Blood Hunting Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

These corridors before me loom in an encroaching and perpetual darkness, and the heavy pattering of disgruntled feet from the nearby cloisters is becoming worryingly frequent. It seems that I have little choice from here on out, but I must press on, even if it means having to face the consequences of my actions and the translucent eyes of the foe who cloaks the road ahead. There are things that I must learn, and there are answers that I cannot dare to let slip into the hands of those who only wish to impede my progress. Lost, but determined to shed light on my loved one’s traumatic past, I will take these next steps, knowing full well that I have no choice on the matter. This is Blood Hunting, and I, regrettably, am the poster child for prey whether I like it or not.

Blood Hunting begins its journey with a question that’s inconveniently vague and with numerous holes. The story, while not entirely comprehensible (there is a good reason for this, but we’ll get to that in a bit), aligns with protagonist Chase Jones’ acrimonious and often haunting quest for vengeance in the aftermath of his family’s tragic downfall. This story, while not a paint-by-numbers sequence with A-to-B progression, invites you to unravel clues and solve puzzles that, in turn, reveal the secrets behind your family’s past and, ultimately, the actions you must take in order to redeem them of their tormented fate. There is a bit more to it than that, but for the sake of keeping any spoilers under wraps, it’s probably best that we keep a tight fist on the finer details.

Curious to learn more about Blood Hunting now that it has officially shed its skin on Xbox Series X|S? Then let’s jump right in.

I Will Have Vengeance

Blood Hunting is a first-person survival-horror game at heart, and so, naturally, you can expect to witness a whole lot of atmospheric exploration, fist-in-mouth cat-and-mouse encounters, oddly perplexing puzzles, and a tremendous amount of tiptoeing around in the dark. This is, for the most part, where you spend your time in Blood Hunting — in the shadow-riddled crags and crevices of a decrepit and seemingly supernatural estate. With little means of defending yourself from the conspirators who stalk you, the only way for you to make headway on your journey—a quest that largely revolves around Chase’s undying efforts to connect the dots and claim redemption for his family—is to run, hide, and solve each puzzle in a timely manner.

There is a silver lining to the above: Blood Hunting does offer the occasional reward for persevering—a hint system, if you will, that comes in the form of a text message from an ominous stranger. Granted, said messages aren’t always as befitting of a credible solution as they should be, but the fact that the game doesn’t completely leave you to meander around in the dark is a bonus — sort of. For the most part, though, Blood Hunting sees you walking alongside none other than the sadists who brought you to the brink of this untimely epiphany. It’s just you out there, and so, if you had high hopes of running alongside several other sheep in the herd, then you might be in for a bit of a shock when the wolves come howling. This is a survival horror, belt and braces and all, so anticipate isolation, basically.

The Answers Are Within Reach

The opening sections of Blood Hunting are, to some extent, the easiest to work through. Well, I say that, when in reality, the more you begin to thread the tapestry and find plausible explanations for your rather depressing predicament, the more the AI begins to evolve, and the more the world around you begins to transform into a hostile and often dangerous territorial entity. And again, without the prowess of an established combatant or the weapons to defend yourself with, this basically means that a good ninety percent of the campaign is one big game of cat and mouse. And guess what? It works. It’s that foreboding feeling of being incarcerated in a dimly lit and airtight environment that makes you feel more prone to being attacked at any given moment.

While Blood Hunting doesn’t always come through with its quality jump scares, it does pour a lot of detail into establishing its ambiance and adding a good amount of suspense to each puzzle that you stumble upon. It’s that overhanging sense of doubt, or the mere thought that something could be following the breadcrumbs that you mistakenly assumed would have perished, that keeps you second guessing and forever checking over your shoulder. And sure, while these foes aren’t particularly terrifying by any stretch, their erratic behavior and sporadic attempts to thwart your progress can be considered scary in the eyes of die-hard horror fanatics. Is it the scariest game you’ll ever put your hands on? Probably not, no, though I’m willing to shell out a few bonus points based on the fact that it still finds a way to substitute a lack of scares for a better sense of abandonment.

In the Middle

Blood Hunting doesn’t boast a strong visual presence, though it does take full advantage of its Unreal Engine capabilities to craft a good selection of thematic set pieces and stately locations. Granted, it isn’t always possible to see just how many of these set pieces made it to the chopping block, what with the game favoring an impenetrable wall of blackness over a slightly more dynamic palette of textures, but I can sort of relate to the creative decision to retract the rainbow and full throttle the charcoal-smitten canvas. This is, after all, a horror game that wears its heart on its sleeve and adheres to traditional conventions, so where a splash of color may be befitting of a modern horror, it seems that Blood Hunting is far better off without it. Well, that is until you find yourself aimlessly searching for the next story beat.

I will say this: the sound design here is great. With a litter of eerie effects, spontaneous sounds, and a diluted ambiance that, while still a little more budget-friendly than your modern-day triple-A, has all of the palpable qualities of a good, clean-cut soundtrack, Blood Hunting does manage to excel in its audiovisual style — and then some. Add the fact that the natural-born horror doesn’t bear the iron cross of technical inconsistency or possess any kind of game-breaking bugs or mechanical flaws, and you have quite the indie thrill fest in your hands.

Verdict

Blood Hunting is the side-splitting, terror-inducing nightmare fuel that I’ve been looking to carve out from the depths of a budget-friendly hole for months. While it isn’t the best indie horror I’ve ever played, it’s a notable endeavor that I doubt I’ll be forgetting for quite some time. And I say this with love, because truly, while there are some things that I myself may have chosen to do differently, the fact that I left Blood Hunting feeling a mixture of emotions and longing for an ice tea and the comfort of a homely place was a testament to the fact that it was perfectly capable of planting seeds in my head to create a truly unique experience.

To summarize, if you have the desire to embark on a relentless journey of vengeance, self-discipline, and woeful luck, then Blood Hunting will more than likely have the respective qualities to help you scratch that itch. It’s a short horror, and one that isn’t likely to eat up your whole weekend. But, where it falls short in terms of longevity, it definitely makes up for it with a generous amount of well-orchestrated jump scares, thought-provoking puzzles, and a chilling variety of daring encounters with some truly vicious enemies.