Combining twin stick shooting with flashy acrobatics, Bleed is an action game that takes me back to my Genesis days. Even the developers themselves take pride in a game with no filler that lets the action do the talking. There are so many retro style games on the indie marketplace, but very few feel like they belong in that era. It's that feeling of being able to pick up Bleed and not worry about forgetting story details or where to go that makes it so appealing. Although the story is brief, there is enough incentive with the scoring system to keep coming back.

 

 

 

Story

 

You play as Wryn, a gun-toting gal that dreams of being the world's ultimate videogame hero. The problem is there are 7 proclaimed "greatest heroes of all time" standing in her way. The only thing left to do is take them down, one-by-one, and claim the title for herself.

 

 

 

Gameplay

 

Controlling Wryn was a unique experience that was a bit jarring at first. The left stick controls her movements while the right stick aims and fires your weapon. The right trigger is used for jumping, Wryn can do up to three jumps to maneuver out of trouble. All that is standard, its moving Wryn in mid-air with the left stick (while jumping) that took some getting used to. The left and right bumpers are used to cycle between your two equipped weapons. Finally, the left trigger is used for slow-mo "bullet time", especially useful in boss fights. Although unique, it didn’t take very long for everything to feel natural and second nature, thankfully.

 

 

 

Before every level you can select your difficulty, ranging from easy to very hard. This is awesome because those who might get stuck in the middle of the game can adjust the difficulty to their preference. It's also nice that you can pause and manage your weapon loadout, rather than being forced to choose two at the beginning of a level and be stuck with them. Each room in every level acts as a checkpoint, which makes it easy to make progress (despite any lack of skill). In the upper right corner is a scoring system that grades you based on efficiency and how much damage you take. After every level, you are awarded points based on your performance which are then used as currency in the shop. The shop is used to upgrade your health or energy (think fuel for your lengthy jumps) and purchase new weapons. Wryn starts off with dual pistols but in time I was wielding a shotgun, rocket launcher, revolver, lasers and mines.

 

Once you have completed the story there are two additional modes to play: arcade and challenge. Arcade mode tasks you with completing the game with only one life. You are able to adjust the difficulty and how much health you have, but this is still no easy task. Challenge mode is very cool as it allows you to fight up to three bosses at once in an arena battle. There are also three extra Wryn versions to unlock, each with a different attribute that sets them apart (aside from cosmetically).

 

Presentation

 

Bleed nails the 16-bit style more than most games I’ve played this generation. From the art to the incredible music, it feels like a game that would have been alongside Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage. Everything loads quickly and it does not take long to get into the action. Priced at a very modest $9.99, Bleed has a fair amount of value. I can see most players replaying the story mode and unlocking everything from the store, in addition to arcade and challenge modes. There are 32 achievements which vary from doing (or not doing) something specific in a level to S-ranking boss fights. It is by no means an easy completion, but likely a very rewarding one for those who stick with it.

 

 

 

Final Take

 

Bleed is a solid action game with killer presentation  that won’t break your bank at $9.99. The story may be short, but difficulty options, two extra modes and a challenging achievement list should keep players coming back.

 

 

 

8/10

 

Written by: Jordan650

 

 A game key was provided by Digerati Distribution for the purpose of this review. You can purchase Bleed on the Xbox Store here:

 

Release Date - Thursday‎, ‎August‎ ‎24‎, ‎2017

Price - $9.99

Download Size - 327.29 MB

 

 

 

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