5/5 ★ – Nazo_KG's review of Bloody Hell.

HELL IS FULL. BLOOD IS- ...wait. Rarely ever do we get to see a level of such love, polish and attention to detail from freeware games, but Bloody Hell not only reaches, but jumps well and beyond what most free games even have to offer to a player. Dare I say, this might be a contender for best free game on Steam as a whole. Every aspect of the game feels quality-assured. To start off, the way the game controls is sublime, it works perfectly with a controller and feels snappy and responsive. This also applies to the upgrades you obtain throughout the game, all of which add something to the gameplay and none of them ever felt redundant in my opinion. There is a "charm" system of sorts, kinda like in Hollow Knight where you can apply perks to your gameplay mechanics, such as bashing more bones (currency) out of enemies, making your bullets travel faster etc etc. and although there were some I didn't end up using, I felt that these allowed for different variations in gameplay styles for different people's tastes, which is a great idea. When it comes to difficulty, it felt very well-balanced and thoroughly playtested. I'm not very good at bullet hell games and struggled with the last two bosses, but I was having a lot of fun regardless and even though the game gets progressively harder with the types of enemies and bosses, it never felt unfair or impossible. The art direction along with the music is extremely well done. I was especially impressed with how the attacks were presented on the screen, so that it was visually fast to read and react to, which I think is a very, very important thing to have in a bullet hell game. The aesthetics of each area felt distinct in both colour palette and layout. I found myself going back and still finding new paths and secrets I hadn't found before. My favourite area was probably the Abyssal Grove! The spritework itself was excellent and have lively animations, both for enemies, bosses and NPCs. The story's gist is very simple, you're an angel called Azrael who is tasked with the heavy burden of defeating Satan, God's orders. What ensues is a struggle for right and wrong, blood and guts and glory. The story is more so a vehicle for the game and not that deep, but it is complimented with witty comedic writing. The enemy variety is switched up as you progress through the areas, with the last area having variations of enemies you fought before but with a different attack pattern; for example they can now teleport and their bullets home in on you. Might sound small, but these changes, both visual and mechanical, added more diversity and kept me on my toes constantly. The only real complaint I have is honestly even then a nitpick at worst, and that is that the battle theme got a bit stale towards the latter half of the game, and another battle theme or a remix would've remedied that. But again, this is really a nitpick. In summary, fast-paced bullet hell metroidvania with many secrets and a lot of heart. If you like Binding of Isaac and Doom, this might be up your alley. Unreal amounts of talent and passion exudes from Bloody Hell, what a fantastic game!! Thank you for sharing your game with us, Pun Intended!! Best of luck in your future endeavors.