Ritual of the Night is the true come back to the origins of the metroidvania genre.

For those unfamiliar with the gameplay of the genre: think of Dark Souls (especially the first) but in 2d.
Remember exploring firelink shrine the very first time and going right to the cemetery only to find out that you were not prepared for that area and at some point you probably couldn't even progress because you lacked the right item? That's basically what a metroidvania is: a big, maze-like einvironment with lot of secrets, plenty of diverging paths that sometimes are simply dead end until you obtain the item you needed.

In the metroidvania case we are usually talking about an item that in some way modify the way your character moves.
It's like a lock and key system but much more interactive, interesting and entertaining.

Beside exploration you have an action RPG system with a plethora of weapons, combo and magic, all accompanied by exquisite backgrounds, great enemies design and beautifully composed music.

Ritual of the Night is this and much more. Right now the game offers a great adventure of at least 10 hours (but still it took me 18 to get a 100%), customization, new game+, boss rush mode, speed run mode, 2 unlocked difficulties after the first game completion and the creator of the game promised 13 free DLC with new characters, multiplayer mode and much more.

The game isn't without flaws. To be fair, I could talk about how little innovations there are from IGA's previous games or how the shard/soul system is all in all less appealing than the simple yet greatly effective SOTN system where upgrades were built on top of the others but all in all these are all minor flaws in a truly great game that comes so close to being an absolute masterpiece.

Ritual of the Night is the true come back to the origins of the metroidvania genre. For those unfamiliar with the gameplay of the genre: think of Dark Souls (especially the first) but in 2d. Remember exploring firelink shrine the very first time and going right to the cemetery only to find out that you were not prepared for that area and at some point you probably couldn't even progress because you lacked the right item? That's basically what a metroidvania is: a big, maze-like einvironment with lot of secrets, plenty of diverging paths that sometimes are simply dead end until you obtain the item you needed. In the metroidvania case we are usually talking about an item that in some way modify the way your character moves. It's like a lock and key system but much more interactive, interesting and entertaining. Beside exploration you have an action RPG system with a plethora of weapons, combo and magic, all accompanied by exquisite backgrounds, great enemies design and beautifully composed music. Ritual of the Night is this and much more. Right now the game offers a great adventure of at least 10 hours (but still it took me 18 to get a 100%), customization, new game+, boss rush mode, speed run mode, 2 unlocked difficulties after the first game completion and the creator of the game promised 13 free DLC with new characters, multiplayer mode and much more. The game isn't without flaws. To be fair, I could talk about how little innovations there are from IGA's previous games or how the shard/soul system is all in all less appealing than the simple yet greatly effective SOTN system where upgrades were built on top of the others but all in all these are all minor flaws in a truly great game that comes so close to being an absolute masterpiece.