Blood Dungeon [REVIEW] – Crude, Chaotic, and Brutally Fun

The whole Survivor-like genre is a little crazy these days, with new auto-shooter titles released on such a regular basis that it is becoming more and more difficult to stand out. That didn’t stop Messhof – developer of the zany yet satisfying Nidhogg titles – from throwing their hat into the ring with Blood Dungeon, though it does come with a twist: instead of the usual top-down showdown with plentiful baddies, they have flipped the camera to the side and injected a heavy dose of 2D action platforming into the mix. The result is a game that takes a familiar yet addictive loop and forces you to actually pay attention to where you are putting your feet. And you know what? Not only does it feel more unique, but it’s also pretty damn good.

Check out some screenshots down below:

In standard genre fashion, your character attacks automatically in Blood Dungeon, leaving you completely in charge of traversal. Movement here is incredibly dynamic though, with players having to do more than maintain distance-control with mobs – you are sprinting, double-jumping, swimming, and crawling across ceilings and walls to avoid the relentless swarms of enemies. That’s right, you can attach yourself to almost any surface in the game, meaning you have a lot of flexibility in avoiding foes and weaving through ever-increasing bullet patterns. It’s pretty intense, but with a heavy focus on meaningful manoeuvrability, Blood Dungeon really does feel like a massive breath of fresh air for this type of experience.

Taking down enemies drops blood, which you collect to level your character up during a run. Each level-up presents a random selection of weapons, passive buffs, or special charms, and trust me, your arsenal is wonderfully bizarre. Sure, there are some typical weapons that you’d expect, but with some more… unique tools at your disposal, there’s always a sense of satisfaction to taking out foes. It helps that the moment-to-moment combat is brilliant, but be warned: levelling can feel a bit slow and very unpredictable (and not always in a good way). Because the game is TOUGH, you’ll often rely on a strong build to handle heavier mobs and the bosses, but if the RNG does not give you the heavy hitters you’re looking for (and with rerolls costing a premium), you can easily find yourself overwhelmed.

So yeah, you are going to die a lot, especially in your first few hours. Surviving long enough to even see the first boss is a genuine hurdle, but thankfully, failure rewards you with bones based on your score. These can be spent on permanent stat increases back at the hub, which adds a satisfying sense of progress to the experience that does ease that harsh difficulty curve. Alongside this, Blood Dungeon features a quest system that unlocks new toys, arenas, and a diverse roster of characters by completing specific tasks, and with nine playable characters that all handle slightly differently, it helps keep the platforming action fresh. The inclusion of daily runs and online leaderboards gives you plenty of reasons to dive back in too, though honestly? The fact that it’s really fun to play is a good enough incentive.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Visually, Blood Dungeon is completely unapologetic about its crude, lo-fi presentation, with it capturing the energy and vibe of Messhof’s previous Nidhogg titles perfectly – and yes, that’s a very good thing. The humour is incredibly immature too… I mean, you spawn into the hub world from a giant ass, which should give you a good idea of what else you can expect. Thankfully, I have an inner child that appreciated this immensely, whilst I think that it matches the messy, over-the-top gameplay perfectly.

Developer: Messhof
Publisher: Messhof
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2431080/Blood_Dungeon/