Is there a better mix of genres for horror and first-person shooters? I personally don’t think so, and it seems neither does developer Com8Com1 Software, who have released Bloodshed out of early access and onto console. Come with me as I boot my Nintendo Switch 2 and see how much blood we can truly shed.

​Bloodshed isn’t going to win any awards for most original concept, you play as a cast of seven characters, most of which you’ll unlock through gameplay, they are tasked with taking down an evil cult who are hoping to harness the army of the undead and bring in the apocalypse, while not the most original it suits the game well and should entice any of you who like the games on the darker side of things.

​Being that Bloodshed is a throwback to classic FPS games, the story or lack of suits the game fine, who has time to be reading countless logs and watching cutscenes when you have an army of rotting zombies and angry skeletons waiting to meet the business end of your weaponry!

Bloodshed while looking like a classic 90s “boomer shooter” is in fact a “Survivors-like” or “Bullet Heaven” style game, if you have played a little known indie title called Vampire Survivors you’ll have a very good idea of what to expect with this title, honestly I went into this title without knowing that and my first run was quite an eye opener.

​The basic gameplay loop in Bloodshed is that you choose a character with a specific weapon loadout and stats, survive for a designated amount of time, and/or kill a specific number of enemies in an arena-like environment. You can choose from a set of 3 random upgrades each time you level up by collecting EXP from fallen foes, the idea being you choose your upgrade path best suited to how you play, in the hope of seeing the end of the timer or kill count.

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There are health pickups to find, secret items to collect to help complete alternative objectives and the ability to unlock more of your arsenal as the waves of foes gradually builds up to an almost console melting amount, it’s a fantastically chaotic game that emulates the “Bullet Heaven” genre well while also looking like something from the golden era of the first person shooter.

​While I’m not opposed to the genre, I expected a little more from the Boomer side of things rather than the Bullet Heaven, the stages have a few secrets but mostly in the form of collectables and not secret areas like I expected, there is also the sheer amount of enemies you’ll be taking on, I found myself having to turn on auto-fire after the first level, as there is no ammo you can literally just keep on blasting, again another carry over from the Bullet Heaven style of gameplay.

The main issue I have with Bloodshed is that while it plays well, sounds great and mimics the look of a vintage boomer shooter, it just doesn’t have that allure and once you’ve done a few levels you feel like you have seen all the game has to offer, the enemies are a little roguelike in nature being random but the stages don’t really change and the objectives are just “survive until x”, within the first couple of hours I had already tired of the gameplay loop.

​It could just be a personal preference thing but I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if it was more of an arena shooter in the vein of Serious Sam rather than a Survivors-like style game, don’t get me wrong it is fun in small doses but lacks a serious bite to keep you invested for longer sessions, visuals and audio hit hard and the low asking price is enough to entice gamers in, you just need to know what you’re getting in to.

Graphics: 9.0 It looks just like a classic 90s Boomer Shooter, from enemy design to level art, everything just hits so right	Gameplay: 7.0 One for fans of titles like Vampire Survivors and the many clones, not quite the retro throwback shooter it says on the tin.
Sound: 9.0 The guns are loud, the gibs are juicy, and the music is loud and hectic.	Fun Factor: 7.0 While initially quite fun, the format of the game doesn’t reward longer play sessions and repetition can set in quite quickly
Final Verdict: 7.5

Bloodshed is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

A copy of Bloodshed was provided by the publisher.