Blood Dungeon, the latest offering from developer Messhof, delivers precisely what its title suggests: a crude, chaotic experience that riffs on the popular Vampire Survivors formula. Described as a lo-fi take on the genre, the game embraces a gleefully immature aesthetic, replacing Poncle's pixel art with what are described as misshapen doodles colored in with magic markers.
The gameplay adheres to the core tenets of Vampire Survivors. Players select a character with unique starting weapons and perks and navigate 2D arenas where their weapons auto-fire. The primary objective is to collect upgrades and level up by gathering fallen enemies' blood. Blood Dungeon emphasizes increasing baseline power over complex build crafting, though opportunities for strategic decision-making still exist, such as focusing on weapon cooldown reduction for rapid enemy elimination.
A notable departure from its inspiration is Blood Dungeon's 2D platforming element. Players must contend with obstacles and environmental hazards like spikes and water tunnels while dodging enemy swarms. This adds a more active dimension to the gameplay, providing more to do than simply moving and selecting upgrades. The arenas themselves feature varied terrain that contributes to this "jungle gym energy."
Messhof has also adjusted the pace of a run. Unlike the 15-to-30-minute commitments often required in Vampire Survivors, Blood Dungeon escalates more rapidly and incorporates multi-tiered victories. The ultimate goal involves defeating three bosses to truly beat a level and earn a crown, but progressing to new stages is possible after defeating just the first boss. This quicker pace makes less successful runs feel less like a waste of time.
Online leaderboards are a central feature, underscoring Blood Dungeon's focus on high-score chasing. The competitive drive to surpass friends' scores is presented as a significant reward, encouraging a "toxic" but fun rivalry among players.
The game is characterized as a modern arcade experience, similar to Ms. Pac-Man, encouraging short, focused play sessions rather than extended marathons. Players can fire up Blood Dungeon for a single run, achieve a new high score, and then set it aside. The reviewer found it took approximately six hours to clear each level and unlock over half the game's content, noting its permanent installation on a Steam Deck for future engagement.
However, Blood Dungeon is not presented as a revolutionary evolution of the subgenre. It is described as a "shallow riff" on the Vampire Survivors formula, with a limited number of levels, at least one of which is considered a weak point due to its underwater mechanics and oxygen-gathering requirement. The game could be seen as a prototype for a larger concept.
Ultimately, Blood Dungeon aims to attract an audience that appreciates its crude humor and straightforward gameplay, encapsulated by its provocative title. The game is scheduled for release on August 25 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. The review was conducted using a prerelease PC download code provided by Messhof.