Line #56 VideoGame/Blood1997


1	[[quoteright:800:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvt_blood1997.jpg]]
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3
4	''Blood'' is a 1997 FirstPersonShooter developed by Creator/MonolithProductions, based on the Build MediaNotes/GameEngine. The game and its expansions can be purchased digitally from Website/GogDotCom and Platform/{{Steam}}.
5
6	''Blood'' was one of the most unusual shooters of its time. It featured a mix of horror and deadpan humor, a charismatic AntiHero, an arsenal of exotic weapons and, of course, lots and lots of the eponymous red liquid. Playing as Caleb, a former pet murderer of an evil deity who was betrayed and transformed into an undead monstrosity, you go on a quest to avenge/harvest the powers of your former TrueCompanions who did not manage to rise again and use them to wreak all kinds of unholy hell upon Tchernobog.
7
8	While the gameplay is your classic in-your-face, fast-paced shooter of TheNineties, the arsenal is the interesting variation, as ''Blood'' ditches the StandardFPSGuns for a more... unique arsenal. While the {{shotgun\|sAreJustBetter}} and [[MoreDakka Tommy gun]] are typical, the pistol is a FlareGun that shoots incendiary projectiles to set enemies on fire; the rocket launcher is replaced by a [[FireBreathingWeapon napalm gun]] that sets enemies on fire alongside the normal explosive damage; and there are bizarre weapons, such as a [[AerosolFlamethrower hairspray and lighter]] duo, a [[HollywoodVoodoo voodoo doll]] and a [[VampiricDraining life leeching staff]] that feeds off of trapped souls.
9
10	Two expansion packs were released for the game, the first is ''Cryptic Passage'', developed by Sunstorm Interactive and released on June 30, 1997. It's based around an ancient scroll that Caleb wants for his own needs. The second is called ''Plasma Pak'', and was released in September 1997. It introduced a sixth episode, called "Post Mortem", which introduces new enemy types as well as the akimbo ability for the Tesla Cannon and new secondary firemodes for the Napalm Cannon and the Life Leech. In it, Caleb learns that the Cabal is training new Chosen in order to take the place of the previous ones, so he infiltrates the Cabal again in order to finish them.
11
12	A sequel titled ''VideoGame/BloodIITheChosen'' was released a year later, boasting [=3D=] graphics, new weapons, and a larger story.
13
14	An UpdatedRerelease of the first ''Blood'', subtitled ''Fresh Supply'', has since released on [[https://www.gog.com/game/blood_fresh_supply GoG]] and [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1010750/ Steam]] as well, courtesy of the folks at Creator/NightdiveStudios.
15	----
16	!! {{Game Mod}}s with their own page here:
17	[[index]]
18	* ''VideoGame/{{Death Wish\|Blood}}''
19	[[/index]]
20	----
21	!! These tropes live... again...
22	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer:
23	** [=E3M3=]: Raw Sewage, features an entire level of it.
24	** [=E2M2=]: The Lumber Mill has an absurdly spacious cesspool under a latrine.
25	* AmusementParkOfDoom:
26	** [=E1M4=]: Dark Carnival is a depraved gory version of a classic amusement park run by the Cabal with every single attraction being horrifically twisted. There's a freak show, a gargoyle carousel, a game where you kick disembodied zombie heads into a goal and a special feature "[=JoJo=], the Idiot Circus Boy".
27	** The secret level of the first episode, "House of Horrors", complete with a "fun" ride on a water slide, and caged enemies.
28	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: ''Fresh Supply'' has a discreet one for [=E1M4=]'s secret puzzle: if you play with the minimal HUD, [[spoiler:the keys you collected will be shown in the same order as they should be in the puzzle]].
29	* ArtificialStupidity: Flying enemies on the whole are pretty dim, and seem to have trouble with tracking the player's location. You will very frequently see phantasms and gargoyles zooming in circles around the ceiling, or flapping off to who knows where on more open-ended maps. It can take active effort to try to get their attention.
30	* AttractMode: There's a couple of demos playing on the title screen.
