Inti Creates’ Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon is a 2018 action platformer game developed for PC and 8th-gen consoles. The title originated as a bonus for the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night crowdfunding campaign, with the campaign’s success resulting in Circle of the Moon‘s development being greenlit. Circle of the Moon was developed in a relatively short period and actually released prior to the game it was a spin-off of. As a result, Circle of the Moon is the initial playable entry in the Bloodstained franchise despite originating as a spin-off. Much of the team at Inti Creates who worked on Circle of the Moon were former developers at Capcom who also worked on titles such as Mega Man 9 and the Blaster Master Zero series (another Inti Creates franchise).
Critical and commercial response to Circle of the Moon would prove to be positive. Many reviewers would favorably compare the title to Castlevania III thanks to its multiple playable characters and branching pathways. The title currently holds a strong 82% positive review aggregate score and has sold more than 600,000 units to date. The success of the first Circle of the Moon paved the way for an unexpected sequel to arrive in 2020.
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon Premise
©Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon gameplay screenshot – Original
Following his curse at the hands of the demons he fought against, the renowned swordsman Zangetsu senses a powerful demonic presence rising. Realizing this might be his only opportunity to both remove his curse and put a stop to the ongoing demonic invasion of Europe, Zangetsu sets off in search of revenge, meeting and potentially recruiting several allies along the way. The group’s ultimate goal is to stop the Archdemon Gremory and prevent her plans to make Earth a home for demonkind. Players have the choice to either recruit or sacrifice the allies they meet, with that choice impacting the final fight against Gremory and the ending to the game.
In terms of its gameplay, Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon is a retro-inspired action platformer. Accordingly, players will traverse a series of semi-linear stages filled with enemies, sub-bosses, and a final boss encounter. The closest analogues to Circle of the Moon are the classic 8 and 16-bit Castlevania games, with both series sharing several gameplay elements. Players have a main attack that differs depending on which of the game’s four characters they use, and each character has at least two different sub-weapons. Sub-weapons require a resource to use similar to Castlevania, and players must find special items to restore both health and weapon points. Getting hit by enemies results in the player getting knocked back, and the game features both extended combat sequences and challenging platforming segments like the titles that inspired it.
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon Main Characters
©Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon artwork – Original
The story of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon puts players in the shoes of the swordsman Zangetsu. An important side character in the main story of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Curse of the Moon follows Zangetsu as the main character and chronicles his journey for revenge against the demons who cursed him. Along the way, he encounters three allies with similar goals to help him on his journey. One of them is even the main character of Ritual of the Night, Miriam, setting up the opportunity for the two to ally together again during her adventure. Main characters in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon include:
- Zangetsu: The main character and hero of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Zangetsu is a samurai who travels to England to help combat the ongoing demon invasion. He uses his special blade, the Zangetsuto, to slay demons and hopefully kill the Archdemon Gremory.
- Miriam: Miriam is one of Zangetsu’s allies after initially being an enemy and a recruitable secondary character. She is a Shardbinder gifted demonic abilities by the Alchemists to help combat the demon invasion the group brought about.
- Alfred: Alfred is another side character in Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon that players can recruit. He is a former Alchemist who turns against the group after their quest for power leads to the summoning of a demon invasion.
- Gebel: Gebel is the third and final secondary playable character in Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon. He is a fellow Shardbinder along with Miriam and a powerful ally in the fight against Gremory. Interestingly, he becomes the antagonist of Ritual of the Night.
- Gremory: The Archdemon, Gremory is the main antagonist of Circle of the Moon and a powerful malignant entity.
Games in the Bloodstained Series
Originating as a spiritual successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the rest of Koji Igarashi’s contributions to the Castlevania series, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Moon opened its Kickstarter campaign in 2015, quickly sailing past its initial funding goal to see it meet most of its stretch goals. One of the stretch goals for the game was a retro-style accompaniment to the more Metroidvania Ritual of the Moon, with the intent for the retro-style spin-off to more closely resemble the 8 and 16-bit Castlevania games. With the goal for a retro-style spin-off met, Inti Creates would put together a team and develop Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon in just 6 months. The title would prove to be so successful as to justify a sequel, releasing just a few years later. Games in the Bloodstained series include:
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 2018)
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 2019)
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 2020)
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2 (In-development)
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon Cheats & Secrets
There are several unlockable modes for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, as well as some hidden modifiers for the game’s unlockable Boss Rush Mode. Additionally, PC players have access to Cheat Engine trainer files that contain a wide variety of cheats fo Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Unlockables
Boss Rush Mode
Unlocking both Nightmare Mode and Ultimate Mode will automatically unlock Boss Rush Mode. In this mode, players can select any of the four characters in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon to fight a gauntlet of the game’s bosses. Note that players can only equip one sub-weapon per character and do not have access to Zangetsu’s additional abilities from getting the bad ending (unless they use Boss Rush Mode modifiers).
