Blood: Fresh Supply

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 37
  3. Negative: 2 out of 37

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  1. TheHambro
    Mar 19, 2020
    9
    Retro First Person Shooters hold a very special place in my heart. I grew up with the genre with games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Duke Nukem amongst many other titles. Blood, however, was one title I never even heard of until just recently. Hailed as one of the greatest amongst the classics, I decided to give this one a shot. I can’t believe I missed this one as a kid, because evenRetro First Person Shooters hold a very special place in my heart. I grew up with the genre with games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and Duke Nukem amongst many other titles. Blood, however, was one title I never even heard of until just recently. Hailed as one of the greatest amongst the classics, I decided to give this one a shot. I can’t believe I missed this one as a kid, because even today, it really is just an awesome and wholesome shooter.

    There is honestly very little wrong with Blood. Shootin’ and blastin’ enemies in such gory fashion with the myriad of weapons you have at your disposal is just pure fun and bliss. I will admit that not all weapons will prove as useful as others, but just experimenting with them and using their alternate firing modes is just awesome. The atmosphere and level design are just absolutely top-notch. Every level looks painstakingly and intricately crafted all accompanied by moody and creepy ambient sounds and lighting. Just be aware that these levels are so well developed that sometimes it can be maze-like, making it somewhat difficult to find your way around and backtrack. Finally, the difficulty can be very unrelenting depending on your chosen setting. I was startled at how much I was getting my ass kicked on the easier difficulties, but shortly became rewarding and easier to traverse as I learned how to use all the tools at my disposal.

    What makes games like Doom a classic is because of how it still stands the test of time, and Blood is no different in that regard. It’s one of those titles that somehow remains incredibly fun even twenty-three years later, and I had a blast with it. Looking for a class FPS to get into? Get Blood, because it will not disappoint.    … Expand
  2. Iscariote
    May 11, 2019
    4
    If you're looking for a source port that accurately portrays the gameplay and shows all its details as they were back in the day, then this is not what you are looking for. Its like a World of Warcraft private server, it uses the assets and mimics the thing, but its not the real deal. And don't even try the multiplayer, it's just broken.

    Suitable for playing, yes of course. But if you    If you're looking for a source port that accurately portrays the gameplay and shows all its details as they were back in the day, then this is not what you are looking for. Its like a World of Warcraft private server, it uses the assets and mimics the thing, but its not the real deal. And don't even try the multiplayer, it's just broken.

    Suitable for playing, yes of course. But if you have played enough Blood, lots of details start to add up and no, as for the time being I will not recommend it over existing ports. Will keep an eye for updates.

    Some of the stuff that is wrong:
    - Damage figures are wrong. Try testing the flare gun in different difficulty levels here and with DOS.
    - Weapon swapping has cooldown introduced. No more quick reloading a single shell
    - Monster behaviour is wrong. Monster infighting is cranked up for example.
    - You can hurt yourself by jumping and crouching mid air.
    - Fanatic and Cultist voices are mixed
    - You take fall damage with the boots *on*
    - You can be crushed while the crushing sectors are going up
    - Voodoo doll needs way better aiming than before
    - Wrong sprite for mid-air explosions
    - Caleb jumps more than intended
    - Caleb jumps further than intended when exiting water
    - Caleb is a bit taller and will auto crouch in sectors where he shouldn't
    - Reflective Shots is missing the sound echo effect
    - Reflective Shots doesn't display the bubble effect around the player
    - No hump sound when using walls
    - Some switches will only work once
    - Some ambush triggers will trigger more than once (double the the ambush, weee)
    - Chains in E2M4 swing synchronized
    - Stoned gargoyles use the full morph when awaken. Was Just 1-2 frames in 1.00, none later on.
    - Cheogh's eyes use the blue glow when firing
    - Saved games don't have a screenshot
    - Player won't look up when dead
    - Music volume slider doesn't affect CD Audio music (for me, for others does)
    - No Steam Workshop integration as of now
    - Gargoyle statutes won't budge, can't be "used" to be pushed, won't spill blood when shot
    - You can't slide under doors by crouching, this is a Speedrunning complete dealbreaker
    - Autoaim doesn't work like it should, it'll target monsters behind your current target at will
    - Some sounds sound muffled while others just right, with higher sampling rate (ie. Caleb's voice)
    - Screen doesn' even turn red many of the times you take damage
    - Misaligned textures where there shouldn't be
    - Addons don't work propertly. You'll get stuck soon in Death Wish for example
    - Multiplayer is a mess with disconnections, crashes...
    - Multiplayer lobbies won't show any info at all other than the player names
    - Multiplayer, the announcer will talk when you die, rather than when you kill
    - Multiplayer will feel laggy unless you are the host
    - Multiplayer, last breath is nowhere to be found
    - Multiplayer, sound positioning is awful, you'll hear lots of stuff without a clue from where
    - Multiplayer, No private games. Anyone can't join you game.

