A Cult Classic Reborn Without Mercy
Video games have become complicated, and I don’t mean in terms of mechanics or difficulty. Stories have evolved into complex beasts where developers are world-building with epic lore and nuanced character arcs that take the gamer on an emotional journey. And then there are other games that deal with heavy issues like trauma, abuse, and how we deal with loss.
So sometimes, it is nice to just jump into a game and blast a load of the undead, making the most of flare guns and a pitchfork, simply because you can.
This is Blood: Refreshed Supply, and it doesn’t care about your feelings.
From the Grave to Revenge
In 1997, a game came out from Monolith Productions called Blood. Inspired by the DOOM games, this FPS became a cult favourite, spawning mods and sequels. Now, we finally have a remastered version – Blood: Refreshed Supply.
The game’s story puts you in the boots of Caleb, a gunslinger and commander of a cult group called ‘The Cabal’. He is a demon worshipper, but at the start of the game, we see the head demon, Tchernobog, turn on his followers. He kidnaps Ophelia, Caleb’s true love, and kills Caleb. Years later, Caleb wakes in his grave and, fuelled by anger, seeks revenge…
It is a very simple narrative with a few cutscenes, which is very much in keeping with games released in that era. In gameplay terms, it adheres strictly to the classic FPS genre system: you run through levels, kill everything that appears, collect ammo, find secrets, and hunt for keys to open doors before completing the stage. But the question remains: how does it play today?
Hard as Nails
If you are a fan of retro FPS games from the 1990s, then you are going to have a wild ride with Blood: Refreshed Supply. It is a game from the heyday of that time, and it shows that the developers knew exactly how to make something like this. There are many levels of difficulty to choose from at the start, but be warned: even at the lowest setting, this game is still as hard as nails.
I found the level design to be fun as I went through it, with loads of secret areas to find and hidden weapons lying around right from the start. There is some minor platforming to be done, and while getting used to the control layout took a few attempts, I got the gist of it quite quickly.
Pitchforks and Tesla Cannons: An Exotic Arsenal
In terms of the weapons you can play with, there is an interesting mix of gear. You start with a simple pitchfork, but soon you are gathering dynamite to throw and a flare gun that fires into the enemy, causing them to explode a few seconds later. You have your standard weapons, of course, like a sword or a shotgun. But then they surprise you with exotic tools like a Napalm Launcher and a Tesla Cannon. You also have alternate firing modes for them, a feature I haven’t seen for a while but really enjoyed.
Fast and Furious Combat
The combat is fast and furious; you have to be constantly moving to avoid getting killed by melee enemies. Don’t get yourself trapped in corners, don’t get overwhelmed, and look everywhere, as enemies seem to appear from every nook in the levels.
How you fare with this very fast gameplay loop will determine how much you get out of the game. It’s strange; I felt I had to get my 90s game head on to fully embrace Blood: Refreshed Supply and its quick, sharp pacing. But even then, dying is a bit of a pain as you get thrown back to the start of the level, and as I said, it can get very tricky.
It’s worth mentioning that there is a multiplayer section to this game as well, but as of this review, it is very quiet out there in terms of an online population. Be aware of that if you’re planning to take in Blood: Refreshed Supply away from the solo play. .
Blood: Refreshed Supply still looks like a title from the late 1990s in terms of graphics and pixels, but everything has had a glow-up. It runs as smoothly as butter, and the cutscenes, even though they look a bit archaic, are presentable and solid. The soundtrack is a dark, ambient affair that works well with the gameplay. There is also the odd voiced one-liner here and there to keep us informed about what the character needs to find.
A Bloody Good Time for Retro Devotees
Retro fans, or those who loved the original, are going to have a blast with Blood: Refreshed Supply. It plays exactly like a game from those times: fast and furious. For me, I got tired of the gameplay loop quite quickly – maybe I’ve grown soft after all these years. There is no denying that the remaster is a good one, and everything looks and runs smoothly, but it is, at its heart, still a game from the past.
So, if you want to play something fast, bloody, and without much to think about, then Blood: Refreshed Supply is for you.
Important Links
Grab Your Pitchfork! The Cult Classic Shooter Blood: Refreshed Supply Rises – https://www.thexboxhub.com/grab-your-pitchfork-the-cult-classic-shooter-blood-refreshed-supply-rises/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/blood-refreshed-supply/9pd2qglp9wjr
This is definitely a blast from the past. I’m having a great time with it, but in small quick sessions – exactly to avoid the loop getting stale: it’s a boomer shooter at heart, so there’s not much variation to the loop.
One thing to note though: it took me a few hours of fiddling with the control bindings to find a set up that I could use efficiently. And my rate of dying miserably went down significantly.