Bloodless

Bloodless is a great game and is fun to play for the most part. It has the potential to become an absolute hit just for the ambiance.

Over the course of Bloodless, Tomoe leads dozens, if not hundreds, of challengers to flee from her in fear. Their apparent lack of conviction—their willingness to take flight rather than die fighting—suggests a commentary on violence that the game fails to flesh out. Tomoe’s exchanges with new and old acquaintances, which transpire in sluggish scenes filled with trite dialogue, are similarly devoid of depth, texture, and specificity. Bloodless clearly has something to say about the cataclysmic potential of power and the cycles of suffering it locks people into, but by making its world feel universal—like it could be anywhere—it ends up nowhere at all.

Bloodless approaches the idea of a brawler with a unique spin featuring its non-lethal combat, but feels like it can be pulling its punches in some areas. Parrying your way through waves of enemies is novel, yet the implementation can lead to some overwhelming moments in an otherwise engaging experience. The path of mercy was never going to be easy though, and Bloodless still manages to be an overall fun journey of finding an end to violence.

Ultimately, Bloodless is an interesting, straightforward kind of game that is exactly what it says it is on the box. There’s a central premise, and the gameplay revolves (almost) entirely around it, even if it wavers a little out of an apparent necessity. And even then, takes the care to justify the shift in a way that lines up in the fiction. The non-lethal combat is fun to engage with, and doesn’t simply feel like another samurai game about parrying. There also isn’t a ton more to Bloodless than that, which is totally fine. There’s a target, the game lines up its shot, and hits it dead center. Good stuff.

Bloodless provides an engaging experience with challenging and fun combat, a badass elderly protagonist, an interesting premise that I enjoyed where her determination to keep a vow is at odds with all the violence around her, and some interesting and eccentric characters who provide a bit of comic relief to the otherwise tense atmosphere. You should check this game out if the visuals appeal to you and you are okay with a difficult combat system.

Bloodless' unique counter-based approach to combat not only helps it come off as rather unique in a crowded genre, but the beautiful simplicity it creates with its non-lethal approach eventually gives way to a deeper layer of complexity as you face off against trickier foes in stellar showdowns. The world of Bakugawa is a delight to interact with and an absolute feast for the eyes, but the duels it contains are what make this a truly special game, and one not to be missed out on. It's the most fun you can have in a Sekiro-style game without drawing a single drop.

Bloodless è un titolo che mescola alcune delle meccaniche di combattimento ispirate a Sekiro, con enfasi su schivate, precisione di movimento e contromosse, aggiungendo a corredo abilità e una conduzione di gioco da action adventure. Non tutto funzione alla perfezione, i ritmi sono a volte un po' lenti e si ha la sensazione che l'intera avventura sia un po' troppo tirata per lunghe, ma non si può di certo dire che sia l'ennesimo clone senz'anima.