Blood Breed from Blake McKinnon and Cool Small Games is a retro-infused survival horror game on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our Blood Breed review!

 

In Blood Breed from Blake McKinnon and Cool Small Games, you will take on an old-school infused survival horror game that is a throwback to the 3D games from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era. It’s a gory game that is rated M for Mature, a rating the game earned itself because of, and I quote the infobox for Blood Breed on the Nintendo Switch eshop, “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity.” Do know that you have the option of toggling an option for covering up the nudity to lower the “NSFW” part of the equation. You can also activate a grainy VHS-style filter.

The game starts as you’d expect from a game of this nature, with a solid cliché of “your car has broken down in the middle of nowhere since a deer got in your way on the road, so you end up crashing into it, totaling your car. With no way of contacting someone for help, you start to walk in the darkness, with only your flashlight by your side, as you try and find a way to make things better. The good news is that there’s a meat plant nearby. The bad news is that it’s an abandoned meat plant. The door is locked, but the key is nearby, near a pair of dumpsters.

 

The controls are very simple and to the point. You will move your character with the left analog stick, moving the camera with the right analog stick as needed, with a speed that is definitely more of the “21st century quality of life” variety, unlike the cameras from the 64-bit era that inspired it. You can crouch by pressing the L button, running by pressing and holding down the ZL button, as long as you have enough stamina for it. You can interact with things with the A button – and swing an axe once you unlock it late in the game -, and can toggle your flashlight on or off with the X button.

The type of hazards you’ll run into during your time with Blood Breed include things such as the always classic bear traps – with the first one you’ll find sitting right next to a bloody corpse that seems to have been dragged out of a bathroom -, a spinning contraption with very sharp axes – which is located in the aforementioned bathroom -, spikes that pop out of the floor to instantly kill you, or a giant spinning buzzsaw that can cut you in half.

 

There’s also a large man dressed all in blue that carries a large blade, which he’ll use to slice you up if he catches you. If he sees you, you’re pretty much dead, so you should make sure to stay hidden before it’s too late. You will find him over and over again and must pay attention to its movement pattern in each area since it will be very specific and will give you an idea of when it’s best to make your move and run for it towards the next door you have to open. Just be sure to first grab the corresponding key, or else he’ll slice you good!

Blood Breed is not a good game. It tries to pay homage to the survival horror classics in the genre from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era, but other than the blocky polygonal models, the gore, and the nudity, which is laughable at best, a fun game this is not, thanks to its many cheap deaths and lack of any horror nor a pressing need to survive. But maybe you’re looking for a “so bad it’s good” type of game on Nintendo’s console and have a 64-bit era itch and have an hour and change to kill, so if that’s the case, then maybe this one can keep you busy for a bit. Blood Breed is out on Nintendo Switch with a budget $4.99 asking price.

Disclaimer
This Blood Breed review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Cool Small Games.