Nightdive Studios have spent an incredible decade remastering classic ‘90s and early ’00s PC titles, before releasing them on console. The relative simplicity of early first-person shooters like Powerslave Exhumed and STRIFE: Veteran Edition lend themselves to controller support, with no true Y-axis and limited verticality. Remasters of true 3D titles, think Quake and Turok, typically benefit from a slick auto-aim implementation that makes you feel skilful while still clearly nudging your shots towards the target. In contrast, Blood: Refreshed Supply doesn’t gel very well with a controller – a problem that exacerbates other dated designs.
Starting with the good, Blood: Refreshed Supply looks authentic yet wonderfully crisp on both Switch handheld screens and a 4K TV. It runs great on both the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. There are plenty of options to tweak the visuals, audio, and controls, and there’s more content in the form of two old expansion campaigns and a new one. It’s a comprehensive and content-rich remastering effort that preserves a game known for both its vocal, snarky protagonist Caleb, and the early introduction of several FPS mechanics that would become commonplace in time.
Unlike so many late ‘90s FPS, Blood put more effort into the storytelling beyond simple text-based interludes. A dated but no less entertaining intro video reveals Caleb and other former cult leaders were banished by a demon they once served. With no explanation given, it sets up a revenge story that kicks off with Caleb emerging from a tomb and uttering the iconic line, “I live… AGAIN!”. From that point on, you’re tackling traditional, sequential, classic FPS levels, but they include some unique lines between all the quips to better flesh out the setting and guide the player.
As a result, Blood has more narrative glue holding together it’s diverse and loosely connected levels. However, it is first and foremost a classic FPS with 99% of the focus on level design, weapons, enemies to use them on, and a boss capping off each act. To its credit, and despite so many commonalities between FPS from that era, the gunplay feels fast and impactful thanks to destructible environments (where scripted, of course); the diverse arsenal; and a focus on over-the-top gore. Earlier games may have offered spectacular death animations for sprites, but Blood offered dismembered limbs and heads bouncing around, and uncomfortably funny burning deaths.
From a pitchfork, flare gun, and classic double-barrelled shotgun, to an aerosol can and lighter combo, Tesla Cannon, and voodoo doll, Blood: Refreshed Supply offers an entertaining toolset to dispose of the cultists, undead, and demons that impede Caleb’s pursuit of his former master. Better still, most weapons offer an alternate fire mode that gives them greater versatility (on top of the usual FPS pick-ups like temporary mega-health, invisibility, and dual-wielding). The double-barrel shotgun offers the now-ubiquitous one or two-barrel blast, while the Tesla Cannon’s alternate fire chews through ammo to create a BFG-like projectile. Dynamite – which I’ll return to shortly – can be flung to explode on impact or bounced around corners with a timed fuse.
A great arsenal, a diverse roster of enemies, and a ton of gore – what could go wrong? With a mouse, keyboard, and easy-to-reach quick-save and quick-load keys, not much. On either Nintendo Switch console, regardless of whether you’re using a pro controller or the latest iteration of crappy joy-cons, the experience is far less fun and fluid. There is clearly auto-aim of some form, but it can’t compensate for twitchy and imprecise controller inputs that make it far too easy to miss targets in an FPS that can be surprisingly stingy when it comes to ammunition and healing items.
It’s not just the controls though. No matter how hard I tried tweaking the sensitivity and using gyro-aiming, Blood: Refreshed Supply still hails from an era that relished in labyrinthine levels, packed with keys, secrets, and monster ambushes. Exploration and secret-hunting are a highlight, but this means a lot of the time you’ll be trying to react to enemies that suddenly appear all around you; often a mix of melee rushers and ranged enemies that can shred your health bar quickly (and even on even lower difficulties). You might think weapon alternate fire modes and area-of-effect explosives could see you through… but that brings me to another criticism.
Blood: Refreshed Supply has brutal splash damage irrespective of the source – environmental hazards, enemy attacks, or Calab’s arsenal. When you combine splash damage with cheap ambushes, just as many of my deaths were self-inflicted as a dynamite bundle bounced back at me or hit an enemy that in front of me that appeared as I was tossing it. If you’re someone who dislikes the concept of save-scrumming to optimise every encounter, Blood: Refreshed Supply will brutalise you into compliance.
Wrapping up, Blood: Refreshed Supply is another great Nightdive Studios remaster, with an unusual setting, dark humour, and satisfyingly gory gunplay. It is, however, cheap when it comes to enemy placement and unforgiving when it comes to splash damage. If you’re a PC player and no stranger to hammering quick-save/quick-load to get through classic FPS, it is easy enough to recommend. On console, however, it might be worth waiting for a few patches to tweak the auto-aim as the imprecise controls can turn challenge into frustration.
Pros:
- An unusual setting, dark humour, and snarky protagonist
- A diverse arsenal and satisfyingly gory gunplay
- Labyrinthine levels will satisfy those who love exploration and secret-hunting
- Smart visual enhancements without impacting authenticity
Cons:
- A fondness for cheap ambushes that encourage save-scumming
- Twitchy controller aiming and brutal splash damage are a recipe for self-inflicted deaths
Score: 7/10
Blood: Refreshed Supply was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 1/2 using a code provided by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X, and PS4/PS5.
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