You are Miriam, the protagonist, is an 18-year-old orphan whose skin is slowly crystallizing in stained-glass patterns, a curse inflicted on her by a corrupt guild of alchemists. The alchemists’ curse is transforming her into the conduit for a demonic invasion — the guild’s punishment for a world that has begun to lose faith in them. You must battle your way through a demon-filled castle summoned by Gebel, your old friend whose body has become more crystal than flesh.

Her friend Johannes, a rogue alchemist who is studying the curse, has learned to slow the spread of the crystallization by drawing runes around the infection sites. With his help, Miriam will explore a massive, demon-filled castle in search of Gebel, her friend and fellow curse bearer who destroyed the alchemists and summoned the castle when he realized the curse had made him something other than human.

The cursed crystals in Miriam and Gebel’s skin are linked to demonic magical powers. With that in mind, I intend to equip this game with many classic gameplay elements as well as a slew of new ones, including a crafting system that will allow players to infuse weapons with magical abilities and a unique skill/parameter system.

505 Games and developer ArtPlay have announced the release of a new beta demo available to backers of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night at the $60 USD level and above.

Now available as a digital download on Steam for PC, players will be treated to refined content and features, while previewing new enemies and NPCs and taking a deeper look at game narrative and quests. First showcased at 2018 E3 earlier this month, the demo places players on a sailing ship upon stormy seas before progressing through a village and into a dark castle setting, introducing new characters, enemies and bosses along the way. For the first time, players will also be able to experience alchemy and crafting and visit shopkeeper/exorcist Dominique to stock up on various goods to aid them on their journey.

Initially revealed on Kickstarter with a goal of $500,00 USD, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night went on to become one of the most funded games on the platform, with more than $5.5 million pledged by fans eager for its creation.

“E3 is one of the biggest game shows in the world, and it was a valuable experience to show off the newest content in Bloodstained and gather feedback from the industry friends and colleagues we invited to play the demo,” said Koji Igarashi, creator of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. “Now we’re ready to share the newest content and features with our great community of backers so we can source their input as well, which is immensely helpful to us as we continue on our journey toward launch.”

Key Features:

• Bloodstained's story unfolds as you explore Gebel's hellish castle; a sprawling structure that features a variety of locations. As you explore the massive castle you'll find warp gates that will allow you to travel quickly without having to backtrack too much.
• It's not an Igavania without leveling, and Bloodstained will be no exception. In addition to the classic elements everyone’s come to expect, enemies in Bloodstained will drop a wide variety of items, materials, and magi-crystals necessary to create the items that will get you safely through Gebel’s castle.
• As you explore, fight enemies, and complete quests you will gain experience and become more powerful, acquiring a variety of weapons along the way. Enemies will also drop materials you can use to craft new weapons and abilities using Miriam's training in alchemy.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is in development for PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Steam and Xbox One.