Former Castlevania Producer Koji Igarashi has taken to Kickstarter to fund his new project, Bloodstained…it was funded just hours after the campaign launched.

After a week of numerous hints and an interactive teaser site, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was officially revealed on Kickstarter. From the former Producer of Konami’s internal “core” Castlevania series, Bloodstained is a spiritual successor to the Gothic-horror franchise, from Castlevania‘s own Koji “IGA” Igarashi. The former producer left Konami back in 2013, with the hopes of starting his own unique franchise.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be a 2.5D horror-adventure platformer, developed by Azure Striker Gunvolt creator Inti Creates, with music from Castlevania and Skullgirls Encore Composer Michiru Yamane. Harking back to the PS1/PS2/Genesis era Castlevania titles, Bloodstaind‘s gameplay focuses heavily on exploration and strategic combat, with the added bonus of RPG and “crafting” elements.

Set in a completely new universe, players will control the fate of Miriam, “an orphan scarred by an alchemist curse” that manifests as crystals embedded in her skin. The same curse claimed a childhood friend of Miriam’s, driving him to kill his creators and summon demons into the world. Nearly engulfed in crystal, Gebel is bent on ending mankind, with or without Miriam. As players progress through Bloodstained, they will enhance Miriam’s abilities, allowing her to use magic and summon demons to carry out her bidding. Materials and “magi-crystals” can be found throughout Gebel’s castle, which are used to craft new weapons and alchemy spells. To avoid the archaic problems of “backtracking” through such a huge environment, Gebel’s castle is home to several warp-points that unlock as the game progresses.

While the Kickstarter campaign has already reached its initial funding goal of $500,000, those interested in IGA’s project can still contribute to multiple crowdfunding tiers; a minimum contribution of $28 is required to secure a digital copy of Bloodstained, while $60 will grant the backer a physical copy upon release. Additional tiers include various Collector’s Editions with keychains, soundtracks, shirts, concept art books and signed copies; the highest tiers allow contributors to add their own custom content into the final version.

As of this post, the Kickstarter campaign is well over $770,000. The completed stretch goals include an upgraded art book for the applicable tiers (upgraded from softcover to hardcover), and a 2nd playable character.  If the campaign reaches $800,000, an extra “Nightmare” difficulty mode will be added to the final game; at $850,000, legendary voice actor David Hayter (“Solid Snake”, Metal Gear Solid series) will contribute to Bloodstained, lending his voice to the role of Gebel.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be available for PC, Xbox One and PS4, and is projected to release in March 2017. The campaign has already been funded, however those who are interested can still contribute until 6/12.

Source: Kickstarter
Images courtesy of Inti Creates, Koji Igarashi