In the mid to late 90s I didn’t have a “modern” PC, so a lot of games were experienced at friends’ places. And somehow, despite loving Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, everyone in my circle was far more into Build Engine games. Duke Nukem 3D was the obvious choice, but we also played Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage, Witchaven and, of course, Blood. Every game in this list was unique, going for a specific mood, using the engine capabilities to create something memorable. And Blood, the first project of Monolith Productions, was going for horror. Back than, it was a dark, yet extremely stylish and explosive FPS with all the best Build features. Lots of scenery could explode, levels could change based on player input and despite having a rather horizontally-focused design, levels could have a lot of vertical depth as well.
Today… Well, despite being available for a while on GOG in its most complete official release (One Unit Whole Blood), I was waiting for a good engine port of the game, which could introduce at least some of modern quality of life features. For the longest, BloodXL looked most promising, but then the project went quiet. Thankfully, Nightdive Studios, who has already proven themselves in reviving classic FPS titles, announced their take on the project. And Blood: Fresh Supply is the result. For all intents and purposes, the game is as good as it was back in 97, making this an “o tempora” category post, yet the additional features are so good that Blood can be enjoyed as a completely fresh FPS, without the need for a lot of tinkering.