31	* {{BFG}}: The Tesla Cannon and the Life Leech are the 8-inch cannons of ''Blood''. ''Cryptic Passage'' added an alternate fire mode to the Incinerator (the "Rolling Thunder") that made it into the new, ultimate BFG of the game.
32	* BloodBath: A [[https://blood-wiki.org/images/9/99/Blood-Bathtub-Ad-Spread.jpg magazine ad]] featured a man, presumably Caleb, in a bathtub full of blood with the tagline "you're soaking in it".
33	* BloodyHandprint: On the game's box.
34	* BossRush: The game makes you re-fight the earlier bosses before Tchernobog finally shows himself.
35	* CastFromHitPoints: The Life Leech will use HP as ammo if you run out of trapped souls. Considering it also heals you for the damage you deal, it's not that bad a trade.
36	* CircusOfFear: The Dark Carnival level, with the appropriate CreepyCircusMusic (made especially creepy by the calls of the barkers and the laughter of children).
37	* CreepyCircusMusic: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIksYWaZKA Dark Carnival]]", to match the equally creepy carnival. The MIDI equivalent is even more somber.
38	* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: The normal exit from [=E3M4=]: Sick Ward is hooked up to a switch that ''immolates a cage full of civilians'' when thrown, and there's no way to get them out first. Many walkthroughs advise you to take the secret exit to "Catacombs" instead.
39	* DeadCharacterWalking: There's a glitch where, on occasion, enemies who are killed by being set on fire would continue to run around in their on-fire animation indefinitely, (usually) unable to damage you but also invulnerable to everything but splash damage.
40	* DifficultButAwesome: Due to the arc trajectory, necessary timing, and being just as easily able to kill the player as it is enemies, the basic TNT has a bit of a learning curve. When properly used, though, it's one of the most powerful, plentiful and versatile weapons in the game, capable of clearing whole rooms even around corners and at long distances.
41	* DifficultyLevels: Unlike many other Build engine games, the game's difficulty levels don't just determine the placements and amount of enemies on each map, they also determine various properties and the [[HitPoints vitality]] of monsters. This also makes each difficulty level an exponential jump up from the last.
42	* EasterEgg:
43	** In [=E1M2=]: Wrong Side of the Tracks, if the player decides to go down the train tracks at the end without entering the train, they'll eventually hear a train horn. Continue and eventually the player will be run over by an oncoming one.
44	** In [=E1M6=]: The Great Temple, there's a message written on the wall at the very bottom of the outside reading "Whoa, this is like, a really deep hole" (a somewhat mangled quote from ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney''). This sticks out, since seeing this quote involves jumping out of the building, which will kill you if you hit the ground (you can survive the initial hitting-the-ground part with the jump boots negating fall damage, but you'll die before long anyway due to the damaging floor).
45	** [=E1M6=] also hosts a reference to Duke Nukem 3D's reference to [[{{VideoGame/Doom}} Doom]], in which the desecrated and abused corpse of Duke can be found hanging around, much like the Doomguy able to be found in Duke. If you interact with Duke's corpse (which is hanging from the ceiling), Caleb will comment "Shake it, baby."
46	* EarlyGameHell: Brutally enforced. The first episode is considered the toughest one in the game due to harsh enemy placements, a lack of resources, and the player first getting used to the game. Once [=E1M3=] has been reached, things get notably easier, as they have acquired enough ammunition and weapons to stand a decent chance against the enemy hordes.
47	* EveryoneHatesMimes: There are mimes stationed around [=E1M4=], which are completely non-hostile and don't even move--they exist just so that Caleb can kill, or even climb on them. He even expresses disgust upon killing one.
48	-->"I '''hate''' mimes."
49	* ExpansionPack: ''Cryptic Passage'' and ''Plasma Pak''.
50	** ''Cryptic Pasage'' is a third-party expansion that adds a new "Cryptic Passage" episode and four multiplayer maps.
51	** ''Plasma Pak'', adds another episode titled "Post Mortem" along with new multiplayer maps, new weapon modes, new enemies, and additional bug fixes.
