Sometimes all it takes to grab my attention is one trailer. One good teaser. And that’s exactly how I discovered Blud, a newly released 2D Zelda-like action game about vampires, evil tech bros, and high school.
I saw its release trailer on Twitter, thought “Wow that looks cool!” and started playing it. The game, with its bold colors, thick lines, and odd shapes, looks like a cartoon from the ‘90s or early 2000s. But while its impressive style caught my eye and got me playing Blud, I’m happy to report the rest of this playable cartoon is also pretty dang awesome, too.
Blud started life as a pitch for an animated series from studio Exit 73 about a young girl who, after being trained by a mystical master, fights evil vampires and other nasty demonic critters while balancing high school, friends, social media, and the rest of her life in a small town. But, according to the studio, not many were interested in the Blud show and it was shelved. In 2018 , the small studio of animators decided to create a video game and retooled Blud —with the same story, characters, and world—as a Zelda-like hack’n’slash that would look like a late ‘90s cartoon.
Now, all these years later, the game is finally here and the very first thing that will stand out about this vampire-killing adventure is that, yeah, a group of talented 2D animators worked on this thing! I don’t mean that as a negative, to be clear. I think one of Blud’s strongest features is its distinct and eye-catc.
