Bloodroots

We rarely get games that try to deviate from the usual experience. Many great games may offer a background that is different from others in history, or present a gameplay mechanic that adds it to the regular system to differentiate itself, but our game for today is different. Today we present you a review of Bloodroots, the second game presented by the development team. Canadian Paper Cult, which dared to present one of these unusual experiments, was the attempt successful?

The story takes us to a strange version of the American West and focuses on the betrayal of Mr. Wolf from the Blood Beasts gang, the same gang he had led for several years. Although they were sure that they would eliminate him, Mr. Wolf had come back to life and is full of anger and hatred towards his gang, especially towards Mr. Black Wolf, who dealt him the final blow, and this is where his journey of revenge begins, without to ask questions. He’s the type to strike first and never ask questions. The story is characterized by dark comedy that fits the game’s cartoon character, who is full of murder and blood. Despite its simplicity and our not great expectations, the story was… entertaining and surprising despite some elements.

Graphics and Sound

On the graphical level, the game is simple and beautiful with its cartoon character, similar to programs for young people. Our review was conducted with the Nintendo Switch version, which we think can offer more sophisticated graphics, but we’ll leave it to you to judge the quality. The technical errors are very minor and are limited to simple things that will not affect your gaming experience. The game’s melodies are beautiful, mixing the melodies familiar from American Western films with humor and fun that match what is happening on the screen.

Gameplay

Now let’s move on to the gameplay. Bloodroots is very simple in its control system. In addition to moving the character with the analog stick, there is a button for jumping, carrying weapons and a third button for attacking. What makes that special? Experience? Well, carrots for example are considered a healthy vegetable as they are rich in vitamin A which strengthens eyesight, but Mr. Wolf uses it efficiently to stab the enemy. Simply put, every item that can be carried in the game is a deadly weapon in the hands of Mr. Wolf, and even if you lack weapon options, all you have to do is destroy a nearby hut or furnace, for example, to get the pieces to use this object as a weapon!

Challenging and Exciting

The game is not at all easy as some might expect. The enemies don’t waste a second thinking about pursuing and eliminating you. To eliminate the enemy, you have to strike at the right moment. This game is an exact example of what can be described as impossible ease. The control system and rules cannot be simpler than they are. However, mastering the experience is not at all easy. One of the exciting things about Bloodroots is that it is very fast and also chaotic. They jump on a vehicle and it collides with one of the soldiers. Then grab the steering wheel and throw it at the soldier running towards you. Once you get rid of him you need to find the next weapon to eliminate the soldier following him. Weapons are available here. They are not always used and most weapons can be used a maximum of three times, constantly testing your agility and adaptability.

Replay Value

Your performance in the stages will be evaluated based on your movement speed and the time it takes you to complete those stages. It also depends on the variety of weapons and the number of “combos” you achieve. The game provides you with the necessary tools to achieve these points. As mentioned, everything you need is already present in the environment and to ensure that you don’t get bored of using the same weapons over and over again, you are continually presented with an arsenal of different weapons with different uses as the experience progresses, together with a group of new, more difficult enemies that force you to adopt different strategies. The experience contains a small number of boss encounters, but the number is limited. This is compensated by the quality of these confrontations and the diversity of their ideas.

Issues and Conclusion

Of course, Bloodroots isn’t perfect, as it has two problems that prevent it from being better than it is. The first problem is the speed of Mr. Wolf’s movement and his extreme sensitivity to movement means that falls from the edges of the map or into the water (Despite his many skills, Mr. Wolf cannot swim!) are very common, even after he has practiced the control system has. The second problem is the design of some parts of the stages. We admire the effort that went into making it coherent and excellent, but some of these details were insurmountable and extremely difficult, but otherwise the experience is entertaining and exciting.

Side Activities and Challenges

The side activities or challenges that the game offers include finding some wolves stationed in hard-to-reach areas of the map. Additionally, if you reach a certain number of points, you will receive a new hat. Hats give you some advantage such as the ability to double jump or start the stage with a weapon. Fire and other perks that will change the way you deal with what’s happening around you, but hats cannot be used on the stage for the first time, which means you have to repeat the stages all over again to get the best possible result and hone your skills. The game also features a series of additional stages in which you have to destroy all the dolls. Before the time runs out there is a nice variety on the map and good content that the game offers in this regard ensures that the experience stays fresh and it also offers great replay value for those who want to become a professional.

Final Thoughts

8.5 hours was enough to finish reading the story and collect a whole lot of hats. We only found a few wolves in these hours. As already mentioned, they were carefully hidden or placed in hard-to-reach places. Bloodroots was a fun and innovative experience that impressed us with its fast pace and the chaos it caused. Despite some annoying problems that don’t detract from the battles, we recommend this experience to fans of action games who want a new and extraordinary gaming experience.