Blood (video game)

Blood
Developer(s)Monolith Productions
Nightdive Studios (remaster)
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Nick Newhard
Producer(s)Matt Saettler
Programmer(s)
  • Peter Freese
  • Nick Newhard
  • Dan Leeks
  • Matt Saettler
Artist(s)Kevin Kilstrom
Composer(s)Daniel Bernstein
Guy Whitmore
EngineBuild
Kex Engine (remaster)
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Windows
Release
  • NA: March 7, 1997 (Shareware)
  • NA: May 21, 1997 (Registered)
  • EU: June 20, 1997
  • NA: July 15, 1998 (One Unit Whole Blood)
  • WW: May 9, 2019 (Fresh Supply)
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Blood is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by GT Interactive and developed using Ken Silverman’s Build engine. The shareware version was released for MS-DOS on March 7, 1997,[1] while the full version was later released on May 21 in North America,[2] and June 20 in Europe.

The game follows the story of Caleb, an undead early 20th century gunslinger seeking revenge against the demon Tchernobog. It features a number of occult and horror themes. Blood includes large amounts of graphic violence, a large arsenal of weapons ranging from the standard to the bizarre, and numerous enemies and bosses.

Blood received largely positive reviews from critics upon its release, with many praising its creative level designs, the humor (particularly its use of pop-culture references), atmosphere and its gameplay, though some criticism was aimed at the game's challenging difficulty. It later gained a cult following and it is considered to be one of the best games on the Build engine.

The Blood franchise was continued with two official expansion packs titled Plasma Pak (developed by Monolith)[3] and Cryptic Passage (developed by Sunstorm Interactive). A sequel titled Blood II: The Chosen was released on November 25, 1998. The game was released on GOG.com along with its two expansion packs on April 22, 2010, utilizing the DOSBox emulator to run on modern systems.[4] It was released on Steam on July 14, 2014.[5] The game also served as the principal inspiration for the manhwa Priest.[6] A remaster of the game made to run better on modern systems entitled Blood: Fresh Supply was released on May 9, 2019, by Nightdive Studios and Atari.[7][8]

  1. ^ Hamrick, Lee (March 7, 1997). "Blood is out!". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "More Blood". PC Gamer. May 21, 1997. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Blood Plasma Pak (Game)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "New Release: One Unit Whole Blood". GOG.com.
  5. ^ "Blood: One Unit Whole Blood". Steam.
  6. ^ "Getting to Know "Priest:" Manhwa Artist Min-Woo Hyung". Mudmosh. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Blood: Fresh Supply". GOG.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Blood: Fresh Supply™". Steam. Retrieved April 23, 2020.