52	* ExplodingBarrels: There are barrels filled with TNT and labeled as such. You can detonate them with bullets or your own bombs, or set them on fire for a delayed detonation. Bizarrely, wall-mounted fire extinguishers also serve this function, despite it running counter to their usual intended purpose.
53	* FlameSpewerObstacle: There's the occasional flamethrower wall trap. These are especially dangerous because fire deals severe DamageOverTime, and the more a living thing (whether Caleb or an enemy) stays in contact with fire, the longer they burn for and the more damage it deals per second. Stronger traps fire explosive fireballs akin to the Napalm Launcher's, that deal high damage, cause Splash Damage and also sets things on fire.
54	* FlareGun: One of the earliest examples in video games, the Flare Gun takes up the [[StandardFPSGuns standard pistol slot]]. On a per-shot basis, it's Caleb's second most effective incendiary weapon, and it's the best choice against foes that can TeleportSpam or turn intangible.
55	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Even though he cast out the Chosen, Tchernobog provides Caleb with a vital hint for a puzzle in [=E1M5=]: Hallowed Grounds -- almost as if he wants Caleb to keep going.
56	--> '''Tchernobog:''' You will know what to do when the time comes.
57	* GameBreakingBug: A few in the first game. Installing the [[ExpansionPack Plasma Pak]] fixes some of them.
58	** A glitch in earlier builds made it impossible to shake off Choking Hands once they've attached to you.
59	** [=E3M6=]: Monster Bait's exit door can be opened only once but closes after a while. If for whatever reason (perhaps you want to reveal some secret areas you missed) you don't immediately enter, you won't be able to proceed to the next level unless you cheat.
60	** [=E4M5=]: Fire and Brimstone was also missing a key in one version of the game that prevented the player from finishing the level without cheats.
61	* GothicHorror: Of the Post-Victorian type (specifically, it takes place in [[TheRoaringTwenties 1928]]). In addition to having a VillainProtagonist (who's technically undead), the game has a rather [[RealIsBrown dark and drab visual style]], along with numerous classic horror story locations, such as haunted houses and cemeteries, an AmusementParkOfDoom, and a MadScientistLaboratory.
62	** ''Cryptic Passage'' even moreso: it canonically takes place in Transylvania and pretty much the entire expansion is set in locations even more gothic then the base game, such as forbidden libraries, mountain-passes, and even a fully rendered HauntedCastle.
63	* GratuitousFrench: In the CD versions of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIksYWaZKA Dark Carnival]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzMK33PMUk Infuscomus]]", you can hear the French children's song "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loup_y_es-tu%3F Loup y es-tu?]]" in its original language.
64	* GuideDangIt: In ''Cryptic Passage'', the button required to proceed further in "Gothic Library" is hidden on the far side of the fallen bookshelf in the "eye door" room. It's so poorly visible you may end up stuck in the level desperately searching for a way to proceed.
65	* GunsAkimbo: As a power-up that only worked for about a minute.
66	%% * GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: The Beretta, MAC-10, M16 and Vulcan minigun [[UniversalAmmunition all use the same ammunition]]. The M16's GrenadeLauncher also shares ammo with the Die-Bug-Die pesticide spray, though the model at least is noticeably different from the real thing to account for this - you can see on the finished model used ingame that the grenade launcher looks noticeably different from a real M203, including the bulged-out portion at the rear, loads what look to actually be cans of pesticide through the muzzle rather than at the breech, and is taped to the M16's handguard where a real M203 has much more secure mounting clips that go around the barrel underneath the handguard.
67	* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: From easiest to hardest, are Still Kicking, Pink on the Inside, Lightly Broiled, Well Done, and Extra Crispy. ''Fresh Supply'' adds "Made to Order" to the mix, which is a difficulty mode designed to allow [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin full customization]] of a ton of difficulty modifiers.
68	* INeedYouStronger: Why Tchernobog revived Caleb instead of immediately [[spoiler:trying to take Caleb's body as his next vessel]].
