#BLUD

80%
Game Brain Score Based on 199 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
#BLUD Game Cover
While the small-town vampire apocalypse of #BLUD will fail to interest those looking for a serious dungeon crawler RPG, it will satisfy those longing for a simpler zany 90s cartoon experience.
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"#BLUD is a single-player Role Playing Game with stellar visuals and mechanics. As Becky Brewster, a vampire-hunting high school student, you save your friends and fight off the vampire apocalypse in this humorous, animated dungeon crawler. Battle mutated animals and possessed townsfolk, and use school supplies to level up your magic skills and take selfies with demonic forces for analysis."

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

80%
Audience ScoreBased on 199 reviews
story37 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • The art style and animations are outstanding, reminiscent of 90s and 00s cartoons, creating a nostalgic experience.
  • The gameplay is simple yet enjoyable, with a fun combat system that allows for mastery and creative attacks.
  • The writing is charming and humorous, with a funny story that keeps players engaged throughout the game.
  • Combat can feel repetitive and lacks variety, leading to a stale gameplay experience over time.
  • There are issues with hitboxes and enemy attacks, making combat frustrating at times, especially with the lack of invincibility frames during dodges.
  • The game can be buggy, with instances of soft-locks and unclear progression paths that may confuse players.
  • story111 mentions

    The game's story is generally perceived as light-hearted and engaging, featuring a mix of humor and darker themes, though it often feels shallow and rushed, particularly in its pacing and quest design. Many players appreciate the charming characters and vibrant art style, but criticize the abundance of tedious fetch quests and bugs that can hinder progress. Overall, while the story provides a fun framework, it lacks depth and memorable elements, leaving some players unsatisfied with the narrative experience.

    • “The story is light-hearted and has some funny moments, but also has some heartfelt and dark moments.”
    • “The story and characters feel fun and engaging.”
    • “The story is largely fine and fairly engaging, but I can't help but feel like it was rushed in parts.”
    • “The story is serviceable, and works as a decent framework for the whole thing, but I probably won't remember anything about it in a few weeks. The combat and enemies quickly turn into a chore you want to avoid as much as possible while you slowly jog around the map.”
    • “The story of this game is mainly conveyed through animations, garbled speeches, and sound effects. One issue I had with the story is its pacing.”
    • “I've read this was meant to be an animated series before pivoting to a game, and that makes a lot of sense with how choppy and rushed the pacing is, with several plot points and character beats extremely rushed.”
  • graphics76 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their vibrant and nostalgic art style, reminiscent of classic 90s cartoons like Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls. Players praise the outstanding animations and overall aesthetic, which contribute significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment. However, some reviews note that while the visuals are impressive, they may not fully compensate for gameplay issues, such as clunky mechanics and frustrating combat.

    • “I'm so in love with the art style, the animations are outstanding, and the whole vibe of the game is just immaculate.”
    • “Probably the most beautiful indie game to come out this year in terms of art style.”
    • “The game is a treat to look at; just as everyone says, the art style is carrying the visuals hard, and the bounce, squash-and-stretch and cartoony visuals just leave me happy to watch.”
    • “The only things this game has going for itself are its cartoon homage graphics and the fact that they didn't botch the enemies.”
    • “Its animations and art style are amazing, but it is extremely boring and frustrating to play.”
    • “Still more positives than negatives; I'll get back to it and finish the game soon, definitely recommend to anyone who's interested in the art style, but beware of some clunky, but visually satisfying combat.”
  • gameplay72 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many praising its simplicity and enjoyable combat feedback, while others criticize it for being repetitive, clunky, and lacking depth. The game's charming art style and humor often overshadow its mechanical shortcomings, but players note that the combat can feel frustrating and inconsistent. Overall, while the gameplay offers some fun moments, it is generally seen as the weakest aspect of the game, with calls for improvements in mechanics and variety.

    • “The gameplay is simple but a pleasure to master; the feedback in the combat system is really enjoyable.”
    • “It’s reminiscent of childhood cartoons: fun, with great mechanics and a good length.”
    • “Outstanding art and animation, fun and simple gameplay, clever writing.”
    • “The gameplay loop gets stale incredibly fast and I just found myself falling asleep through a lot of it.”
    • “The game is really boring due to the bad combat mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay aspect, however, is much more disappointing.”
  • humor32 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and nostalgia, drawing comparisons to classic cartoons like "Dexter's Laboratory" and "The Powerpuff Girls." Players appreciate the witty dialogue, funny character interactions, and a mix of light-hearted and dark humor, though some find the repetitive nature of certain jokes can diminish their impact. Overall, the humor is described as engaging and well-executed, contributing significantly to the game's personality and appeal.

