Back on the demos this week and I decided to talk about a cute action-adventure game. It was between this and a spooky horror demo which I still don’t want to talk about because it freaked me out so much while playing it (with the lights on of course). I played it going on a week ago now and I could have sworn it was a beat ’em up, but it wasn’t. Maybe I am just stupid. Anyway, This week is #Blud.

#Blud is an action-adventure game from Exit 73 Studios and Humble Games. The game is slated to be released in June for all modern gaming machines.

Players take the role of Becky Brewster, a field hockey-enjoying high schooler, whose family has just moved to the town of Carpentersville. This small town has a deadly secret in the form of vampires and other deadly creatures. People are going missing and the earth is literally breaking under the feet of the residents and it is up to Becky, her field hockey stick, and her mother’s vampire slaying manual to save Carpentersville and its inhabitants.

Becky is an aggressive, emotional teenager who really fits the role of vampire slayer kinda well. She wants to remember her mother and killing the supernatural is a way for her to be closer to her mom. It’s heartwarming and goofy.

The game takes place while Becky is attending high school and it is still an interesting take because most of the side missions in the demo are themed around dumb stuff high schoolers do. Get to the AV room, confront a nerd in the library for a key, and get the electricity going in the basement dungeon underneath the school. That kinda stuff. Beck can post her progression on Perch and schoolmates interact with the picture accordingly

Carpentersville is absolutely enormous from the scope of the demo. You can access the full school, the park, and the suburban area around Becky’s home. It’s refreshing to be able to explore in a demo.

There is one full dungeon in the demo and it is the one underneath the high school. It’s got all the things that players love: Puzzles, fights, bosses, and items to collect.

Immediately the player is introduced to the core combat of the game. You will have a weapon, either it is your fists or a field hockey stick and you will have to beat the literal piss out of enemies. Enemies take a few hits to crumble into a pile of poop and you move on. The combat gets a little more technical as the game moves on and bigger enemies are introduced but right now it boils down to smack, dodge roll, smack. Rinse and repeat.

Exit 73 Studios really knows how to make clean animations, and for that matter, a beautiful video game. #Blud embodies the 90’s cartoon vibes from the way that characters interact with the player, the cutscenes, and even the goofy sound effects when acquiring an item. It is all there and it looks really good.

#Blud is a good demo. I do have an issue with how precise the player has to be to hit an enemy but it doesn’t really ruin the demo for me. You have to be really close to the enemy to hit them where it looks like fifty percent of the field hockey stick going through them. Other than that, Becky is a great protagonist, the setting is fun, and the overall plot is good so far.

I guess it comes down to anything that Humble Games publishes is a game that I am going to love.