In a way, Blood is the most perfect FPS of the 90’s. In a time where Quake basically launched officially the tech race, Blood goes in the opposite direction: Dev’s decided to stick to what was already known in the industry, and get the best out of it. And man, they definitely did it. Blood not only takes the best out of the Build Engine (even with it’s issues, it was arguably the best engine for 2.5D shooters of it’s time), but they also show how aknowledge of the genre they were, and how determined they were in perfect it, not only in it’s gameplay aspects but also in it’s artistic possibilities.
To me, it feels like the devs spent years taking notes of other shooter’s flaws and how to fix them.
- Ever thought that hitscan enemies in early fps (With the exception of chaingunners in Doom II) were a little bit too easy in general? Blood’s approach on hitscan enemies is pretty avant-garde, in my opinion. This guys are really tough and unforgiving, they can kill in less than seconds, and they are placed everywhere around the game. Even if some other enemies might look more frightening and threatening in appearence, the truth is that even the bosses can pale in comparison to the two varieties of hitscanners, which are The Cultists and The Fanatics. By the second level of the game you’ve already meet both of them. And i think they are somehow avant-garde, since they pioneered this style of hitscanning that would become more popular on games like Half-Life and Counter Strike: it’s so unforgiving that you can get killed in just one shot. This definitely forces you to be strategic in your way of approaching them, more than any other fps at the time, and that’s not just the core of Blood’s gameplay but it would also become pretty influential, despite not earning enough recognition for it. ✔
- Ever felt like pistols were always the worst weapon in the game? Well, Blood replace the pistol with a flaregun, a whole different weapon, which is pretty useful even if you’re pretty stocked with ammo from other weapons. ✔
- Ever felt like most of incendiary weapons were interesting in concept but sucked in execution? Well, Blood not only fixes this but is also the most flammable shooter of the 90’s and is fantastic for that. ✔
- Ever felt kinda wrong that, despite having multiple weapons, enemies only had two death animations as much? Well, Blood has tons of death animations, and enemies can be gibbed in many different ways, feeling at times like a Brutal Doom precursor. ✔
- Ever thought that no FPS offered you a spooky and scary experience the way your first Doom playthrough did? Well, Blood succeeds like no one at the time (Except for Quake, obviously) at putting you in a horror-like mood. ✔
All of this, packed with all the typical Build engine goodies, such as mouse freelook, jumping and crouching, exploding walls and demolishing buildings, etc.
Blood’s arsenal, which is inspired by the possibilities of the early XXth century, is not only incredibly original and huge, but it also incorporates the novelty of the alternative fire, which will become a landmark for modern FPS onwards.
And i have to say this is also the most detailed spritework ever put into a 90’s 2.5D FPS, which shows the often overlooked artistic possibilities of the genre.
As for the episodes:
Episode 1 is by far the most iconic. It’s also the one with the strongest sense of storytelling: You wake up in a cementery in Map 1, then go to a train station in map 2, then you enjoy a train ride in map 3. In map 4, you explore the carnival where your train crashed. Map 5 and 6 are focused on cultist temples, which lead you to the boss fight in map 8. Is a quest for revenge and also, a quest for the truth. Gameplay wise, is absolutely perfect, and is just amazing how every level seems to be better than the one before.
Episode 2 is also amazing and has tons of memorable moments. It’s in my opinion, the one with the stronger and most authentic identity, which is mostly divided between snowy landscapes and gothic mansions. This episode even puts some mazes but they are so well designed that you can hardly get frustrated by them. You can say that, at moments, the episode seems to be a little more focused on exploration. But of course, there’s tons of action in here.
Episode 3 is the weakest. It starts out in a very promising way, introducing you to two city levels (The first one has huge Duke3D vibes despite it’s early XXth century aesthetic), but then it changes the subject rather quickly introducing a more industrial theme (including an infamous sewer level because this is a 90’s shooter after all) that goes one for the rest of the episode. Map 1 is the only one that i genuinely enjoyed from beginnig to end in here. It’s not like the maps are actually bad, it’s just that the average level from Episode 1 and 2 is so goddamn high, that you can’t help but noticing a decrease in quality.
Finally, Episode 4 is definitely better than Episode 3 when it comes to level design, but it’s also the most eclectic, almost feeling incoherent at times. One could think that this episode was probably made up of leftover maps that couldn’t fit properly into the other three episodes, all of them having a pretty well defined theme or aesthetic going on in them. Here, you reach from a medieval castle at the beginning, to a horror film-like hospital, to a modern shopping mall and a modern aquarium (both of them could easily fit on Duke3D without the need of the slightest modification). Map 2 looks pretty much like what Dusk would do decades later. Map 6 is the standout of the episode for me, despite being a bit disliked by fans. And map 7, “In the flesh”, is simply an abomination, an ode to bad taste. The boss fight in map 8 was probably the most interesting boss fight of the whole game in my opinion.
Despite this downgrades in the last two episodes (which are not really bad by themselves, is just that the first two episodes set the bar way too high) Blood is a near perfect game. This is probably my favourite FPS from the 90s after Doom and Half-Life. If you’re into this kind of stuff, chances are that you’ve already played Blood. But if you haven’t, please, go check it right now.
