Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement

Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement is a 2.5D action RPG developed by ArtPlay and published by 505 Games. Steam lists it for 2027. It goes back into the history of the Bloodstained universe, to a 16th century England drawn in a gothic style.

How it plays

A mysterious castle under the control of Demon Lord Elias hangs over the land and sends demons against its people. The Kingdom and the Church have sent forces against it more than once. The store page describes strategic battles, crafting and exploration across a large cursed land. Steam lists shared screen co-op beside single player.

The good side

The series has an audience that knows what it wants: side on exploration, a castle full of secrets and a lot of gear. Co-op on one screen is a real addition. English and Japanese both have full voice audio, the language list is long, and full controller support is listed.

The watch-outs

Only a year is given, with no date and no price. Every PC requirement on the store page still reads TBC. The page describes the setting in more detail than the fighting, so how the battles differ from earlier games is not yet clear. The official site links PlayStation pages, but we could not confirm which one belongs to this game, so only Steam is listed here.

For players in Asia

Japanese has full audio. Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese are supported in text.

NEXTARCA's take

Fans of the first game have an easy decision to follow this. What we want to see is how a party and co-op change exploration that used to be a solitary pleasure. A date and PC requirements would be a good start.