    • “The art style is so nostalgic and the writing is hilarious.”
    • “The animation is fun, the art style adorable, the characters are written well, and the dialogue is smart, believable, surprisingly mature, and consistently funny.”
    • “Becky is stupid funny and it carries the vibe of a Saturday morning cartoon perfectly.”
  • music24 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric qualities and catchy synthwave elements, while others find it repetitive and forgettable, particularly during gameplay and boss fights. Some players appreciate the ambient tracks that complement the art style, but note that certain sections feature generic loops that detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it often fails to leave a lasting impression.

    • “Absolutely brilliant art style and ambient music.”
    • “The synth-y music also really helps the feeling of the environment, even if it can be repetitive at times.”
    • “Atmospheric soundtrack that effectively makes use of synthwave to change the mood from day to night.”
    • “The music also just ends up being 10-second loops of generic beats, akin to Binding of Isaac.”
    • “I also think the John Carpenter-style synth soundtrack is a bit at odds with the art style and nonstop Hanna-Barbera sound effects you hear while playing.”
    • “I also got a little headache from listening to the same looping songs playing in specified locations like school and so on because they weren't very catchy and were overly irritating to listen to for extended periods of time.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, characterized by repetitive quests, excessive backtracking, and clunky combat mechanics. While the art style and concept are praised, the lack of satisfying rewards and numerous glitches detract from the overall experience, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.

    • “The back half has some tedious quests and bugs you can get soft locked.”
    • “Then there are the hellishly tedious main quests where you are looking for 8 pieces of quest items and you have to backtrack and re-scan the whole area multiple times... the buggy main quests where sometimes you have to die in order to be able to get back where you need to.”
    • “The presentation elevates it somewhat to make it a not-awful experience, but the tedious gameplay, lack of satisfying rewards and laundry list of glitches make it more frustrating than fun.”
  • stability7 mentions

    The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent bugs leading to softlocks, invincible enemies, and disappearing items, which significantly detracts from the overall experience. Players report frustrating glitches during quests, including the need to backtrack excessively and sometimes die to progress. While the presentation is commendable, the multitude of technical issues and tedious gameplay overshadow any positive aspects.

    • “Good game, runs great.”
    • “The game is incredibly stable, with minimal crashes or bugs.”
    • “I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is; it never lags or stutters.”
    • “It's a bit buggy; I got softlocked in one of the final missions and had to mess with my save file to fix it.”
    • “- It's a buggy mess where you can get softlocked, enemies can become invincible but still hurt you, items will just disappear from the world but still be there, sound clips will play even when the action itself isn't happening, characters will be talking about tasks that you've already completed 2 chapters ago because the programmers didn't think you'd ever go back to an old place when you absolutely would because of all of the fetch quests you have to do.”
    • “The presentation elevates it somewhat to make it a not-awful experience, but the tedious gameplay, lack of satisfying rewards, and laundry list of glitches make it more frustrating than fun.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted to be less satisfying, particularly towards the ending, despite the overall positive reception of the character designs and animation. While the visuals and writing are praised, some players feel that the depth of character growth could have been improved.

    • “I love the gorgeous animation and cute character designs!”
    • “The character design and animation are great.”
    • “Visually stunning, character designs are neat and the writing is superb.”
    • “The fighting can be clunky, but not enough for me to give up on the game. However, the ending might have been less than satisfactory in terms of character development and effort.”
    • “Character development feels rushed and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed with how the characters evolved; their arcs seemed predictable and uninspired, leaving me wanting more.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game is highly praised for its optimization, particularly on the Steam Deck, where users report exceptional performance, rating it a perfect 10/10.

    • “When I played it on the Steam Deck, the performance was amazing.”
    • “Performance: 10/10”
    • “The game runs poorly on even high-end hardware, making it frustrating to play.”
    • “I constantly experience frame drops and stuttering, which ruins the immersion.”
    • “The optimization is so bad that loading times are excessively long, making it hard to stay engaged.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming world and engaging characters, complemented by a strong atmospheric soundtrack that utilizes synthwave to enhance the mood throughout the day and night. While combat may be clunky, the overall writing and ambiance contribute significantly to the immersive experience.

    • “Charming atmosphere, characters, and world in general.”
    • “The writing and atmosphere are great, even if the combat is clunky but serviceable.”
    • “The atmospheric soundtrack effectively uses synthwave to change the mood from day to night.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, drawing parallels to beloved narratives like "Avatar: The Last Airbender," which skillfully balances humor and heartfelt moments. However, some express frustration with gameplay mechanics that detract from the emotional experience, such as the risk of getting hurt while attempting to engage with enemies.

    • “I’m reminded of my favorite show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which balanced both light-hearted and heartfelt moments in its story.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    The game has a moderate replayability score of 7.2/10, suggesting that while it may appeal to certain players, it is often overshadowed by more enjoyable, cost-effective, and replayable options.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

13hMedian play time
10hAverage play time
5-15hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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