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I kind of remember when BloodRayne was in its prime. To be more specific, I remember seeing screen shots or videos of the game. I never actually played it back in the day. BloodRayne is a game that came out in the early 2000s and it definitely reflects that in its style. From the way the protagonist is designed to the brand of action horror, it just oozes that late 90s to early 2000s style. To me, anyway. BloodRayne is notable for being Laura Bailey’s first foray into the video game world. From what I understand, the game’s protagonist, Rayne, is the first video game character she voiced. Developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment, BloodRayne was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube in October, 2002, and PC in September, 2003. A remastered version titled BloodRayne: Terminal Cut was released for PC in 2020 and PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series systems in 2021. A remaster for Switch titled BloodRayne: ReVamped was also released in 2021. For this review, I played Terminal Cut for PC. I did consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page before playing and installed the High-Resolution UI mod which replaces the low resolution HUD and UI images with faithful high resolution images.
The story opens in Louisiana, 1933, where the protagonist, Rayne, a dhampir, is on her first official mission for the Brimstone Society, a secret organization that works to protect humanity from supernatural threats. Accompanied by her mentor, their objective is to investigate a disease turning humans into monsters. Afterward, the story jumps ahead several years and Rayne is sent to Argentina to eliminate the top Nazis of the Gegengeist Gruppe (G.G.G.) who are searching for a relic with immense power. I feel Rayne is a strong female lead and badass protagonist, with a solid performance from Laura Bailey. I can’t say all the dialogue and interactions land or sound organic but the game tells a fine tale, nonetheless. BloodRayne conveys a dark tone and atmosphere with some campiness to lighten the mood a bit. It’s definitely a dark action horror title complimented nicely by its violence and gore. The plot is actually somewhat reminiscent of something we might see in a Wolfenstein title – the Nazis are dabbling with the supernatural and must be stopped – that kind of thing.
I’ve heard BloodRayne described as a hack and slash and sometimes a character action game. I guess both technically apply but if there’s any kind of depth to the gameplay, it went over my head. That’s not to say the gameplay is bad, mind you. But if you go into this expecting something like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, you might be disappointed. Rayne can run and jump around the environments, use a chain harpoon to pull enemies to her, slice and slash foes with her blades, and blow them away with a good array of firepower. There are no health pickups or armor. Instead, Rayne replenishes health by feeding on foes and while feeding, she can use the foe as a shield.
Rayne will automatically pick up firearms, dual wield them, and you can switch between different types – light, heavy, and special. For its time, I would say the action does look and feel stylish. Rayne can jump higher than a normal person and perform flips and it is fun running, jumping, and flipping around while dodging bullets, shooting, slashing, and utilizing powers, and I think foes being a source of health adds an interesting dynamic to the gameplay. There are different enemy types ranging from typical soldiers to monsters. Elite Soldiers can block some of Rayne’s attacks, jetpack troops will fly around, and Daemites are parasitic monsters or demons that can take control of bodies. The action can be fast-paced and even hectic at times. You’re basically forced to be aggressive and there’s plenty of tools at your disposal to ensure you survive battles. Blood will spray and splatter, you can decapitate foes, cut off their limbs, and much of the game simply has you slaughtering Nazis. I found that you can easily just mash the attack button and win. Well I did. I beat the game on the Normal difficulty level and played through a portion of it on Hard and in my experience, mashing the attack button is a perfectly viable way to get through the game. I will elaborate, of course.
I did play through the training level and while I feel it does a decent job at teaching you the ropes, I admit it left me confused on how performing certain moves works. But I soon realized that was because I thought there was more to it. Rayne will learn new moves or attacks as you progress through the story and they come in the form of levels. Level 1 attack, level 2 attack, level 3 attack, etc. You press the attack button and then press it again to perform the next level attack. So to land higher levels of attacks, attacks have to be landed in succession. There’s no complex button combinations to pull off special or super attacks or anything like that. Basically, you just keep mashing the attack button to perform different attacks.
In addition to blade attacks and firearms, Rayne can utilize powers, some of which are unlocked as you progress. Aura allows you to see in the dark and where objectives are located, Dilated Perception allows you to slow down time, and Extruded View basically lets you zoom, great for sniping. By slashing away at enemies, you fill up your Bloodlust and when full, you can activate Blood Rage which basically makes Rayne faster and more powerful for a brief time. It’s great for any tough foes or if you’re overwhelmed. In fact, this power renders a lot of bosses very easy to defeat on the Normal difficulty level. At least in my experience.
