Topic: So what do you think about the recent flood of collaborations?

[whipsmemory]

i'm genuinely curious, what do you guys think about this seemingly constant stream of collabs all kind of games are getting with the series? I find it personally really frustrating and i think its ultimately killing the brand for good. Most of these renditions don't look good or interesting at all to me, and i feel like they are really making the brand feel "cheap", I wouldn't know how else to describe it. I know and i see a lot of people on facebook thinking the series is going through some kind of new reinassance, also thanks to the Netflix series, but for me really Castlevania never felt more dead than it is now. It's like watching the dead body of a loved one being marionetted to mock what it used to be in real life. Painful to watch and a little cringe too.

[Foffy]

To me, it makes it clear the rumors of a new Castlevania game are real besides the fact the other IPs associated with some of these rumors (Silent Hill and Metal Gear) have also proven to be accurate. That also makes me wonder what happened to this game as it was supposed to release before any Silent Hill or Metal Gear game, and we're getting loose release windows for a number of projects there. To be the first released to now being the last to be announced makes me think something went wrong with development, as it's an in-house Konami project. I believe a few insiders at ResetEra also confirmed this game exists and given that's a forum where people get banned for bullshit claims like that, you can rest easy knowing something's coming.

The collaborations make that clear, but they also highlight something is off. Why are so many different games and genres celebrating this IP as it doesn't have a game to itself to sell? I don't even mind some of the collaborations. I think Dead Cells and V Rising look to carry some of the identity of the series in ways that are more than cosmetic and in the case of V Rising specifically some of that content is just part of the main game (the whip weapon class unlocks after fighting Simon Belmont who travels the game world fighting monsters). But then there's some I don't really get: why is Castlevania content coming to a game like Dead by Daylight? Because Castlevania content was also in Bail or Jail? All these make sense if they're to raise attention to the series with a particular product, but we've yet to see it publicly.

[LuxKiller65]

yeah i feel the same way as op, now castlevania is a hidden character here, a song there, a reference, whatever you can get to make your game more pop culture or cool. and you are forgetting tons of licensed merch available from many different companies who stamp logos and artworks they didn't make on shirts, mugs, caps, hoodies, socks, pendants and more. this trend started when konami left development and starting licensing his ip to anyone and anything.

i've always shat on iga's games, but seeing where we are now, most of his entries are sweet memories of a time where the series at least existed and had a director that cherished it, even though many did not agree with his vision.

i am currently playing bloodstained (the first one), and while it's once again sotn with a slightly different hat, it's at least... well, castlevania. i do wonder why iga keeps making sotn again and again. i get it, it has fans, i get it, you are proud of having worked on it, but man, just do something else now.

[Reinhart77]

i can only hope Konami's taking all this money from licensing out their IP and putting it into a new proper game.  lol, sigh.

[C Belmont]

Personally I don't find any of the collaborations I've seen so far that offensive, most of them seem to spring from a genuine appreciation of Castlevania. Unlike the Netflix show which just unapologetically uses the brand as a vehicle for the show’s writers to proselytize on their favorite subjects.

I love that Simon is getting some attention and not just Alucard. But I do wish Konami would give us something new even if it was just a remake of an old game, or they just made Grimoire of Souls available on more platforms.

[whipsmemory]

To me, it makes it clear the rumors of a new Castlevania game are real besides the fact the other IPs associated with some of these rumors (Silent Hill and Metal Gear) have also proven to be accurate. That also makes me wonder what happened to this game as it was supposed to release before any Silent Hill or Metal Gear game, and we're getting loose release windows for a number of projects there. To be the first released to now being the last to be announced makes me think something went wrong with development, as it's an in-house Konami project. I believe a few insiders at ResetEra also confirmed this game exists and given that's a forum where people get banned for bullshit claims like that, you can rest easy knowing something's coming.

The collaborations make that clear, but they also highlight something is off. Why are so many different games and genres celebrating this IP as it doesn't have a game to itself to sell? I don't even mind some of the collaborations. I think Dead Cells and V Rising look to carry some of the identity of the series in ways that are more than cosmetic and in the case of V Rising specifically some of that content is just part of the main game (the whip weapon class unlocks after fighting Simon Belmont who travels the game world fighting monsters). But then there's some I don't really get: why is Castlevania content coming to a game like Dead by Daylight? Because Castlevania content was also in Bail or Jail? All these make sense if they're to raise attention to the series with a particular product, but we've yet to see it publicly.

