Episode 113: Blood

Retro Spectives

Blood, first released in 1997 by Monolith Studios, was the middle child of the big three Build Engine games, sandwiched in between Duke 3D and Shadow Warrior. Its combination of gory horror-inspired visuals combined with action filled FPS gameplay was a huge hit at the time of release, but has slowly faded in many people’s memories. Both Quake and Half Life loom larger in most people’s memories than Blood, and the question must be asked: why?

Is there a good reason that Blood has become one of the dark horses of the boomer FPS genre, known mainly to connoisseurs of the genre? Or has the quality of 2.5D shooters been massively overstated?

On this episode, we discuss:

Weapons

• Blood has a quirky roster of weapons, including a flare gun as pistol, an aerosol can with a lighter, and a voodoo doll sniper. Are these weapons just silly gimmicks, or do they all serve their purpose as part of your arsenal?

Level Design

• Bloods level design is, for the most part, compact and filled with secrets joining levels together. Does this create a coherent sense of place, or does the abundance of tunnels just turn the level into an awkward mess?

Aesthetics and Presentation

• Blood’s story is very barebones, but is filled to the brim with references to 80s and early 90s horror films. Can a reverence for a genre of film carry an aesthetic, or is this just a case of Borderlands syndrome where its all references and no substance?

We answer these questions and many more on the 113th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Blood OST: Daniel Bernstein, Guy Whitmore

Retro Hangover Duke 3D podcast featuring Pat!

Does Blood truly have the best shotgun in any video game?
Are there any boomer shooters which you think are better than Blood?
What modern game best captures what Blood is all about?
Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

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