Blood II: The Chosen + Expansion
- July 14, 2014
- Monolith Productions
- 12h median play time
"Blood II: The Chosen + Expansion" is a single-player action game known for its immersive atmosphere, dark humor, and exciting action. The game features four playable characters, each with unique abilities, and a wide variety of weapons to choose from. With amazing graphics, sensational music, and hilarious moments, it offers great gameplay despite some bugs, making it a memorable addition to the horror shooter genre. The Nightmare Levels expansion adds even more content to explore.
PC
Reviews
- The game has a unique atmosphere and interesting enemy designs, providing a nostalgic experience for fans of classic FPS games.
- The variety of weapons and the ability to dual-wield them adds a fun and engaging element to the gameplay.
- Caleb's character and the dark humor throughout the game are enjoyable, contributing to its cult classic status.
- The game is plagued by numerous technical issues, including frequent crashes and poor performance on modern systems, making it frustrating to play.
- Level design is often repetitive and lacks the creativity found in the original Blood game, leading to a dull gameplay experience.
- The AI is poorly implemented, with enemies exhibiting aimbot-like accuracy, which can make encounters feel unfair and frustrating.
- graphics32 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game reflect its late 90s origins, showcasing a dated aesthetic that some players appreciate for its nostalgic charm, while others find it lacking compared to modern standards. Despite the outdated visuals, many reviews highlight the game's unique style, level design, and atmosphere, which contribute positively to the overall experience. However, technical issues and crashes related to graphics settings have been noted, detracting from the enjoyment for some players.
“The graphics may be dated, but it is still a fantastic game.”
“The game looks good for the time it came out, and although it's definitely dated now, the graphics don't take away from the experience.”
“The graphics are actually really cool and nice to look at.”
“The graphics are atrocious.”
“The early maps in chapter one are frustrating as certain features that would make solving issues such as where to go are blurry due to average graphics.”
“The storyline is okay, the graphics are what you'd expect from a game released in 1998, and Caleb's (main character) one-liners are actually pretty funny, but the game has so many bugs and issues that it just causes it to not be worth it.”
- story27 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-paced, while others criticize it as nonsensical and poorly executed. Many reviewers note that the cutscenes and dialogue are subpar, detracting from the overall experience, and although there are moments of potential, the narrative often feels rushed and incomplete. Overall, while some appreciate the effort behind the story, the execution leaves much to be desired, overshadowed by gameplay issues and bugs.
“As for the story, I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet played this masterpiece, but trust me when I say this, the story will keep you on your toes and engaged all the way.”
“The only thing I did like was the music and voice acting/story.”
“It is overall a fairly okay continuation of the Blood story with some cool moments thrown in.”
“However, as I've already stated, the development story doesn't justify the game's quality for the consumer, so I will just give you a list of problems the game has.”
“There is a forgettable and rushed story in there somewhere, but the voice acting is bad (even Caleb's voice actor, who is excellent, has some downright cringy moments), the villain is an annoying, pompous twat, the Chosen are about the least memorable crew I can think of.”
“They are unskippable, which is bad because the story is horrible.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of innovative mechanics and significant technical issues, including frequent crashes, poor difficulty balance, and unresponsive controls. While some players find enjoyment in its chaotic and comical elements, many criticize it for being fundamentally broken and unpolished, leading to a frustrating experience overall. Despite its potential and some redeeming qualities, the gameplay often feels like a slog, particularly at higher difficulties, making it a challenging recommendation for players.
“This game has a certain feel to it; the way it looks and behaves is quite interesting and had innovative mechanics and design for its time.”
“The controls are great and smooth, as they should be for a 90s FPS. The levels are non-linear and the architecture is, for the most part, well designed, and in terms of actual good gameplay, it's definitely worth playing if someone likes old shooters with awesome gameplay and atmosphere.”
“Other than crash issues, the gameplay is very fun, so I'd recommend it just as long as there's a way to actually fix it.”
“Pretty much everything is broken in it, from constant crashes, broken game difficulty balance, poor sound quality, settings/controls not saving or being removed for no reason later, to constant stuttering (despite the game showing stable 60 fps) or totally broken damage mechanics.”
“Blood II: The Chosen shows its potential subtly, and it's very sad how even this embryonic blueprint is unplayable (despite how many patches and fixes you'll apply, there's always a glitch or two, a crash, or both. Not to mention several gameplay issues).”
“When it works, the gameplay is an absolute slog with psychic hit-scanning enemies and weapons that do RNG damage.”
- stability23 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes significantly impacting the overall experience. While some players find the bugs add a certain charm or fun to the gameplay, many others describe it as a "buggy mess" that detracts from enjoyment and makes progression frustrating. Overall, the game's stability issues are a major drawback, leading to mixed feelings among players.
