Blood - On This Day
The shooters of the 1990s did not bother too much with criticism that they
were clones of
Doom. Although they shared the concept of gameplay with the aforementioned hit id
Software, each game had something of its own, whether it was Duke Nukem 3D,
Heretic, or Blood. The latter appeared on this day 25 years ago and
packed the Doom formula into a violent game with motifs of occultism and
horror.
Blood put us in the role of Caleb, an undead gunman who
sought revenge against the god of darkness Chernobog. Caleb was part of
the cult of Kabbalah, along with his wife Ophelia, and Chernobog killed them
both, so Caleb rose from the dead to take revenge on him. The plot of the game
was divided into four episodes, each of which had 7 or 8 levels, including one
secret level and a showdown with a boss opponent.
Although Blood was a first-person shooter, a good portion of the weapon was
not in fire form. For example, enemies could be stabbed with fairies, and
there were magical weapons like voodoo dolls. Blood was an extremely
bloody and violent game in which the main character enjoyed his revenge
campaign, and the enemies around him often screamed in agony as he kicked
their heads off.
In addition to the single-player campaign, Blood
had a cooperative and competitive part. Players could shoot in Deathmatch mode
(called Bloodbath) on specially designed maps, while the cooperative mode was
very similar to the main campaign.
After its release, Blood
received two official expansions: Cryptic Passage with 10 new levels,
and Plasma Pak with new levels, weapons, and opponents. The game itself
was controversial due to its level of violence and eventually received a
censored release.
Blood got a sequel in 1998 but became a subject of trade in the 21st century.
Studio Monolith, who created the game, sold the real series to GT Interactive,
which was bought by Infogrames, which became Atari, and later went to Warner
Bros., which also owns Monolith. An interesting trajectory that players did
not benefit from, but the comforting fact is that Blood can now be purchased
in digital form for PC, and from 2019, an improved version of the game called
Blood: Fresh Supply is available.