69	* JustTrainWrong: [[LocomotiveLevel E1M3: The Phantom Express]] - just about the only thing right about it is that the train runs on tracks. Let's see: absurdly spacious? Check. Exceeds every known loading gauge worldwide? Check. No doors on the car sides to actually ''board the train''? Check. The tender having no water tank? Check. Walkways going all the way around the locomotive ''including its cab''? Check. The steam engine having no actual boiler, just a furnace in an oversized cab without any front view windows[[note]]so no way of seeing what's actually in front of the train[[/note]] and no discernible controls[[note]]so no way to actually control the train[[/note]] except a few switches only used to [[ViolationOfCommonSense overheat the furnace]] and [[invoked]][[CrossesTheLineTwice blow the whole engineering paradox up?]] Check, check, CHECK.
70	* KillItWithFire: The flare gun, the spray can and the napalm cannon, best used on Bloated Butchers.
71	* LockAndKeyPuzzle: As befitting a ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' clone, the game is chock full of them. This game in particular takes it up to eleven, as, rather than ''Doom''[='=]s two mutually-exclusive sets of three keys, ''Blood'' actually has six unique keys, and some of the larger levels actually require collecting ''all'' of them.
72	* LocomotiveLevel: [=E1M3=]: The Phantom Express has you move through a train, starting at the engine and fighting through car-by-car before returning back through the rooms you missed. This includes a tender where zombies emerge, passenger cars full of cultists, a dark luggage car crammed with boxes, a huge open dining car with a small army inside of it, and all manner of other things, including a secret that can only be found by briefly jumping off the train. At the end of the level, Caleb starts messing with the train's controls, overloads the engine, and promptly crashes it.
73	* LoopholeAbuse: The "Watch out for Pedestrians" achievement in ''Fresh Supply'' requires you to beat [=E3M1=]: Ghost Town without any innocents being killed. The game will award the achievement if you beat the level on "Made to Order" difficulty without [=NPCs=], since there will be no innocents to be killed anyway.
74	* MacGuffin: The backstory of ''Cryptic Passage'' has Caleb head out to find an ancient scroll, supposedly "capable of upsetting the balance of power in the otherworld". Not that it matters whatsoever what it is.
75	* MadScientistLaboratory: Starting point of the fourth episode.
76	* MultiplayerOnlyItem: The Crystal Ball allows you to spy on other human players. Since there are none in singleplayer, the Crystal Ball is not present.
77	* NightVisionGoggles: The Beast Vision glasses highlights enemies in full-brightness regardless of how dark their surroundings were. However, it does nothing to cut through that darkness in those surroundings.
78	* NonIndicativeName: [=E1M5=] is called "Hallowed Grounds" despite it being a large church dedicated to [[GodOfEvil Tchernobog]], and thus the ''opposite'' of a holy place.
79	* NoodleIncident: We never find out exactly what the scroll in ''Cryptic Passage'' does or what's written on it, though the implication seems to be it's some kind of TomeOfEldritchLore.
80	* NotHisBlood: Caleb alludes to this at the start of [=E3M4=]: The Sick Ward, which takes place in a hospital.
81	--> ''"I'm here to donate some blood. Someone else's."''
82	* OminousLatinChanting: The [[HellIsThatNoise ambient]] [[VoiceOfTheLegion chanting]] in [=E1M7=]: The Great Temple.
83	* RealIsBrown: The game uses mostly brown and grey shades, with some white in the second episode as it takes place up in the Arctic.
84	* SeveredHeadSports: The game lets you kick zombie heads around. It even has a minigame in the fourth level and a deathmatch map dedicated to head football.
85	* {{Shareware}}: The first episode was released on its own in this format. One secret near the end explicitly provides you with everything that was in it.
86	* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/{{Blood}} Shares a page with the rest of the series]].
87	* TakeThat: It riffs on ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' and its "VideoGame/{{doom}}ed space marine" secret by stringing up Duke's own corpse in a hidden room at the Dark Carnival, with Caleb mockingly mimicking Duke's "shake it baby" line when you interact with it.
