“Boomer shooters” have made a comeback because they deliver pure, unfiltered gameplay focused on fast-paced action, movement, and shooting. Unlike many modern AAA titles that emphasise cinematic storytelling, realistic mechanics, cover systems, or open-world exploration, boomer shooters strip away the fluff. There have always been the classics like Quake, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D, but there were many more that had cult followings or got overlooked when the FPS genre was at its peak. Blood was among the many FPS hits during the 90s, and it’s time for Nightdive to work its magic on it. Remastered as Blood: Refreshed Supply, how does it fare on Nintendo Switch 2?
Blood is best described as an edgy Duke Nukem 3D aimed at goth kids in the mid-90s. Like Duke, Caleb is a catchphrase-spouting power fantasy. Unlike the burly Schwarzenegger-like Duke, though, Caleb is a gangly, ruthless gunslinger turned cultist who is betrayed and murdered by the dark god Tchernobog along with his fellow Chosen. Resurrected in 1928 as an undead revenant, he unleashes a savage campaign of revenge, slaughtering cultists, monsters, and demonic lieutenants across haunted and hellish realms to destroy his former master and break free from his control. He is laconic yet sharply witty, delivering memorable, darkly humorous one-liners even in the midst of extreme violence; a perfect vessel for edgy teens in the 90s.
The off-beat gothic horror tone and macabre humour make Blood stand out from its contemporary Build Engine games. While most games of the era leaned into sci-fi, military, or tongue-in-cheek styles, Blood built a consistently dark, oppressive world steeped in occultism, Southern Gothic flair, and Lovecraftian concepts. The levels are packed with atmosphere and personality, from gory carnivals to surreal, nightmarish realms, all brought to life through eerie sound design, moody lighting, and environmental storytelling that make the game both unsettling and thrilling to explore. The sprawling maze-like maps reward curiosity with powerful gear, amusing easter eggs and cameos, some of which are so well-hidden that most gamers won’t find them all without a guide.
The weapons are wildly creative and perfectly thematic: a pitchfork for melee, bundles of dynamite to toss or set as traps, a voodoo doll for hexing enemies from afar, a life-leech staff, and dual-mode heavy hitters like the Tesla cannon or napalm launcher. It’s an arsenal which fosters inventive, darkly playful combat that fits the horror theme far better than generic sci-fi guns. While some of these weapons will be familiar to anyone who’s played other Build Engine FPS games, they feel like their values have been tweaked and adjusted slightly to make them more distinct, especially in this latest version. The dynamite throw can be charged, and a few weapons have alt-firing modes now. The overall feel of the combat is punchy and visceral, perfectly fitting the gory and occult ambience.
Blood: Refreshed Supply uses an upgraded version of the Build Engine, a 2.5D tech that crafts convincing 3D environments from a 2D grid of sectors with adjustable floor and ceiling heights. This made it possible to design detailed, multi-level maps, including the game’s groundbreaking use of simulated rooms stacked above each other for complex vertical layouts. Most enemies, objects, and decorations are 2D sprites that turn to face the player, a classic trick that allowed for plenty of on-screen action while keeping performance smooth. Textures and sprites are deliciously chunky and pixelated, and 3D models are simplistic, yet all edges are razor-sharp and crispy when running on Nintendo Switch 2.
This version makes notable use of voxels for pick-ups and some decorations like tombstones, giving them a pseudo-3D appearance that stands out. Pre-rendered 3D cutscenes have been tastefully remade and look as good as they possibly can. There are cool visual upgrades like the restored weather effects that were missing from the original, along with bug fixes, optional enhanced enemy behaviour, and a bunch of extra features in the vault to explore.
The Nintendo Switch 2 port supports a ridiculous eight-player mode, as well as running at 120fps and in 4K. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s an extra campaign included: Marrow picks up Caleb’s story after the original game’s events. With Tchernobog defeated, Caleb now faces the remaining forces of the Cabal. The episode keeps the same dark gothic horror vibe, sharp black humour, and intense gameplay of the original, while offering high-quality, imaginative level design that, in some ways, surpasses the core game.