Nightmare Mode
Beating the game on Normal Mode unlocks Nightmare Mode. This mode gives you immediate access to all characters except Zangetsu from the beginning. Zangetsu is not playable in this mode.
Ultimate Mode
During a Normal Mode playthrough, do not recruit any of the recruitable allies. Instead, opt to kill them, with Zangetsu gaining their abilities in the process. Beating the game this way (after sacrificing all three allies) will unlock Ultimate Mode. In this mode, players begin with a fully powered Zangetsu and can still recruit the three allies available in the game (Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel).
Boss Rush Mode Modifiers
After unlocking Boss Rush Mode, players can activate different modifiers by holding down different buttons when selecting Boss Rush Mode from the main menu. The buttons players must hold down will differ depending on the platform. Note that it’s possible to have multiple modifiers active as long as players can hold down the buttons and press start to select Boss Rush Mode.
| Modifier | PC | PS4 | Switch | Xbox One |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearts and Sub-Weapons Restore After Each Battle | C | Square | Y | X |
| Infinite Weapon Points | T | Triangle | X | B |
| Nightmare Mode Difficulty | I | L1 | L | LB |
| Ultimate Zangetsu | N | R1 | R | RB |
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon PC Cheat Engine Cheats
Like many other PC titles, the PC version of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is compatible with third-party cheat engine software and cheat trainer files. One such trainer file can be found here, and it contains the following cheat options:
- Infinite HP
- Invincibility
- One-Hit Kills
- Infinite Weapon Points
- Score Pointer
- Moon Jump
- Change Current Character’s Secondary Weapon
After installing the Cheat Engine software, players will need to double-click the Cheat Trainer file (ending with .CT) and then boot the game from within the Cheat Engine. Players can activate and deactivate any of the cheats by changing the values next to each cheat in the table.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Achievements/Trophies
Players can unlock the following achievements/trophies for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon by completing the corresponding in-game activity:
| Achievement/Trophy | Description |
|---|---|
| Nightmare’s End | Finish the game without recruiting or sacrificing any adventurers |
| Those Left Behind | Recruit every adventurer and finish the game |
| Fallen Moon’s Requiem | Finish Nightmare Mode |
| Emperor of Darkness | Sacrifice every adventurer and finish the game |
| Blade Gleaming at Sunrise | Adventure with your allies and see the Normal ending |
| That Man, Zangetsu | Go it alone and see the Normal ending |
| Big Game Hunting! | Defeat every boss in Boss Rush Mode |
| Moonlight Temptation | Finish Stage 1 for the first time |
| Frigid Hell | Finish Stage 2 for the first time |
| The Brilliant Void | Finish Stage 3 for the first time |
| Blasphemy unto Heaven | Finish Stage 4 for the first time |
| Sunder the Night | Finish Stage 5 for the first time |
| Tragedy of Slaughter | Finish Stage 6 for the first time |
| Defiler of Taboos | Finish Stage 7 for the first time |
| Cleave the Moon | Finish Stage 8 for the first time |
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon Cheat FAQs
Is Bloodstained part of the Castlevania series?
While the Bloodstained games undoubtedly take a lot of inspiration from the Castlevania series, they are not a part of the franchise. Interestingly, the Bloodstained games come from the mind of former Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi and share many of the same characteristics as the games he worked on in the series. The Curse of the Moon offshoot of the Bloodstained franchise came about as a stretch goal for the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter campaign.
What kind of game is Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon?
Though Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a Metroidvania akin to producer Koji Igarashi’s Castlevania titles (nicknamed “Igavanias”), the Curse of the Moon series are retro-inspired action platformers similar to the original Castlevania trilogy on NES. That said, players can revisit previous levels in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon to uncover new secrets and take different paths through each level, offering a bit more variety and non-linear gameplay than the Castlevania games that inspired it.
Are there cheat engine trainer files for Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon on PC?
Yes, both Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and its sequel have Cheat Trainer files available that players can use with a third-party Cheat Engine software. Downloading and activating the cheats is a fairly straightforward process and many of the available cheats significantly alter gameplay to make the game easier.
How long to beat Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon?
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a relatively short game akin to the titles that inspired it. Most players will take anywhere from 2-4 hours to complete the main story. Fully completing the game and unlocking all achievements/trophies should take anywhere from 8-10 hours depending on player skill and the need to replay challenging segments.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon key art.