BLOODROOTS / DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: PAPER CULT / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, SWITCH (REVIEWED), XBOX ONE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
What happens when an outlaw known only as Mr. Wolf is betrayed by his gang and left for dead? He seeks violent revenge, of course, using anything and everything he can get his hands on!
Bloodroots plays a lot like Hotline Miami, with the camera focused high above Mr. Wolf as he stalks his way around various locations, picking off hapless foes one by one until he’s the only person left standing. Enemies are static until they see you, then they give chase until you break their line of sight. Most can be killed in one hit, but so can you, so great care is needed! There are tons of weapons (and totally innocent items that can be used as weapons) lying around, but most can only be used for a limited time (usually three hits, but sometimes just a single one).
Each weapon has its own unique attack; for example, attacking with a chain will make you flail around the screen like a tornado, while swords and spears have a tendency to make you dash in a straight line and ladders and oars can boost your jump height as well as taking out multiple foes in one hit. Each weapon is more suited to certain configurations of enemies than others, so learning how each one functions is vital to success. It’s possible to pick up a weapon as you dash past it, only to find that your button press didn’t register so didn’t actually pick the weapon up at all. Running into a mob thinking you’re about to paddle them all in one go only to realise you’re totally unarmed can be incredibly frustrating.
Despite this, your confidence grows more and more as you figure out the layout of each level, the best route around it and which weapons to use at the right time. Points are awarded based on how quickly and efficiently you completed each level, and you can replay as often as you want if you’re aiming for the big scores. Some sort of unlockable items, equipment or other extra features might have added a reason to replay.
The hand-drawn 2.5D environments give a nice sense of depth as you scan your surroundings, but also slightly hinder your ability to judge distances, resulting in some platforming problems. Players are likely to encounter many instances of inadvertently falling off the sides of the map and dying due to either not quite being able to make out where the floor ends, or because it’s simply too tricky to judge the angle of a jump.
Bloodroots definitely has a lot going for it, but some technical shortcomings and questionable longevity due to a lack of rewards and incentives prevent it from reaching the heights of similar titles.
