The Dark Swarm is a recurring collective enemy featured in the Bloodstained series. It is an extensive swarm of demonic flying insects that work at unison, almost acting as a sentient singular entity.
Appearances[]
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon[]
The swarm constantly ambushes Zangetsu and his party in large numbers. They often destroy platforms above and beneath a room before they disappear offscreen. Sometimes, the swarm relentlessly spawns in one area, acting as a barrier between the player and an optional path. While they cannot actually be destroyed, a temporary fireball shield conjured up by Alfred is the best defense against them. In vertical rooms, however, the swarm moves from right to left and vice versa, causing staircases to be permanently destroyed in the process. During the first phase of the battle against Gremory, she often summons the swarm to travel in paths that she telegraphs through hand movements.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2[]
In this game, the Dark Swarm first appears as one of Gremory's attacks, where she summons it much like in Curse of the Moon. In The Demon's Crown directly after her battle, it appears as a giant ball of gathered insects. It constantly pursues the player, but it can be pushed back by attacking it. This is particularly effective with Robert, who can safely ward off the swarm from a distance with his musket. At the end of the stage, it is revealed that Beelzebub is the source of the swarm.
In later chapters, the Dark Swarm is gone along with Beelzebub because Mephisto has taken his place as a final boss. Gremory instead uses a mass of red particles that sounds different but behaves identically to the Dark Swarm.
Locations[]
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon[]
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2[]
- Muted Cries (summoned by Gremory)
- The Demon's Crown (Episode 1 only)
Trivia[]
- The form the Dark Swarm adopts in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, appearing as a large ball made of a plethora of gathered insects, is likely a reference to Legion, a recurring boss of the Castlevania series that appears as a giant ball of humanoid corpses.