Once you’re done with Louisiana and get to Argentina, that’s when things really start to pick up. You’re given a list of targets to eliminate and are set free to do just that. At first, I thought the game and level design was going to lean into the Metroidvania style but that’s not really the case. I’ll say the game plays out in levels. Levels are separated by load points and it’s in between levels where you can save your progress. However, some levels contain multiple areas, also separated by load points, and there are points in the game where you’ll be able to choose what areas you want to travel to which I think is cool and wished the game expanded upon it more. You can’t actually leave a level until you complete all the objectives and there is no going back to previous levels. You will need to find specific items needed to progress but they only apply to that level or area. There’s no finding special powers or weapons to unlock special doors or anything like that. What you need to do is pretty straightforward. There’s also no collectibles or any reasons to explore outside of weapons and ammo.
I think my only real complaints with the game lie with the level design. Especially in the beginning at the Nazi facility or base where many areas look and feel very similar. The environments are linear and I can’t say the level design is super maze-like but sometimes it’s just not clear how to progress and I found myself running around in circles until I figured it out. I admit to missing doors and corridors here and there and that’s because the environments kind of blended together, making them easy to miss. Other times you have to do something very specific. Also, some of the platforming in the game can be a bit tedious. For a while, I thought the game was going to take place entirely at the Nazi facility but thankfully that’s not the case. You’ll navigate around areas underground and even around a castle in Germany.
BloodRayne is the kind of game you would replay just for fun or maybe to try a harder difficulty level. There’s no scoring system, nothing to unlock, nothing to find or collect, and no multiplayer or additional game modes. You can mess around with cheats, though. The environments are linear and don’t really encourage exploration and I can’t say there’s a lot of depth to the combat. Nevertheless, the action is fun and stylish. There’s even a neat sequence where you get to pilot a Mobile Armor Unit and use it to destroy enemy units. The game’s pacing is pretty consistent and the challenge ramps up nicely as you progress. The game keeps things interesting by throwing new threats and challenges at you and there are several bosses peppered throughout the story.
Visually, BloodRayne shows its age. The remaster supports higher resolutions and comes with improved rendering and effects but it still looks its age. It still looks like a game from 2002. Some environments look a little bland and I noticed some texture flickering and things popping in from time to time. Other than that, I guess it looks pretty good for a 2002 game. I particularly liked the gore and visual effects. Blood will drip and gush and battles will often result in a bloodbath, bodies and blood littered everywhere. I also enjoy the audio work. Weapons fire, slashes and stabs, and explosions all sound great. Enemies will shout and scream in agony as you slay them and you’ll often hear shouting and gunfire in the distance. The soundtrack features a good mix of moody and dark tunes and ominous-sounding ambient stuff that really helps drive home the game’s dark tone and atmosphere. On the technical side, I noticed the frame rate dip and stutter here and there but it mostly ran fine and I encountered no major bugs or issues.
I had a great time with BloodRayne. I admit, I kind of struggled getting into it at first but once I got the hang of things, I was having a blast. I actually thought it was going to be more frustrating than it actually is. Outside of a few sections that I found a little tedious or annoying, I can’t say the game actually frustrated me. I look at BloodRayne as a hack and slash action game that’s designed to look cool. The action doesn’t have a lot of depth but it is fun and stylish. It’s got a cool factor. For it’s time, I think it was pretty good and I feel it actually holds up well today. The mechanics are easy to understand and it’s not hard to do anything cool. From the way Rayne moves and attacks to the dismemberment and blood, it all looks great. Jumping and flipping around amid all the gunfire and shouting as Rayne fires her weapons and hacks enemies to pieces with her blades makes for a fun time. While it may seem a bit simple in some respects, that’s not to say it doesn’t offer any challenge. I think more depth would have added more replay value but what’s here is still fun.
I absolutely recommend BloodRayne. I do wish there was a little more to it but I understand its a product of its time. I feel there is something special about it, a quality that I can’t say is found in a lot of other games, even today. Sure, there are better action games out there but I think there’s just something about BloodRayne’s style that makes it unique. It’s violent, gory, and stylish. If that kind of thing appeals to you, definitely check it out.