A carrot. A ladder. An axe. A lamp. A wheelbarrow. What do all of these things have in common? No, it’s not farming. They’re all weapons waiting to be thrown at your next opponent. Welcome to Bloodroots.
Bloodroots is an action-packed, fast-paced, violent videogame that puts you in the shoes and fists of Mister Wolf. You have a bloodthirsty desire to smash some skulls as urgently as possible by any means necessary. This is the premise of Paper Cult’s E3 demo, and it’s an oddly satisfying, therapeutic and hilarious experience.
Firstly, combat feels fluid and fast. Its nature might compel most players to try and take down opponents as quickly as you can, but it’s more about the visual journey than the high score (although a global leaderboard is there if that’s your thing). You whack, smash, throw, spin and dash at your opponents, weapon in hand. Everything can be used in your arsenal, and it’s a thrill seeing how you can combine various items over a sequence of events. For example, I grab a lamp and slam it into my opponent’s head. Next, I jump into a wheelbarrow and slam head-on into my next enemy, ramming him into a tree. Next, I grab a chain and swing it against a trio of unlucky dudes. Also, for good measure, I grab a ladder, bring it over a campfire and fling burning wood at the next guy who dares to stare at me.
Controlling Mister Wolf offers a wealth of entertainment that even losing doesn’t feel bad. Because you’re in control of the action, every scenario feels different and refreshing. More often than not, the action is incredibly ridiculous; you’ll get plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There’s also a high level of replayability as you can observe the platforms and environment around you, to see how you can efficiently eliminate your foes.
The minimalistic art style reminds me of some of the early 2000s cartoons I used to watch (hello, Samurai Jack) and its simple use of colour allows the Wild West to burst with life. The graphics feel so fluid and crisp; it is hard to step away from this immersive, violent action game. The sound effects are also satisfying as you hear every punch and slice complementing your movement and execution.
Bloodroot‘s action-packed gameplay borrows from titles such as Mr Shifty and Hotline Miami but offers a refreshing spin on the genre. Thanks to a lively Wild West setting, minimalistic art design and the ability to take advantage of almost everything in your environment, Bloodroots is a thrilling experience. We’re looking forward to diving deeper into this Tarantino-esque experience and see what else lies in store for Mister Wolf. One thing’s for sure; we’re all thirsty for more.
You can play a demo of Bloodroots on PC by subscribing to Paper Cult’s mailing list. Bloodroots is set to release Summer 2019 on PC, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Noelle Reyes 