    And the list just goes on, and on, and on... This is a mess, this isn't Blood.    … Expand
  3. PSPMan3000
    Nov 25, 2019
    8
    I bought this for $6 on sale. It took me 31 hours to complete all 6 of the campaigns contained within both standard Blood and Cryptic Passage. I got 14 of the 20 achievements and only missed 3 of the secret levels. I played on Lightly Broiled.

    Duke 3D Megaton Edition and Shadow Warrior Classic Redux were how I was introduced to the build Engine, and as such, I was willing to wait for    I bought this for $6 on sale. It took me 31 hours to complete all 6 of the campaigns contained within both standard Blood and Cryptic Passage. I got 14 of the 20 achievements and only missed 3 of the secret levels. I played on Lightly Broiled.

    Duke 3D Megaton Edition and Shadow Warrior Classic Redux were how I was introduced to the build Engine, and as such, I was willing to wait for Blood to get it's quality of life remake. is this worth it?

    For someone like me that doesn't want to mess with DOSBox and wants modern day quality of life changes in these types of games? Yes. I had a blast with this, and for $10 for 30 hours of a solid high, is awesome. There's only one level i played in all 6 campaigns i outright hated, and there's so many completely awesome levels you'll want to experience. I also think that other than Ion Fury (which I haven't played as of writing) this is easily the best of the Build Engine games. Yeah it's difficulty is brutal, and the hitscanners are frequent and annoying, but you should walk into this game expecting to save scum like crazy and die once every time you enter a new room. Learning to use all your weapons effectively is tantamount, and this game makes you feel as bad-ass as it's lead character each time you clear out an area. There's nothing more gratifying then using alt-fire to lob a stick of dynamite around a corner and see an enemy's dead corpse blast around the corner in response. Everything about playing this game looks, sounds, and feels **** awesome. It's also much more stable compared to Megaton and Redux. I only had 1 Crash and it was because I hit the windows key to look up help on one level. Not sure what happened but it hard-locked my computer to the point I had to improperly shut it down. In no way a deal breaker, but thought it was worth mentioning.

    Bottom line? Play this. Blood is the **** Just save often, and be prepared to die over, and over, and over again.    … Expand
  4. Captain_Chaos
    Jul 3, 2020
    8
    When I was a kid, there were always games my parents didn't want me to play. Some they judged on their actual content, but Blood was not one of those. The title alone was enough.

    Another quality Build Engine title of the 90s in distinguished company, Blood was one of the earliest ventures of Monolith Productions, who would go on to create F.E.A.R. and Condemned, the former of which is    When I was a kid, there were always games my parents didn't want me to play. Some they judged on their actual content, but Blood was not one of those. The title alone was enough.

    Another quality Build Engine title of the 90s in distinguished company, Blood was one of the earliest ventures of Monolith Productions, who would go on to create F.E.A.R. and Condemned, the former of which is perhaps my favorite singleplayer FPS, a least of the '00s. They are probably best known now for the Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor games.

    The player takes the role of undead gunslinger Caleb, once cast down by his master, the dark god Tchernobog, now arisen to exact his revenge. Armed with an arsenal ranging from mundane shotguns and tommy guns to aerosol flamethrowers, napalm launchers, Tesla cannons and even a voodoo doll, Caleb must negotiate haunted mansions, dark forests, dank dungeons and several more unique locales, such as a train, a carnival, a riverboat and a... shopping mall? Why not. These areas frequently reference classic horror films and literature, such as a hotel inspired by The Shining. Leave Caleb standing around long enough and he might start singing old showtunes or musicals to himself. Blood has a glib, macabre personality to it that makes it quite unique, thanks in no small part to the voice talents of Stephan Weyte. Listen for him in the Gloomwood demo, available now!

