It’s been a while since fans have heard anything from the Castlevania series. After Koji Igarashi left Konami in 2014, and Hideo Kojima left in 2015, the spark of life seemed to fade from Konami’s game development side. Aside from a couple re-releases on modern consoles and some mobile games, the house of Castlevania has gone dark. For a while, there were fears that Konami’s classic franchises were simply being left to rot.
However, something has changed in the last few years. Rumors of new Silent Hill, Metal Gear, and Castlevania games have been swirling around the internet. It almost feels possible that Konami’s old, beloved franchises can come back to life. Now, the discussion has turned towards which studio is capable of doing these old series justice. There have been many spiritual successors to Castlevania in the years since its last major entry, so there are plenty of development teams to consider.
The first and most obvious choice for a new Castlevania studio is basically the one that already made one: Artplay, developer of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Headed up by Koji Igarashi himself, this team set out to bring Castlevania back to life under a different name, and by all accounts succeeded. Like a mixture of Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow, Bloodstained stands as a testament to what a modern Castlevania can be. With new modes and characters still being added, including a classic mode that lets players experience a new, extra-hard take on Castlevania 1, Bloodstained can keep Castlevania fans more than happy until the next real entry drops.
One cannot bring up Bloodstained without also mentioning Inti Creates’ Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon spinoffs. Beginning life as a stretch goal for a retro side game, the Castlevania 3-like Curse of the Moon titles have become a sister series to Bloodstained itself. Inti Creates is no stranger to tough, old-school 2D platformers. If it was tapped to create a more modern Castlevania-like Portrait of Ruin, Inti’s experience working on the Megaman Zero series should inspire confidence in its abilities. Branching out into a Symphony of the Night-like game might even do Inti some good. Regardless, Inti also has a seat at Dracula’s table.
High on any list of potential Castlevania developers is the team responsible for making some of its last games: the Spanish developer MercurySteam. Known primarily for developing the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy, it also made a surprise entry in the Metroid series with Metroid: Samus Returns, a 3DS remake of Metroid 2: Return of Samus.
While MercurySteam isn’t known for making Castlevania games that bear a strong resemblance to the series’ past, it has proven itself capable of going 2D if need be with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate and Metroid: Samus Returns. If Konami continues pushing for a 3D Castlevania, MercurySteam can still bring its 3D dark fantasy expertise to bear, though hopefully with a few less dated trends like quick time events.
Speaking of 3D dark fantasy, FromSoftware and Castlevania would be a match made in heaven. Often considered to be 3D versions of Castlevania games, Dark Souls represents some of the best 3D action-adventure design in the industry. With large, interconnected worlds, deliberate combat, and a huge variety of enemies and areas, it’s easy to see the similarities between the series.
Bloodborne takes this several steps further with its optional Castle Cainhurst and whip weapons. The former even ends with a rooftop battle against a reaper analog, followed by climbing a set of stairs to find a vampiric noble on their throne. FromSoftware has arguably come as close as Artplay to making a Castlevania game already, so it would be a no-brainer to give them a shot at reviving the franchise.
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