88	* TenSecondFlashlight: The "Beast Vision", a magical set of glasses with funky lenses that lets you see enemies clearly in the dark and runs out in less than a minute if left on continuously.
89	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Upon entering the final boss's chamber in ''Cryptic Passage'':
90	--> '''Caleb:''' "This looks...extraordinarily bad."
91	* UpdatedRerelease:
92	** ''One Unit Whole Blood'', which contains all six episodes of the first game (original 4 episodes + Cryptic Passage + Plasma Pak) and extra features.
93	** ''Fresh Supply'' contains everything the ''OUWB'' pack does, but also ports the game to the Kex engine, letting it run natively on modern Windows/Mac/Linux systems for the first time, as well as optionally adding other graphical improvements such as ambient occlusion and "true" 3D aim.
94	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
95	** The most cruelty possible may involve unarmed civilians that will sometimes drop health if you kill them, or on some occasions ''must'' be killed because they carry a key.
96	** There's also head-soccer: you can randomly decapitate zombies on a kill and kick their heads around (it's even used as a carnival game to unlock a secret in the Dark Carnival level).
97	** Caleb hates mimes with a passion. In fact, other than their use as impromptu platforms to reach secrets, mimes exist in this game only to be brutally killed. [[ButtMonkey Even the help screen of the registered version shows a mime getting killed by some monsters!]]
98	-->'''Caleb:''' ''[after killing one mime]'' "I hate mimes."\
99	''[after killing a few more]'' "Oh, I shouldn't have done that... Wait, I'm evil! I can kill whoever I want!" ''[maniacal giggling]''
100	* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: Generally averted in the main game.
101	** The AerosolFlamethrower is tricky to ignite enemies for long periods with, but when you manage that, use the "MolotovCocktail" SecondaryFire or generally against [[KillItWithFire more flammable enemies]] like Bloated Butchers, it's quite devastating. Organic enemies such as Bloated Butchers are particularly weak to it.
102	** The napalm launcher is a cannon of fiery murder in ''Blood'', and the secondary mode can clear out rooms in seconds.
103	* ViolationOfCommonSense: To get a certain secret in [=E1M3=], you have to jump [[spoiler:off a speeding train and onto a secret door along the outer wall]]. Unless you're perfect at it, you'll either take a good chunk of damage from landing or outright die.
104	* VoiceOfTheLegion: The [[OminousLatinChanting ominous Domus Durbentia chanting]] in [=E1M7=]: The Great Temple is apparently spoken by one.
105	* VulnerableCivilians: The "innocents" do little more than run around in a panic and tend to show up in close proximity to cultists, making it difficult to either avoid accidental civilian casualties or take out the cultists in time (assuming that [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential you aren't actively gunning for the former]], anyway).
106	* WhamEpisode: The final level of Episode 1, "The Altar of Stone". [[spoiler:After crossing at least ten miles in one night, not to mention surviving everything his former cult is throwing at him, Caleb finally finds... Ophelia's bloodied and crucified corpse, and furiously calls out the beast that murdered her. If Caleb's more resigned response to finding Gabriel(la)'s remains at the end of Episode 2 is any indication, then he realized right then and there that he'd lost ''all three'' of his companions.]]
107	* WombLevel: [=E4M7=]: In The Flesh takes place inside some giant monster, which includes eyes and mouths ''on the walls'', pools of bile, columns of rib like bone which you use as platforms, and a four-chambered heart at the end where you have to get past the beating walls that act like crushers.
108	* WordSaladTitle: [=E4M6=] is called "The Ganglion Depths". The ganglion being a part of the brain. What this had to do with the level (which is just a huge temple) is a mystery, although it might be foreshadowing for the next level, [[WombLevel "In The Flesh"]].
109	* YouAreTooLate: The game begins with Caleb tearing across the countryside in search of Ophelia and Gabriel(la), who (unlike Ishmael) were taken alive. [[spoiler:He doesn't reach either of them in time.]]

Context VideoGame / Blood1997