Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is as pure a throwback Metroidvania game as you can get. After all, Symphony of the Night direct Koji Igarashi was at the helm. Besides a great double-jump and strong adherence to the Castlevania form, Bloodstained also has some tricky bosses. Turns out that Igarashi had a few rules in place for ensuring they were tough but fair. In an interview with Gamasutra’s Kris Graft, Igarashi opened up about some of the design philosophies that helped guide the development of Bloodstained. Some are straightforward; there was to be a focus on exploration, as well as a concerted effort to make fans of the Metroidvania style have a sense of immediate familiarity when playing Bloodstained. In addition to exploration, Igarashi and the team wanted a game that had replayability. That meant a twisty, turny castle to explore with plenty of weapons to use and different magical spells to collect. The team also had a specific rule involving the creation of bosses. “I wouldn...