Bloodroots

Bloodroots is a high-speed slash-and-bash extravaganza that always makes you want to beat "just one more level."

Bloodroots is a very simple, straightforward game at face value, but it's also one that offers tons of replayability and features a high skill ceiling. If you're a fan of games that are all about mastering gameplay mechanics in pursuit of that one, perfect run, you really can't do better so far in 2020 than Bloodroots. It's a game that I'm very much looking forward to returning to time and time again over the coming months.

Even after completing it, I’ve continued trying to master Bloodroots’ levels because the loop it introduces in its opening minutes remains fun all the way through its campaign. It doesn’t revolutionize its genre but is such a solid entry, with a variety of weaponry to master, some fantastic boss fights, and an overall immediacy to its action. Dressed in a beautiful art design and coupled with a Tarantino-esque tale, Paper Cult elevates its murderous mayhem with an intriguing world. Aside from some slippery nuisances in certain level designs, and a somewhat predictable ending to the otherwise f...

How to murder a gang in 10 seconds.

Bloodroots is an incredibly well-made action title that will keep you hooked with its excellent, flowing combat gameplay. The ability to use pretty much every item littering the world as a weapon means you'll be constantly experimenting to find the most efficient way of defeating your foes. Some lengthy load times and a few camera issues aside, this is a game that almost certainly belongs in your Switch library.

Bloodroots is brilliant. This action puzzler from Canadian developer Paper Cult channels the violent energy of Hotline Miami, but sheds Dennaton Games’ synthwave aesthetic for cartoon conflicts that are every inch as intensely addictive. This is a graceful, rhythmic dance of death that encourages improvisation while simultaneously insisting on perfection, prompting you to toggle between different armaments as you one-shot hordes of aggressive gang members.

A highly enjoyable action romp, with a winning sense of humour and a hugely entertaining range of unusually varied weapons.

You will swear at the screen a lot when playing Bloodroots. Mr Wolf will die hundreds if not thousands of times throughout your run, and sometimes you'll just need to put the game down and walk away. Yet Bloodroots can sink its claws into you in a way that few games do. It is a challenge put in front of you that you will want to prove you can overcome. Freaking Bloodroots, man.

Each level ends with a cut scene and you are also able to listen to the ghosts of previously slain bosses at the campfire before you start the next one.  The story fills out via these moments between the normal all action game play.  Bonus levels are also included every now and then which require the destruction of multiple dummy targets within a set time limit. These are however irrelevant to the main story.

Revenge is best served in small doses.

When the credits rolled, I was just as impressed with Bloodroots‘ story as I was the claret-soaked action. But that same action had also taken its toll on me. There’s a certain type of player that will love Bloodroots; one that’s full of determination and grit. Many, however, might just find its trial and error nature annoying. There’s also the fact that Switch just probably isn’t the best format to play it on. Handheld play puts up more barriers between you enjoying the chaotic action, while performance issues and long loading times break immersion.

Bloodroots presents an amazing combat sandbox and then forces players into rote memorization of the developer's set path. No amount of Samurai Jack styling can make that fun.