Developer: Suppressive Fire Games
Publisher: Nkidu Games Inc.
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Blood Alloy: Reborn – Review
From indie developer ‘Suppressive Fire Games’ comes this shiney new retro side scroller shooter ‘Blood Alloy: Reborn’. Being described as a game with ‘crazy-fast action gameplay’ and ‘infinite replayability’, it would be difficult to ignore with its beautiful concept art and intriguing trailers.
The result of a failed kickstarter and a lot hard work, this game has clearly overcome many obstacles to become what it is today.
Story
It’s here unfortunately that we have to begin with the main point in this game that slightly turns us away and that is its lack of a proper story. The player is simply thrown into the menu and allowed to play without being given true motivation as to why they would play. Something as (relatively) simple as a slideshow of digital art with text on top, would have set us off on the right foot.
Despite this being a wave-based game with fixed small area levels, an introduction could have added so much more.
Graphics
Blood Alloy: Reborn rocks retro looking 16 bit graphics with interesting, static scrolling backgrounds on each different level. The colour palettes used are mostly stronger and bolder on the forefront of the screen, which combined with the more sober backgrounds delivers a great sense of depth to the game.
A huge stand out point for this game are the main character and effect animations, which really took us by surprise. Said animations really make the playable character enjoyable to control. Both wall run slashing and firing missiles while sliding look completely epic and add a level of chaos and urgency to this very fast paced game. The character herself also looks interesting, and we would have loved to learn a lot more about her.
The only hitch in what is almost a flawless section is the off screen placement. While running in a certain direction, it is almost entirely impossible to see what is in front of you. On multiple occasions we were struck by stray blasts from enemies that came far too late for us to see. Not only is it frustrating, but it cramps the game and brings an uneasy feeling of claustrophobia.
Sound
We really were blown away by the soundtrack for Blood Alloy: Reborn. It’s utterly brilliant. Featuring an 80’s synth-driven soundtrack with multiple unlockable tracks as rewards for completing levels, it’s hard not to find yourself being immersed as a 16 bit mechanical sword wielding character straight out of the movie ‘Drive’. This is for us, the main stand out point for this game. The game’s website mentions that this game is the beginning of a larger project and if said larger project includes a soundtrack like this, it’ll be very hard to ignore.
Apart from the beautiful soundtrack, the in game sounds are certainly good too. Blasts from your weapons are punchy and enemies become more daunting with mechanical, operational sounds.
Gameplay
Blood Alloy: Reborn is a 2D action shooting side scroller, focusing mostly on its gameplay aspects. The game features a wave based enemy system; surviving and performing combos gets you a higher score as you battle to beat your current high score. There are a good number of different enemies that keep you on your toes. There’s a lot of variety between them, and while some are so big that you can’t help but run into them, others are small enough to require very careful aim, even with the big laser blaster. Switching between fight styles (gun or sword fight) is a cool feature, and the game does have a steep learning curve, which works well for the score board based games.
In the middle of things, it’s chaotic, as there are a lot of enemies, and they do a lot of damage. The playable character on the other hand is relatively weak, providing a challenge and making this a difficult game. The protagonist’s main blast weapon requires charging, which is very effective but ultimately can take too long. We found that hiding in a corner and charge blasting small bad guys that wandered into our screen worked and ensured survivability, but it’s not the most fun way of playing games. Perhaps a fairer scoring system or more importantly a better health drop mechanism would have improved our experience. Additionally, the game is rather difficult to master due to its lack of a decent tutorial. An introductory sequence explaining the game’s narrative and gameplay mechanics would have been a great addition.
Lastly, for a €12.99 (or regional equivalent) game, we found the total number of three game levels to be quite lacking. The game feels unfinished at this price.
Conclusion
Blood Alloy: Reborn is a decent game, made by a small developer, and it has pure intentions at heart. All things considered, it’s impressive that it came to be what it is. At the core, it’s a well running, at times rather fun, side scroller that keeps you entertained and fixated. The developers have a clear knack for game making and if they listen to their audience and move forward (as they seem to be doing), they certainly could create something amazing.
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