“The game runs great and now I can finally part with my old Windows 98 laptop!”
“Great old school game with nice graphics for the time it came out. It runs great on Windows 7 and the price is right.”
“But the bugs, glitches, balancing, and crashes are the worst aspect by far, but I think most people already know about that story on why this game was released in the state it was...”
“It's a buggy mess; it crashes every 10 minutes, enemies die either in 1 or 20 hits, and you die in 1 or 2 seconds.”
“Constant lags, freezes, and deaths by doors in the cutscenes - a totally broken release.”
- music23 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its dark and atmospheric qualities that enhance the gothic style, while others find it either minimal or dissonant. Notable soundtracks by composers like Daniel Bernstein and Matt Allen have left a lasting impression on players, contributing to nostalgia and replay value. Overall, while some appreciate the effective sound design and memorable tracks, others criticize certain aspects of the music as outdated or poorly executed.
“Oh and by the way, this game has one of the most killer soundtracks for a gothic style video game in existence; it's absolutely diabolical sounding.”
“For nostalgia's sake alone, this game is worth it. The soundtrack, among other 'good' things, also makes it worth the replay.”
“The sound design is also pretty good; the music is minimal but effective in helping the visuals set a really dark and gloomy atmosphere.”
“Overall; outdated graphics compared to Blood 1, great voice acting (but not the best cutscenes), and decent music (but Blood 1 still did it better).”
“Also, the music is just horrible.”
“It's dischordant garbage and the main menu uses pistol shots as a weird percussive side thing that doesn’t fit with the music.”
- humor19 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in "Blood 2" is characterized by dark, twisted one-liners and pop culture references, often blending cheesy elements with gory gameplay. While some players appreciate the comedic voice acting and the game's ability to balance humor with horror, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, especially when combined with gameplay issues. Overall, the humor is a mixed bag, with memorable moments that resonate with fans of the original, but it may not appeal to everyone due to its inconsistent tone.
“A deviously fitting sequel to the classic FPS game 'Blood', it has hilariously dark (yet sometimes cheesy, in a good way) one-liners and tons of blood and gore, plus some of the most twisted enemy designs from this era of PC games.”
“Nice smooth FPS with funny punchlines and hilarious dark humor.”
“Good memories and a freakin' solid shooter with crazy fun weapons and hilarious B-movie dialogue... groovy!”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, occult themes, effective sound design, and immersive music that enhances the overall experience. While many players appreciate the interesting locations and enemy designs, some note inconsistencies in atmosphere due to gameplay transitions. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some gameplay shortcomings.
“The game itself is of course very bloody, has nice locations, interesting enemies, and an awesome dark atmosphere, occult-themed.”
“The sound design is also pretty good; the music is minimal but effective in helping the visuals set a really dark and gloomy atmosphere.”
“No, it wasn't that groundbreaking on release, but it offered decent graphics, really awesome music that I like to listen to from time to time, and most importantly, the dark atmosphere.”
“Blood 2: The Chosen is a classic good old school action game and I enjoyed it, but compared to the first and only Blood, it lacks the atmosphere and darkness.”
“This results in annoying jingles playing randomly and no consistent atmosphere due to transitions between combat and walking.”
“No, it wasn't that groundbreaking on release, but it offered decent graphics, really awesome music, that from time to time I like to listen to - and most importantly - the dark atmosphere.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with users reporting constant crashes, stuttering issues, and broken mechanics, even on modern hardware. Many players advise against purchasing until significant improvements are made, as it currently feels unplayable and poorly designed for contemporary systems.
“Pretty much everything is broken in it, from constant crashes, broken game difficulty balance, poor sound quality, settings and controls not saving or being removed for no reason later, to constant stuttering (despite the game showing stable 60 fps) or totally broken damage mechanics.”
“Fast forward to 2018, the game has stuttering problems on a modern mid-range spec desktop and laptop.”
“Exe error prompts my computer to restart for some reason. Steam really needs to check their games as this one is not made for modern systems. It's a waste of time and money trying to get it to run, so stay away until by some miracle it gets optimized for modern systems.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews suggest that the monetization strategy of the sequel is perceived as a cash grab, lacking the charm and depth of the original. This reflects a broader sentiment that sequels often prioritize profit over quality, leading to disappointment among players.
“The monetization in this game feels like a blatant cash grab, lacking the charm and creativity of the original.”
“It's disappointing to see how the game prioritizes profit over player experience, making it feel more like a money-making scheme than a fun game.”
“The aggressive monetization tactics ruin the overall enjoyment, turning what could be a great game into a frustrating experience focused on extracting money from players.”
