A New Challenger: FPS Meets Roguelite Survival
It is no secret that I was a massive fan of Vampire Survivors when it came out. In fact, I lost far too much of my precious time to the game: so much so that I’ve had to uninstall it in order to play anything else!
Well, there is now a new challenger to the Survivors-like genre (this is apparently a thing now). Put together by com8com1 Software and Headup, Bloodshed takes the classic Survivors style requirements, throws it in a blender with a First Person Shooter, and then releases the result on an unexpecting world. I must admit, I never thought of Vampire Survivors needing an FPS twist, but went into things with an open mind.
Cults, Chaos, and Constantly Watching Your Back
Kicking off with the story, the gist of it seems to be pretty simple. We are facing off against a cult that is trying to bring about the end of the world, as cults often do. There’s never a flower arranging cult, is there? Anyway, these cultists are trying to resurrect an ancient deity which will bring about the apocalypse, and it is our job to stop them. See? Pretty simple.
The game is described as melding roguelite elements with retro styled visuals, and this is a perfectly good explanation of what you see when you start a run. The levels we play on are large and sprawling, which is a good thing, as finding a corner where 26 creatures aren’t attempting to chew your face off is quite tricky. The whole FPS thing works really well, however there is just one drawback: unlike the game that inspired it, in Bloodshed you can’t see behind you, and the enemies are not averse to sneaking up and chewing on your derriere.
Retro Gore
The enemies are a well designed bunch though, beautifully pixelating as they get closer: if you remember old skool Doom, you know what I’m talking about. Shooting them leads to some pretty gory kills, and the whole vibe looks and feels really good.
Sound is also very good, with each character having their own distinct set of phrases that they spout as they fight. The music works well, and the sound effects of the various weapons and spells all tie in very well indeed. On the longer levels, the quotes from the characters can start to grate a bit, especially when you’ve heard them all before, but I’m normally dead before that happens too often. All in all, Bloodshed works very well from a presentation point of view.
The Excessive Grind
There are bits about Bloodshed that I don’t like though.
The first point is that the game’s economy seems unnecessarily expensive, or at least the amount of money you gain from each run is too low. Let me explain: on an average run, I’m averaging just over 100 jewels each time. To upgrade my health permanently costs over 1200 jewels, so there is a lot of grinding to even unlock new characters. I’ve found myself having to play the first few levels over and over again to try and get the funds together to make us strong enough to challenge the later levels.
Now, there is always an element of grindage in these games, but this feels excessive.
The Roguelite Loop
Other than that, the rest of Bloodshed is much better. When you first start, there is only one character that you can select, and as a result, early stages are a bit of a struggle. See, the starter character, Flynn, is a bit wishy washy, to be honest, and as he starts with a single shot pistol, it felt like he wasn’t doing any damage and even surviving for five minutes was a challenge. After a few runs, the next character, Jarod, is unlocked and he is much better, armed with a sawed off shotgun. Finally these damn cultists better begin to fear us!
Taking their cues from poncle’s masterpiece, every enemy that you destroy drops orbs that you can pick up to increase your level. You can also choose a perk when you level up, be that a new weapon, an upgrade to an existing one, spells that fire off at regular intervals, or even passive upgrades, such as armour or health. Choosing wisely is a good idea, as getting abilities that work together makes you better able to survive.
Each of the characters that you can unlock is able to carry different amounts of weapons and spells, for example, and swapping between active weapons is a great idea, depending on the enemies you face. With everything on offer from dual pistols to massive mini guns, finding a weapon you are happy with is pretty easy, and upgrading them to the ultimate is a great deal of fun.
A Fast-Paced Addiction
The game is very fast, feeling almost like a more modern iteration of Doom in terms of pace. The action is also pretty relentless, with massive waves of enemies constantly on the hunt. These can range from little more than cannon fodder, to elite enemies (these are worth tracking down as they drop a treasure chest when you take them out) through to massive run of the mill foes. Each chapter also has a boss, which are not things to be taken lightly.
Dying is not the end either, as the hard earned money you grabbed on the run is saved after death, and can be spent (very slowly) on permanent upgrades for all the characters. Finding the right person and the right loadout requires a decent amount of experimentation, but it is also a lot of fun.
All in all, Bloodshed shows glimpses of the magic of Vampire Survivors. I found myself thinking “Just one more run!” more times than I can count, and before you know it, you’ll be playing into the wee hours. While there are issues, the pace and exuberance of the action on display is very appealing, and so if you are looking for the next level of Survivor style game, you might well have just found it in Bloodshed.
You will need eyes in the back of your head, mind!
Important Links
Buy Bloodshed on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/bloodshed/9p6wjpl7d83t
