Blood: The Curse Hunter is a mod that sets out to give us a Blood sequel worth our time, unlike its official successor, which I still to this day consider one of the worst games out of a large studio. Unsurprisingly, it killed the series and to make matters worse for an already niche franchise, the source code for the original was never released, making mods or conversions that much more difficult. It’s been a rough ride for Blood fans, though with the recent release of an enhanced version of the first title and this very ambitious mod, things are finally looking up.
Now onto the mod itself. It is made via the Gzdoom source port, so technically it counts as a Doom mod, which makes it all the more impressive as to what they were able to pull off. Right from the get-go, you will notice how beautiful everything is. The environmental detail, object placement, and atmospheric effects all combine to create a graphical quality that is more than the sum of its parts. Chief among these being its dynamic lighting. It is a pretty computer intensive mod, but turning off the dynamic lighting will ruin both the intended look and a brand new feature.
Fire now has a far more significant role than just setting enemies on fire this time around. It is now used to clear out shrubs and other flammable scenery to reach your location, as well as now scaring off certain foes like rats and bats. You can also carry a torch and light others as you explore for an easy visual indicator of where you have been as you wade through the darkness. So far there are only two maps. The first is called Tutorial, and true to its name, will teach you about all of the new features. It would be unwise to skip it as it has a far different feel and focus than previous Blood titles.
Your second stage is where things really begin to shine. It features a full day and night cycle that has a massive effect as to how the world looks. As you backtrack or explore, seeing previous locations in an entirely new light as time ticks on is quite enthralling. And explore you will since this map is massive, making the day/night cycle that much more of an important feature. Calling it a map is a bit of an understatement, this is far, far larger than anything Blood had. It is more akin to an open-world as everything interconnects, and minus some locations that require keycards, are free to explore at your leisure.
There is a wide variety of unique locations to see ranging from spider infested catacombs deep below the map, to more peaceful looking outdoor sections. This is still an FPS game however, you likely won’t get the chance to admire everything until after you shot, burnt, and viciously exploded all in your path. Your first weapon will be your trusty old pitchfork. It works the same as always and is more of a last resort tool than something you’d want to use. Soon after you will receive your shotgun which will be your workhorse weapon all throughout. This time around, you can even dual-wield them without a powerup.
The rest of the weapons come into play much later. The Flare-gun from what I can tell can only be found via a secret and is a bit more challenging to use than normal, due to a slower projectile and no auto-aim. It still retains its explosion alt-fire and is overall an excellent addition to your arsenal. Then you have your trusty Tommygun, which now needs to reload. That I feel was not a good addition, especially since the enemy count is far higher than in prior titles. In the right hands, it is far more powerful however, since there is now location-based damage and headshots will end near any enemy quickly.
Last and sadly least is the iconic dynamite. In its current state, it is not even worth using unless you have the high ground and are up against enemies that can’t harm you from up there. The time it takes between lighting it and being able to throw it is far too long, made even worse since you have to hold it down longer for a further throw. It is no longer thrown in an arc, it is now thrown like a football, but at an odd angle making it difficult to hit distant targets. The damage and explosion radius is nowhere near what it used to be in the original. With all of that going against it, it is simply not ready for prime time as of this version.
This is definitely still Blood in terms of difficulty, even on Lightly Broiled (Medium) as your health will go from full to nothing in seconds. All of the enemies come from the original, though some have yet to be implemented. Currently, you have the Zombies, both Cultist types, Gargoyles, Spiders, then Rats & Bats. Some have been slightly tweaked such as zombies being able to keep going at you despite blowing off their legs and Cultists now needing to reload. All of the additions on this front are good ideas and are very much welcome. They lend a new feel to old foes without turning them into something else entirely.
Curses are the most prominent new feature. Scattered around the map are totems that will summon and reanimate zombies should you get near it. You can usually hear one from quite a distance away as ineligible whispers start growing louder in your head. Being the guy that devours human hearts as a way to recover health, it should come as little surprise that this is actually something to look forward to. You see, if you manage to destroy the totem, its curse will now be yours. These curses will allow you to purchase new powers from one of three categories called Carnage, Domination, and Survival. First, you will have to find an unholy item to upgrade your skills on one of these, but once you do, its powers are yours.
Some of the effects include remarkable things like raising all of the dead in your view to serve as your minions, a blood shield that protects you from frontal attacks, and heat vision to easily find both enemies or useful items in the dark. They function similar to a skill tree that you need to invest in. Resurrecting the dead for instance requires you to upgrade your Domination mastery three times. They get progressively more expensive the more you upgrade a category, and you will not be able to see what all three have to offer on a single playthrough. Carrying the Curses by themselves are quite the benefit as well. The more you hold, the more total stamina you have to make use of your powers, and the faster it recharges. Just make sure not to set fire to a totem containing one, or it will destroy the curse.
One thing I was not a fan of is how they handled ammo. You will constantly be running out on everything aside from shotgun ammo, and more can only be found by busting open chests or vases. These give a minuscule amount of random ammo types, causing you to spend way too much cracking some open. They do respawn again, holding different randomized ammo, so you never have a chance of completely running out. It just isn’t an enjoyable process to keep going out of your way to slowly refill your guns. This issue is magnified due to the amount of areas that arbitrarily have infinitely respawning enemies. Some such as corpses where spiders have nested can be destroyed, while others like a hole with rats pouring out of it can not. Since another foe spawns instantly after you kill one, it will drain your resources quite a bit, so back to smashing countless vases.
An interesting touch is that specific enemies drop notes giving you a clue as to what you need to do or where to go. From time to time, you’ll also receive a secondary task icon to guide you through its puzzles. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to the reader. With such massive differences from Blood, it can be easy to momentarily forget that it even has anything to do with it as this could easily be its own IP, given some new sprites. That is until Caleb opens his mouth for a witty one linear or gleeful remark after wreaking havoc. The cues and placements of Caleb’s lines are incredibly well placed. Not once did I notice him saying something that felt out of place, he always said something perfectly suited to what was happening. And his angelic laughing is still as heartwarming as ever.
Given how early into development Blood: The Curse Hunter is with only a single map made so far, it is mind-blowing how well they pulled off their many, many ideas. This is an ambitious mod no doubt, one that isn’t content with merely playing it safe. Even if you’ve never heard of Blood, this is well worth downloading and losing a few hours to if you are into old school shooters. I very much look forward to seeing how this project progresses in the future and here is a link to Bifurcator Studio’s Patreon if you want to give them some added encouragement.
Download CHdemoSetup win 2019 04 20 – Mod DB
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