A fitting title
We are slowly getting to the point where all of the classic shooters from my youth are playable on modern hardware. Most of that is thanks to Nightdive Studios, who seem to be made up of people with the same nostalgic love for these games as I do. The latest entry is one of the more obscure of the Build Engine games. Blood was an aptly named title that had some of the most unique weapons and goofy narrative that still makes me laugh. Back in 1997 everyone knew and played Duke Nukem, people recognized the silliness of Shadow Warrior, but Blood was that game that one friend kept telling you about because of how ridiculous and awesome it was. Now is your time to discover why Blood was and is worth playing.
Blood had its own style but was still similar to the other Build Engine games. It followed a character named Caleb on his quest to kill a demon and plenty of minions along the way. It had the same kind of level design and cadence, with most of the story being found outside the game itself. Caleb did spout one-liners and references, but nothing as crude as Duke Nukem and definitely nothing as offensive as Shadow Warrior. It was the black sheep of that trilogy, but for me it was the most interesting of the three and I have been waiting a long time for it to come to consoles.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
This being a Nightdive remaster it comes with everything one would expect. The entire original game is here alongside both expansion packs and even a fan-made expansion known as Marrow is included. The multiplayer is also here with the ability to play co-op as well as the PVP modes, which are still as ridiculously fun as they were, just don’t expect a robust online community of a 1997 shooter in 2025, but I had fun in the matches I was able to get in. The team has also promised another expansion of levels in 2026, which is cool.
There is also a vault included in this one that features cut content that can be played. This is also where a ton of concept art and behind the scenes features can be found. The package is well-rounded and for people like me who grew up with this game, getting these extra details makes it all the better. I had a lot of fun digging into what made this game so unique. Speaking of that, this game uses the original source code for the first time, which is probably why it took so long to finally come out. Nightdive continues to prove they are masters of their craft when it comes to resurrecting these classic 90s shooters.
While this is the original game from the original source code that doesn’t mean that it is a bare-bones port when it comes to features. The standard Nightdive extras are here, including some updates to the core game as well. First off, we have the usual suite of customization options, even for consoles. This includes a ton of graphics and control options allowing players to tailor the experience to their play style. The team also went back and made some modifications to the original game including bug fixes, updated AI, and even weather effects to the game.
As usual the team goes above and beyond in their ports. I also loved the attention to detail allowing players to swap between CD and MIDI audio, for those of us with Sound Blasters back in the day, this was a status symbol, and I love it is just a toggle now.
Blood: Refreshed Supply is yet another outstanding port of a classic shooter from Nightdive. I continue to be impressed with how much love and care they put into their releases and am always anticipating what comes next. This is definitely worth a look as it is one of those games that has a certain mystery around it. Lots of people talk about it, but it isn’t as well-known as titles like Duke Nukem and Doom. Now you can discover one of the most unique and fun shooters from the late 90s.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