It makes perfectly sense, but just like you I'm afraid something is off, and i think its not unlikely that the new title's development failed and was ultimately cancelled in favor of licensing out the IP for quick cash grabs without any expense on Konami's side. Im less optimistic and i see all of this as a signal thata new game is never coming out, rather than the opposite

[Foffy]

It makes perfectly sense, but just like you I'm afraid something is off, and i think its not unlikely that the new title's development failed and was ultimately cancelled in favor of licensing out the IP for quick cash grabs without any expense on Konami's side. Im less optimistic and i see all of this as a signal thata new game is never coming out, rather than the opposite

Konami did expand one of their development studios last year. The original rumor was it was an in-house game that had notable third party companies developing it with them. Perhaps that changed into a fully in-house project with Konami wanting more direct control over development. Usually when they outsource games they get less involved, as the middling efforts from Silent Hill are a good example to this. The impressions I have from these collaborations is they believe that a new Castlevania game should be seen as a big deal. They never went this length to plug a Konami IP in the last half-decade unless it was within Bomberman. We've seen almost half a dozen collaborations within the last two years that I can recall just off the top of my head for Castlevania. There's even watches with a redesigned Belmont crest not seen in any of the games.

The most recent rumors are it may be part of a deal with Sony to get timed console exclusivity: these rumors surfaced just before people were leaking information of the Metal Gear Solid collections, so almost a year ago.

[Reinhart77]

i'm a little worried that we haven't seen a new slot or pachinko game in a while.

[zangetsu468]

Pachinkonami will return like Optimus Prime…

[PFG9000]

I feel like more exposure for the series can't be a bad thing, especially since it's been ages since we had a proper new installment.  I picked up Dead Cells just because of the CV content.  It was...alright.  I found it somewhat entertaining, but not enough for me to play it much.  It's not that Dead Cells was bad; it's that in 2024, there's just so much better stuff that I'd rather play.

The V Rising screenshots look kinda nice, but again, there's just too many games that are a higher priority for me.

[EstebanT]

The recent flood of collaborations means nothing as far as a new castlevania. I can't believe some people here actually think a new castlevania is coming. If a new one didn't happen when Smash and Netflix show were at their peak then its not happening.
Even if we did get one it would suck ass like Lords of Shadow 2 and Grimoire of Souls. We haven't had a good castlevania since 2008.

My advice is move on and support indie devs. The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest looks phenomenal. Look up Programancers recent tweets. It's looking great. And unlike other castlevania projects this one actually has a great chance of actually coming out. Already has a publisher and everything.

Also Curse of the Moon 2 is so far the best classicvania ever made so far. Single mode is so much fun. And single mode + legend hunter is the most fun ive had with any game EVER.

Seal of the Eclipse could also be cool. But that project is obviously is development hell even if the developers wont admit it.

[Foffy]

The recent flood of collaborations means nothing as far as a new castlevania. I can't believe some people here actually think a new castlevania is coming. If a new one didn't happen when Smash and Netflix show were at their peak then its not happening.
Even if we did get one it would suck ass like Lords of Shadow 2 and Grimoire of Souls. We haven't had a good castlevania since 2008.

My advice is move on and support indie devs. The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest looks phenomenal. Look up Programancers recent tweets. It's looking great. And unlike other castlevania projects this one actually has a great chance of actually coming out. Already has a publisher and everything.

Also Curse of the Moon 2 is so far the best classicvania ever made so far. Single mode is so much fun. And single mode + legend hunter is the most fun ive had with any game EVER.

Seal of the Eclipse could also be cool. But that project is obviously is development hell even if the developers wont admit it.

Multiple credible journalists in the games space have mentioned, more than once, that a new Castlevania exists. If it still exists is the question.

[theplottwist]

Seal of the Eclipse could also be cool. But that project is obviously is development hell even if the developers wont admit it.

There's nothing to "admit" to. You can ASK like a normal person. You asked last time, I told you there is no structure to do fancy updates. That's it.

Unless a fat wad of cash falls on our laps from the sky, the project is not becoming completed anytime soon. This has been repeated quite a few times. Acting like you know better will certainly not make it come out faster, and absolutely will not instill in us some "drive to release", we owe nobody absolutely anything.

[crisis]

If a new Castlevania is indeed coming, then I don’t expect it to be anything what we’re hoping for. No “return to form” metroidvania, it’ll probably be a sequel to Grimoire of Souls. So keep your expectations low that way you won’t be too disappointed.

[whipsmemory]

If a new Castlevania is indeed coming, then I don’t expect it to be anything what we’re hoping for. No “return to form” metroidvania, it’ll probably be a sequel to Grimoire of Souls. So keep your expectations low that way you won’t be too disappointed.

Honestly I'd love another game in the style of Grimoire or even an adjusted Console/PC port tbh. I'd feel way more safe with something like that than Konami giving the IP to some western developer who'd make it a low budget pixel art rogue like or something. Story and graphics wise i think GoS was really on point on what a new Castlevania should look like if they dont want to go full budget on it