Bloodstained Getting New Playable Character & Randomizer

The developers of Bloodstained have, after a long wait, finally announced the long-awaited free update for the game that will introduce Zangetsu as a playable character and the Randomizer. Both of these will add significantly to the replayability, offering brand-new ways of experiencing the game. The update is coming out on May 7th on all platforms that Bloodstained is available on, expect for the Switch; you guys, gals and others will have to wait a bit.

To start us off, let’s go through some details about Zangetsu. You unlock him by completing Bloodstained and getting the good ending. When you replay the game again, you’ll have access to Zangetsu, including the entirety of his “movement and combat abilities.” Since he’s not a shardbinder, Zangetsu doesn’t use shards; instead, he “uses the power of his sword to dispatch enemies along with some special abilities that consume MP,” as the announcement puts it. Also, all consumables, equipment, crafting, treasure chests, quests and story cutscenes are disabled when playing as Zangetsu. So, yeah, very different experience.

Then we have the fabled Randomizer. This lets you fiddle around with different aspects of the game, which is gonna impact your experience significantly. Specifically, you’ll be able to mess with your Goal, Key Items, Save and Warp Rooms, regular Items, Enemy Drops, Crafting, Shops, and Quests. Depending on how you play around with the settings, you can end up having a dramatically different Bloodstained experience than you’re used to.

Zangetsu and the Randomizer are coming to Bloodstained on May 7th on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox. There’s no set date for the Nintendo Switch at time of writing. The developers only have a launch window for now, which is somewhere between the end of May and beginning of June. For more details about the upcoming update, especially all the different settings that the Randomizer will offer, check out the announcement on the official Bloodstained website.