Bleed 2 Reviews
Bleed 2 is, quite simply put, intense fun bundled up into a small package.
A well paced arcade platforming and twin-stick shooter, Bleed 2 is a solid sequel to the original game made by Ian Campbell, now available on Nintendo Switch. With its retro style pixel art, a motivating soundtrack and the charm of 1990s run and gun gameplay mechanics, this is a must for speedrunners and OCD score players.
Do you remember waking up early on a Saturday morning? Your parents are still asleep, you stumble downstairs into the kitchen and make yourself a huge bowl of whatever sugar rush providing cereal you can find. Plunking down in front of your television set, the sand fading from your eyes, the vibrant lights of cartoon action and wacky sounds engross your attention. With each bite you fall further into the void of childhood bliss. This familiar childhood dimension is where Bleed 2 resides.
Bleed 2 is a very accurately named game. In many ways it could be seen as a level pack for its predecessor, but the few small changes in the design all help to make it a better experience. These kinds of short, creative games are perfect for the eShop, and if we see Bleed 3 at some point I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.
Bleed 2 manages to feel accessible while still rewarding precision and accuracy. It plays wonderfully, and you can enjoy it as a light co-op experience or really break it down and dig in to master its intricacies. I'd definitely recommend playing with a controller, but if you're looking for a fast-paced platformer with plenty of action, Bleed 2 has you covered.
One gripe I might have with the game is that a lot of the encounters from the first Bleed game are reused here. While those encounters weren’t necessarily bad, the game does feel short, although there’s definitely a lot of replayability. This is a game that’s great for picking up and putting down with no problems and is great for players looking for a quick and challenging experience. If I had to recommend a version of this game, it’d be the Switch version over PC.
Bleed 2 is a brilliant platformer which a lot of people may not have heard of. It's core mechanics as a side-scrolling action arcade game are pulled off perfectly and the balancing of the various difficulties have been implemented with just the right amount of challenge and skill. The game never gets boring or repetitive, it's always keeping you on your toes and if you do ever tire of the well constructed seven levels, you have the random endless mode to try and master. Not to mention the inclusion of the co-op mode and the 'just for fun' unbalanced boss arenas, there is more content here than a lot of the major AAA games out there.
If you’re a big run-and-gun fan there are very few titles on the platform that I hold in as high regard as Bleed 2. The action is intense, character movement is fluid, and there’s something new thrown at you at every turn. Perhaps more critically with multiple skill levels and a pretty lenient continue system the game is also surprisingly fair, and thus accessible, to gamers of just about any skill level. That isn’t to say beating the game on Easy is a cakewalk, you’ll still need to earn it, but with so many games that default only to brutal it is great to see a game that scales down effectively.
BLEED 2 is a fantastic game. It’s simplistic in design and mechanics, but it does the basics really well and is a total joy to play because of it.
After playing Bleed, it would be very easy to be worried for the sequel not living up to expectations. While the sequel is very different from the original, it is not by any means a bad thing. At the core, Bleed 2 is still in the same spirit as the first entry, but just a bit more grown up and comfortable. Wryn is still the same cool chick she always was, ready to kick some you-know-what as before, except this time for less selfish reasons. The action anti-heroine has become a real heroine, and the bosses have got more creative and include more variety. However, this has comes at the expense of having less platforming segments, a worthwhile pay-off in the end as the most memorable parts of the first game weren't the platforming sections, but the radical boss fights, and Bleed 2 will not offer anything that disappoints on that front.
There are certain games that are ubiquitous for the Steam user.
Bleed 2 is a great choice for anyone who loves extremely fast-paced action games that reward skill. Particularly if you've ever wanted to quadruple jump a path through a swarm of gunfire and flaming wreckage, riddle a bunch of enemies with bullets in slow motion, and finish off a hostile helicopter by deflecting one of the dozen missiles it's launched that you back in its freaking face with your sword before touching the ground. It's that kind of game.
For fans of fast-paced, over the top twin stick action, complete with bullet time and a score system that awards perfection, Bleed 2 is excellent. The only real issue is its length, which is remedied to an extent by additional characters, weapons, and modes. If arcade, Contra/Metal Slug action is your thing and you've been missing it, you could do much worse than Bleed 2.
Fun, but short, 2D action-platformer.