    Blood possesses a more direct map design then one might expect, with an overall ease of navigation I don't recall experiencing in most other games of those days. Maybe I just got better at not getting lost, who knows. This compilation rerelease by Nightdive Studios, rebuilt in their in-house KEX Engine, I believe represents my first time playing the game its entirety. It includes the Cryptic Passage and Plasma Pak expansions, with shiny new full 3D mouselook option, without that disorienting vertex warping the Build Engine had originally. I vaguely recall playing the old DOS version of the base game at some point in the past, but it's possible I only ever played the shareware. Although E3M1 felt familiar.

    Fans of Blood are no doubt familiar with the game's long history of intellectual property entanglements, notably resulting in its source code not being released, even to this day, despite the same having been done for Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. The problem, as always, appears to be capitalism.

    Fresh Supply is noted for its unfortunate lack of updates and some outstanding minor bugs, but as of this writing the game is entirely functional and playable from start to finish. At the price I got it for from Fanatical, its an outright steal, and well worth its ordinary price. If you are experiencing Blood essentially anew like myself, Fresh Supply has what your veins need. You could always check Fresh Supply out on GOG.com as well, where the original "One Unit: Whole Blood" DOS version is included as a free download.    … Expand
  5. UncleEd
    Oct 12, 2021
    10
    The first time I played Blood was when it was released back in 1997. It was one of the first video games that gave me the creeps and being a horror fan kid, I loved every minute of the first iconic mission, yet I did not progress much further due to my inexperience in shooters. Blood is a member of the holy trinity of Build engine games along with Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior (IThe first time I played Blood was when it was released back in 1997. It was one of the first video games that gave me the creeps and being a horror fan kid, I loved every minute of the first iconic mission, yet I did not progress much further due to my inexperience in shooters. Blood is a member of the holy trinity of Build engine games along with Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior (I personally would add Redneck Rampage to that list). Due to its scary nature, it was a bit less popular than Duke Nukem 3D, yet the game always had a cult following, despite the harm its sequel Blood II: The Chosen may have caused.

    24 years have passed. I have beaten countless shooters from retro classics (Doom, Duke Nukem 3D) to classics in transition period (No One Lives Forever, Half-Life), to modern ones. I usually love Nightdive Studio’s work with remasters and I simply could not resist to replay the game as “Blood: Fresh Supply”.

    Oh boy… It holds up so well. It plays like Duke Nukem 3D, where you find some keys, kill enemies and finally press a button to finish the mission. It separates itself from FPSs from the same era with its level design, soundtrack and unique weapons. You will not find annoying maze-like levels where you get lost. You will have extremely memorable weapons in your arsenal from flare gun and dynamite to voodoo doll. Any kind of incendiary damage will be your most effective tool here as you watch even the strongest enemies burn, screaming in agony. Enemies have good variety and none of them fell out of place, cultists being my favorite. Most importantly though, this game has sick soundtrack, which I had totally erased from my memory. It is the sort of music that you would find on a cassette tape that belongs to a satanic cult leader.

    I could not play anything else until I finished the game and all expansions including Cryptic Passage and Plasma Pak. It was a blast. I did not experience and compatibility issues thanks to the remaster and I certainly recommend picking it up. It’s definitely one of the best fps games ever made and one that you should not miss if you are into retro FPS classics.

    9.5/10    … Expand
  6. goberryyogurt
    Oct 18, 2019
    9
    Blood is (Probably) the best game that was made with the build engine. Fresh supply comes with the base game, the later-released Cryptic Passage expansion and episode 6, Post Mortem. The new features like Full-3D aiming, and the fov slider are very nice additions. After the patch, this is a fantastic experience through and through.
  7. ImperialYama
    Jan 6, 2021
    9
    Unique Game in every aspect and very original. Also challenging and got a badass protagonist

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Digital Chumps
    May 28, 2019
    95
    Blood is (perhaps obviously) high on my all-time list. It was such a pleasant surprise when I heard that Nightdive was working on a re-release, and I’m glad they have. Priced at $10 or less ($5 at the time of this writing), there’s no reason not to add this classic to your collection.
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  2. Games.cz
    May 24, 2019
    70
    This remaster will please mainly new players. Veterans will notice many missing pieces and differences from the original which are bound to sour the mood.
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  3. CGMagazine
    May 20, 2019
    80
    It may be over 20-years-old, but Blood has aged nicely into a gory red wine that remains highly replayable to this day.
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