BloodLust Shadowhunter
- September 21, 2015
- WRF Studios
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"BloodLust Shadowhunter" is a present-day Dungeon Crawler where players, as the last of a coven of ShadowHunters, journey into a dark city to defeat the vampire lord Ranior. As they grow stronger and increase their skills in the Dark Arts, they risk losing their humanity. The ultimate battle will be against their own source of immortality, forcing them to choose between embracing darkness or destroying it.
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic RPGs like Vampire: The Masquerade, combining dungeon crawling with character customization.
- The randomly generated dungeons provide a vast amount of content and replayability, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- The developer is highly responsive to feedback and frequently updates the game, showing a commitment to improving the player experience.
- The graphics and animations are dated, which may detract from the overall immersion for some players.
- The combat mechanics can feel clunky and unpolished, leading to frustrating encounters at times.
- The story and character interactions are often shallow, lacking depth and engagement compared to other RPGs.
- story147 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in "Bloodlust Shadowhunter" is generally considered weak and underdeveloped, with many players expressing disappointment over its lack of depth and coherence. While some appreciate the atmospheric setting and the potential for interesting lore, the gameplay often overshadows the narrative, leading to a focus on repetitive fetch quests rather than engaging storytelling. Overall, the game offers a basic plot that serves more as a backdrop for dungeon crawling and combat rather than a compelling narrative experience.
“The game perfectly blends immersive storytelling, deep character customization, and a hauntingly atmospheric world.”
“Whether you're here for the combat, the story, or the vampiric lore, Bloodlust Shadowhunter is a dark, captivating journey worth taking.”
“There is even a coherent story with rich lore and secrets to discover.”
“The story is bad and not well told, which just makes the whole game feel pointless.”
“The story, dialogue, and voice acting are all terrible.”
“The story is almost non-existent so far, and I've gone through several main quests thus far.”
- graphics95 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are dated and reminiscent of early 2000s titles, such as "Half-Life 2" and "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines." While some appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic and atmospheric design, others criticize the clunky animations and graphical glitches. Overall, the visuals may not meet modern standards, but they are often deemed acceptable given the game's engaging gameplay and indie development background.
“What truly stands out is the game’s moody aesthetic and soundtrack, which together create an unforgettable experience.”
“I loved the gothic world with its nods to the grunge aesthetic of the early 2000s.”
“The graphics are pleasing and the color palette really does reflect what I would think wandering around a crypt would be like.”
“The graphics are very dated and I would not say this game was 'action packed', but it has some interesting skills you can use in-game that make it worthwhile.”
“By modern standards, the graphics, gameplay, controls, story, pretty much everything just lacks the production quality and polish I'm used to.”
“It's obvious that Bloodlust Shadowhunter has quite a 'potato-y' look to the graphics; it's still acceptable, though this is not the strong side of this game's appeal.”
- gameplay67 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mix of action and RPG elements, featuring dungeon crawling, character customization, and a variety of mechanics that can be engaging despite some design flaws and a lack of polish. While many players find the core gameplay loop enjoyable and reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers, others note that the mechanics can be confusing or frustrating, particularly due to bugs and underdeveloped elements. Overall, the game offers a compelling experience for fans of the genre, especially if they prioritize gameplay over graphics and narrative depth.
“The mix of action and RPG elements keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging, while the intriguing NPCs and questlines add layers of depth to the narrative.”
“Bloodlust: Shadowhunter is one of those rare games where the gameplay loop is so good it alleviates the flaws that any other game would painfully suffer from.”
“All in all, Bloodlust: Shadowhunter offers hours and hours of exploration, fighting, looting, dungeon-crawling, and good fun, if you are ready to forgive the usual glitches and unfinished and out-of-date look of some models and mechanics.”
“Many mechanics are either not explained or explained in a way that's easy to miss.”
“The only real gripe I had in terms of gameplay was the last quest before the final boss fight, as it was just too confusing and arbitrary to navigate.”
“Fairly promising game during the early access period, but it had quite a few flaws in its gameplay as the combat was quite clunky, the UI and options menu were done in a day or at least that's how it looked, and generally it lacked overall polish to make you want to continue grinding an infinite amount of identical rooms to get better loot.”
- atmosphere30 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive storytelling, haunting visuals, and atmospheric sound design, creating a captivating and mysterious world that draws players in. Many reviewers highlight the effective use of lighting, detailed environments, and a compelling musical score that enhances the overall mood, reminiscent of classic titles like "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines." Overall, the combination of dark urban settings, engaging character customization, and a sense of mystery contributes to a richly atmospheric experience that keeps players engaged.
“The game perfectly blends immersive storytelling, deep character customization, and a hauntingly atmospheric world.”
“Many times my jaw dropped as vampire magic-focused puzzles, traps, special abilities, and secrets kept ramping up the mystery every time I retry, while the city environments on top ooze with atmosphere and present you with some respite to take in the urban spots.”
“The atmosphere (lighting, environments, voice acting, UI) is immersive.”
“The game world is basically levels and levels of dark dungeons, with a tiny city area (about the size of the 'first city area' of Bloodlines) I'd say, but Bloodlust: Shadowhunter has a better amount of detail and atmosphere.”
“Not really, the dependency on flashlights really adds atmosphere to the gameplay, more considering enemies tend to spawn from the air at every corner, and otherwise you're alone in the dark and won't see a thing except distant lights and glowing eyes gazing at you.”
“From its nitty gritty atmosphere to the amateur voice acting, this game has me hooked.”
