Captain Blood

I'm planning to buy this on PC once it get a discount just to have better control over the framerate because that cause some issues on the console. At its core the game plays like a beat 'em up, a very arcadish one. The controls are simple like it used to be. Fast weak attacks, slow strong attacks, option to chain them together, a ranged attack that is good only for knocking enemies down to give yourself a few seconds, and a dodge that has no invincibility but cancels anything. There is also a block but after the first stage no enemy will have blockable attacks. The most useful stuff is the execution that grants invincibility for the animation's entire duration what will save your life more than too many times. Believe it or not the game actually plays nicely and fun enough to replay it. All these quirky gameplay elements are aged good enough to call it retro. Where are the problems? At the technical side. The first thing to notice is the audio not working properly. The real issue however is the quick time events the game like to throw way too often in the gameplay. While QTE by itself is also a quirky retro thing, but it doesn't work as intended. Especially on higher difficulty and with high framerate the QTE is so fast that sometimes it is near instant (and random) other times it is extremely slow to a point it allow inputs even seconds after the event ended and still winning. Because QTE is in use a lot of times during the gameplay this makes the game rather unfair with the said technical issue. I really hope the PC version works better. If for nothing else I intend to get it for the modding but I would rather see some official patches fixing these problems. The game is playable but can cause headache if you decide to play on the higher difficulties.

This game from 2010, that looks like it's from 2005, is at worst kinda samey and brainless, and at best pretty damn good God of War action. Story's a hot mess, it's got a lot of bugs, and you can beat it in less than 6 hours. But, if you remember a time when Capcom, Rockstar, and Konami were allowed to take risks and make new franchises held together with thumbtacks and the developer's ambitions, this will take you back in time. I think that trounces any A-list actors or perk trees they could've added. If we ever get a sequel, I want it to look exactly the same. A renaissance for the ps2 era is what we need right about now.

The game is more of a symbol of long development hell. It was meant to release on Xbox original before being delayed for the next generation 360 but then the game was cancelled. The fact this game is playable after being shelved and mostly forgotten for so long is an achievement within itself. But you shouldn't expect anything more. It's very much the kind of 3D action platform game that was popular at the time, warts and all. Don't be expecting a 2025 re-imagining of a mid 2000s game, it's just a mid 2000s game.

I played the demo and I like the setting and graphics. There's nothing wrong with the gameplay. Somehow this game feels like a PS3/Xbox 360-era game and I am not sure exactly why. Lately I moved away from sandbox/open world games and welcome linear games, but this game is not for me. Try the demo and buy this, if you still like 2010 action games.