Favourite maps: E1M3: Phantom Express / E1M4: Dark Carnival / E2M4: The Overlooked Hotel
Worst maps: E3M3: Raw Sewage / E4M7: In the Flesh
To me, it feels like the devs spent years taking notes of other shooter’s flaws and how to fix them.
- Ever thought that hitscan enemies in early fps (With the exception of chaingunners in Doom II) were a little bit too easy in general? Blood’s approach on hitscan enemies is pretty avant-garde, in my opinion. This guys are really tough and unforgiving, they can kill in less than seconds, and they are placed everywhere around the game. Even if some other enemies might look more frightening and threatening in appearence, the truth is that even the bosses can pale in comparison to the two varieties of hitscanners, which are The Cultists and The Fanatics. By the second level of the game you’ve already meet both of them. And i think they are somehow avant-garde, since they pioneered this style of hitscanning that would become more popular on games like Half-Life and Counter Strike: it’s so unforgiving that you can get killed in just one shot. This definitely forces you to be strategic in your way of approaching them, more than any other fps at the time, and that’s not just the core of Blood’s gameplay but it would also become pretty influential, despite not earning enough recognition for it. ✔
- Ever felt like pistols were always the worst weapon in the game? Well, Blood replace the pistol with a flaregun, a whole different weapon, which is pretty useful even if you’re pretty stocked with ammo from other weapons. ✔
- Ever felt like most of incendiary weapons were interesting in concept but sucked in execution? Well, Blood not only fixes this but is also the most flammable shooter of the 90’s and is fantastic for that. ✔
- Ever felt kinda wrong that, despite having multiple weapons, enemies only had two death animations as much? Well, Blood has tons of death animations, and enemies can be gibbed in many different ways, feeling at times like a Brutal Doom precursor. ✔
- Ever thought that no FPS offered you a spooky and scary experience the way your first Doom playthrough did? Well, Blood succeeds like no one at the time (Except for Quake, obviously) at putting you in a horror-like mood. ✔
All of this, packed with all the typical Build engine goodies, such as mouse freelook, jumping and crouching, exploding walls and demolishing buildings, etc.
Blood’s arsenal, which is inspired by the possibilities of the early XXth century, is not only incredibly original and huge, but it also incorporates the novelty of the alternative fire, which will become a landmark for modern FPS onwards.
And i have to say this is also the most detailed spritework ever put into a 90’s 2.5D FPS, which shows the often overlooked artistic possibilities of the genre.
As for the episodes:
Episode 1 is by far the most iconic. It’s also the one with the strongest sense of storytelling: You wake up in a cementery in Map 1, then go to a train station in map 2, then you enjoy a train ride in map 3. In map 4, you explore the carnival where your train crashed. Map 5 and 6 are focused on cultist temples, which lead you to the boss fight in map 8. Is a quest for revenge and also, a quest for the truth. Gameplay wise, is absolutely perfect, and is just amazing how every level seems to be better than the one before.
Episode 2 is also amazing and has tons of memorable moments. It’s in my opinion, the one with the stronger and most authentic identity, which is mostly divided between snowy landscapes and gothic mansions. This episode even puts some mazes but they are so well designed that you can hardly get frustrated by them. You can say that, at moments, the episode seems to be a little more focused on exploration. But of course, there’s tons of action in here.
Episode 3 is the weakest. It starts out in a very promising way, introducing you to two city levels (The first one has huge Duke3D vibes despite it’s early XXth century aesthetic), but then it changes the subject rather quickly introducing a more industrial theme (including an infamous sewer level because this is a 90’s shooter after all) that goes one for the rest of the episode. Map 1 is the only one that i genuinely enjoyed from beginnig to end in here. It’s not like the maps are actually bad, it’s just that the average level from Episode 1 and 2 is so goddamn high, that you can’t help but noticing a decrease in quality.
Finally, Episode 4 is definitely better than Episode 3 when it comes to level design, but it’s also the most eclectic, almost feeling incoherent at times. One could think that this episode was probably made up of leftover maps that couldn’t fit properly into the other three episodes, all of them having a pretty well defined theme or aesthetic going on in them. Here, you reach from a medieval castle at the beginning, to a horror film-like hospital, to a modern shopping mall and a modern aquarium (both of them could easily fit on Duke3D without the need of the slightest modification). Map 2 looks pretty much like what Dusk would do decades later. Map 6 is the standout of the episode for me, despite being a bit disliked by fans. And map 7, “In the flesh”, is simply an abomination, an ode to bad taste. The boss fight in map 8 was probably the most interesting boss fight of the whole game in my opinion.
Despite this downgrades in the last two episodes (which are not really bad by themselves, is just that the first two episodes set the bar way too high) Blood is a near perfect game. This is probably my favourite FPS from the 90s after Doom and Half-Life. If you’re into this kind of stuff, chances are that you’ve already played Blood. But if you haven’t, please, go check it right now.
Favourite maps: E1M3: Phantom Express / E1M4: Dark Carnival / E2M4: The Overlooked Hotel
Worst maps: E3M3: Raw Sewage / E4M7: In the Flesh