- music18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as atmospheric and fitting for its moody aesthetic, enhancing the overall experience. While some players appreciate the immersive soundtrack and sound design, others note that the music can be repetitive and occasionally lacks variety. Overall, the soundtrack effectively complements the game's dark themes, though it may not stand out significantly in some areas.
“What truly stands out is the game’s moody aesthetic and soundtrack, which together create an unforgettable experience.”
“Atmospheric horror themed music.”
“The sound design is pretty good, the music is atmospheric as one would expect for a dark vampire type game, and it helps complement the look and feel of the game, and helps set the mood.”
“That just about sums up the level of attention that went towards music direction.”
“The music is just an endless loop of the same woman going 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~' in a spooky voice while someone keeps whispering 'come closer, I won't hurt you'.”
“Bad: redundant, repetitive music and randomly generated dungeons, clunky melee combat, uneven progression, topped with monotonous level-grinding for XP in dungeons lacking enough (varied) things to kill, can be real frustrating.”
- stability16 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting a significant number of crashes and glitches, particularly related to graphics and sound. While some acknowledge that these issues are common in early access titles and are being addressed by the developers, others find the bugs to be a major detractor from the overall experience. Overall, players seem to agree that while the game is playable, it remains quite buggy and in need of further polish.
“However, the amount of crashes and glitches is just unbearable.”
“It's kinda garbage, it's buggy... it isn't hype.”
“400mb update makes it full release.......clunky and buggy in my 1.4 hrs of playtime, 3 crashes.”
- grinding16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many expressing frustration over the monotonous dungeon delving and clunky combat mechanics. While some appreciate the nostalgic feel and the potential for loot gathering, the overall experience is marred by uneven progression and a lack of engaging content, leading to a sense of boredom after extended play. The requirement for extensive level-grinding to unlock inventory space and talents further detracts from the enjoyment, making the grind feel more like a chore than a rewarding experience.
“Dungeon delving is repetitive and tediously boring.”
“The only way to increase inventory space is to 'buy them with talent points', but you need to 'learn' all the prior talents, and they're spread all over the tree... which therefore requires a huge amount of level-grinding, which is really quite backwards.”
“Fairly promising game during the early access period, but it had quite a few flaws in its gameplay as the combat was quite clunky, the UI and options menu were done in a day or at least that's how it looked, and generally it lacked overall polish to make you want to continue grinding an infinite amount of identical rooms to get better loot.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its intentionally bad voice acting, amusing character interactions, and the comedic effects of spells, particularly in the context of battles. Players appreciate the lightheartedness brought by quirky AI movements and the absurdity of character choices, contributing to an overall entertaining experience despite some technical bugs.
“As of right now, the build for shadow-hunter is mostly stable, and the bugs I have encountered were humorous but not game-breaking.”
“The voice acting is hilariously bad.”
“Personally, I picked the 'witch' class (a.k.a. mage), and the magic is pretty hilarious to use, especially the fire spell against other enemy vampires.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability through its three distinct classes and vampire subraces, allowing for significant customization and varied gameplay experiences. Players can also enjoy an intriguing post-completion development and a wealth of secrets, alongside endless random dungeon layouts and a vast array of abilities and loot, ensuring that each playthrough feels unique. Overall, it stands out in the hack 'n' slash RPG genre for its replay value.
“There are 3 different classes with distinct gameplay styles, and nothing stops you from using your level-up points to drastically change your class focus if you want. Additionally, there are 3 vampire subraces that you can mix and match with the classes for added customization and replayability.”
“There's an interesting development after the first completion that adds to replayability, and to this day, I still haven't found all of the secrets.”
“The amount of abilities the character has, combined with the massive amount of loot and endless random dungeon floors, makes this game very replayable, offering a completely different experience each time.”
“There are 3 different classes with distinct gameplay styles, but nothing really stops you from using your level-up points to drastically change your class focus if you want. There are also 3 vampire subraces that you can mix and match with the classes for added customization and replayability.”
- character development4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game offers extensive control over character development, featuring a well-designed skill and talent tree that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the depth and flexibility in character progression, making it particularly enjoyable for those who value continuous development.
“The game gives you so much control over your character development, which is totally awesome.”
“This game is fun if you enjoy endless character development.”
“It features a nice skill development system with a well-designed talent tree, making for an overall great character development experience.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
“I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful choices in character development; it felt like my decisions didn't matter.”
“The characters don't evolve throughout the game, leaving their arcs feeling stagnant and unengaging.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is solid, providing good performance even at high settings, though players may need to adjust settings for the best experience. While it lacks flashy effects and extensive animations, issues like frame stuttering are minimal and can often be resolved by reloading the game. Users have reported no crashes, indicating a stable performance.
“It's best to experiment with the settings to find what works best for you, but the performance is excellent even at high settings (at least in my experience).”
“The optimization is impressive; I was able to achieve smooth gameplay without sacrificing visual quality.”
“I love how customizable the settings are, allowing me to fine-tune the performance to match my hardware perfectly.”
“Not much 'flash and awe,' so don't go into this expecting DMC levels of acrobatics, frame-stuttering special effects, or an overly robust variety of character and monster death animations.”
“So far, I have not experienced any crashes, and reloading the game fixed any graphic stuttering that I encountered twice.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional engagement of the game, noting that the variety of abilities and skills available for the warrior class enhances their experience without causing confusion or overwhelm. This balance allows for a more immersive and enjoyable emotional journey within the game.
