I’d not thought that a game about running across walls and zipping through the air at the speed of sound would end up at the top of my list for this year, then came along Bloodthief, and my brain chemistry has forever been altered by this high energy, blood pumping hack n’ slash from (mostly) solo developer Blargis.
Bloodthief is one of those games where, at first, you’re sort of lost with how to approach it, given that you’re pretty much moving incredibly fast at all times, but the way it introduces mechanics, enemies and level design is a brilliantly crafted experience that I cannot recommend enough. (If you like that sort of thing, of course.)
Let me just provide a fair warning: Bloodthief is rather unforgiving. If you enjoy games where you lose quite a lot, get a little better each time and then ultimately figure out a way forward then I have great news: You’re probably going to enjoy your time with it. If, however, you find the premise of that too frustrating then I’d say it’s probably not your cup of tea, which is fine, it’s definitely designed with fans of its genre in mind above all else.
It does several things well, but to play favourites real quick I really cannot praise its movement enough. If you’ve ever played Mirror’s Edge, Ghostrunner or Dying Light then you’ll be able to see the similarities. I will say that if you have some level of familiarity with parkour in games then you’re likely going to warm to the pace of the game rather quickly, but I’d argue that the progression of how you’re introduced to important movement mechanics is good enough that a complete first timer would be able to pull off some impressive feats by the time they beat the game. Speed and maneuvering are key here and you’re certainly rewarded for how you manage to navigate the levels. The pure adrenaline that comes from crossing a room before an archer can get a shot off at you is simply unbeaten, and I kept catching myself grinning whilst doing it every. single. time. It just feels so good!
Combat is, like the rest of the game, quick. You’ll be swiping, slashing and slamming your way through countless fodder whilst you familiarise yourself with castle interiors, sewers and town streets. I found it pretty gnarly how, once you’ve got a good grasp of how things work, you’re able to literally tear through entire rooms full of unlucky mobs. You’ll unlock a couple of different methods, moves and tools that will help you achieve said tearing, with them being introduced at different points during the game. I found the pace at which you are given a shiny new method of dispatching your foe to be both rewarding enough that I wanted to keep finding new things, but not too overstimulating that I was constantly having to remind myself what certain buttons or items in my kit actually did.
You do have a limited resource that controls how you can do things like slide, wall run and do special attacks in the way of the blood meter. Essentially, to make sure you don’t run out of it, you have to make sure you’re always getting it from somewhere or… someone. If it does run out, no more speedy slaying for you!
I’ve already gushed a bit about the level design in Bloodthief but I seriously cannot praise it enough for the way it acts as a funnel that directs you towards a constant flow of action and adrenaline. Be it narrow corridors or wide open spaces, the variety in which you’re able to clear a level is something that kept me engaged, even when I hit certain bumps in the road or kept dying in silly ways. Every couple of levels or so you’ll find the environment changes, presenting new challenges or environmental design that means you have to find wackier ways to progress, but again, the pacing in which it’s introduced is why I found it to be so endearing.
I’d say a game I can draw an easy comparison to is probably Ghostrunner, a game that shares quite a few similarities in the parkour and 1 hit combat that makes both games extremely satisfying to master. The only difference I’d say is that Bloodthief takes full advantage of its genre to grab you by the scruff of your collar and force you to use every bit of information or combo’ing you’ve learned at any stage of the game. With that said, if you’re unfamiliar with the genre I definitely sense it’d feel a tad frustrating if you’re learning how to fling yourself in the right direction without falling down a pit or missing a sword slash on a mob, setting you back to your last save. If you’re not into the kind of games where you have to fail to win, this may not be the experience for you.
In case you couldn’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bloodthief. It has the capacity to bring me great joy but also great despair the moment I lose my momentum and have to restart, but I think that is its greatest draw. You want to get better. You want to move faster. A game that continuously rewards you for perfecting how you tackle an obstacle is one that I believe is, without a doubt, worth your time.
Bloodthief is available now for PC & Mac