "trending" data -- which doesn't account for that -- isn't necessarily an accurate indicator of what to expect.
Castlevania has taken on many forms since the original game debuted for NES in 1986. More recent (and generally well-received) entries from developer MercurySteam Entertainment embrace a 3D presentation and combo-driven beat 'em mechanics reminiscent of the God of War series.
But the most popular, earlier games are 2D side-scrollers that give players free run of a monster-infested environment. Igarashi was one of the chief architects that helped perfect the design in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Equal parts Metroid-style exploration and grind-y RPG, Symphony, released in 1997, hit a sweet spot for many fans and is now regarded as the high point of the series.
Igarashi struck out on his own from Castlevania publisher Konami in 2014 to pursue new opportunities. Bloodstained sees him teaming with the Tokyo-based team at Inti Creates, the studio behind the upcoming Mega Man spiritual successor (and fellow Kickstarter success story) Mighty No. 9.
In addition to the expected lineup of backer rewards and stretch goals -- which currently top out at the already-reached $1.25 million mark -- the Bloodstained Kickstarter also features something new called "Backer Achievements." Similar to the Achievement/Trophies that you see on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, these "unlocks" open up when a variety of social milestones are reached.
The Backer Achievements set goals for various non-monetary contributions that fans can make, from Twitter follower and retweet targets to fanart submissions, comics, Vines and more. The Kickstarter page doesn't get into specifics, but hitting these goals promises to unlock "Backer Inventory items that will change the campaign and trigger exclusive rewards." The first reward, which unlocks after five Achievements are hit, gives all backers a wallpaper for their desktop and mobile devices.
The minimum buy-in to get yourself a copy of the game via Kickstarter is $28, or $60 if you want a physical disc. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and it's expected to arrive in March 2017.