Blood Strike was known as the Chinese Call of Duty Warzone even before its release. In reality, they didn’t take much from Call of Duty. And even less from other projects. But in the end, the cocktail turned out to be strong.
At its core, the battle royale mode is not much different from its competitors. A large island, several points of interest, weapon crates, and the traditional parachute drop at the beginning. The shrinking space forces hundreds of fighters to go towards each other so that only one survives. Or one team. And if the battle royale mode in Blood Strike had been limited to this, then most likely the game would have suffered the fate of numerous PUBG Mobile clones of varying degrees of failure.
However, NetEase has studied its competitors well and implemented almost all the successful ideas implemented earlier in its project. The player takes control not of his own incarnation, but of one of the proposed heroes. Each of them has unique skills and abilities. You saw this in Apex Legends or Farlight 84 (see our review ). By the way, Apex Legends did not last long on smartphones, but Farlight 84 is still popular and continues to develop.
In a single-player game, fighter specializations are useful, but it is quite possible to do without using skills, but in a team game, their competent use in interaction with other players can turn the tide of a fight with opponents. All skills will be useful: shield placement, satellite reconnaissance, healing drones and bombing. In the first season, there are not many heroes, but over time, the set of heroes and skills will expand.
Unlike PUBG, a quick death in battle will not throw you back to the starting lobby, but will return you to the drop point in the sky. Of course, you will be deprived of a good weapon, but getting it on the island is not a problem. Blood Strike is friendly to players in this regard. However, there will be no infinite recovery. Resurrection is disabled at the end of the game, in a certain time period after re-landing, in a team game you will not be able to resurrect if the entire team is killed.
Another interesting feature of Blood Strike is the completion of tasks during the run. There are three types of tasks available: capturing a point, hunting for an enemy team, finding and opening chests with weapons and supplies. For successfully completing tasks, the player receives money, which can be spent during the run on purchasing supplies and weapons, dropping a container with your own weapon or vehicle, reconnaissance of the battlefield with a drone. In general, during each run, in addition to fights with opponents, there is something to do in Blood Strike, and you can almost always find adventures on your butt on a large map.
In addition to the battle royale mode, NetEase has implemented several additional modes: team battle and “hot spot”. The first mode is a fight between teams of four fighters in small arenas up to four victories. Almost Counter-Strike, only without bombs and hostages. “Hot spot” is a mode for those who want to shoot to their heart’s content: a small arena, several points to capture, endless respawns, close combat and a game for scoring points. The shooting does not stop for a second.
The shooting mechanics in Blood Strike are implemented perfectly. NetEase honed their skills on Lost Light, one of the best mobile clones of Escape From Tarkov in 2022 (see our review ). But while Lost Light emphasized “hardcore” and “realism,” Blood Strike, while featuring existing weapon models, has arcade-style shooting that is more reminiscent of the Call of Duty series. And that’s cool.
Also, from Call of Duty, Blood Strike has migrated to weapon upgrades and attachments that open as you upgrade. There are not as many of them as in Lost Light, and a fully upgraded barrel will not become an uber-weapon in the hands of a beginner, but you shouldn’t ignore this game mechanic either. Increasing the magazine capacity and the ability to choose a more convenient sight for yourself still matter.
The arsenal in Blood Strike is not very large. In each category (machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns and pistols) there are only a few types of barrels. Formally, they differ in rate of fire, range and killing power, but in the game there is no fundamental difference in the characteristics of weapons within each category, although certain nuances are present.
In the “hot spot” mode and squad battles, you can choose a weapon. In the battle royale mode, you usually have to use what you can find or trophy. But if you don’t like the game without your favorite machine gun, then for ten thousand dollars earned in battle, order delivery and they will send you a container. If you don’t have money, you’ll have to wait a little. Free containers with weapons of your own configuration are also dropped periodically.
In addition to firearms, grenades can be used in combat. Given the interface overload, this is not very convenient, although throwing weapons and their aiming indicators are well implemented.
NetEase did not implement the usual armor for players in the form of body armor of various classes, but simply copied the approach to protection from the Halo series. Before you can damage the enemy, you must first break through his force shield. The shield is restored some time after the impact on it ceases, but health needs to be corrected with first aid kits or contact the team medic, if there is one. Complete loss of a health bar does not mean an instant death. The fighter is only knocked out. And if the enemy does not have time to finish him off, then his comrades can always carry out resuscitation measures and return him to the ranks.
Overall, the gameplay feels like a collection of ideas from various popular shooters. But this collection is assembled by skilled hands and therefore feels like a single whole and plays great. Well-tuned game mechanics are accompanied by excellent technical execution. The engine produces a good frame rate on average smartphones by modern standards, the game looks great, the sound of shooting and the environment contributes to immersion and helps in detecting opponents, but even if you find yourself without headphones in a public place, the well-implemented hit and noise source indicators will allow you to play without sound at all.
There is practically nothing to complain about technically in Blood Strike. But there are questions about the character and interface design. NetEase artists know how to draw attractive characters when there is a demand for it. But it seems that the developers decided not to tease the Western gaming press and activists this time. It is difficult to call both male and female characters outwardly attractive. But this is, of course, a matter of taste.
The interface is another matter. I’m not talking about the combat mode interface, everything is familiar there, but about the main menu and lobby interface. Numerous screaming banners, signs, buttons that require immediate attention are annoying. Calls to watch, buy, expand are coming from all sides of the screen. For a free-to-play game, this is rather normal, but the main menu could have been implemented more logically and not so gaudy.
By NetEase standards, monetization is lenient. At the time of writing, there are no pay-to-win elements in the game. There is a battle pass and various skins for weapons. Your favorite Kalashnikov can be painted in camouflage or gold, you can put stickers on it and hang a keychain. And all this cosmetics are sold for real money. Particularly wealthy players have the opportunity to purchase unique skins for their weapons.
Diagnosis
NetEase managed to say a new word in the battle royale genre without implementing almost any innovative ideas. The Chinese developers only skillfully implemented what is in other shooters. It turned out surprisingly well and against the background of competitors Blood Strike looks like a solid project.
The main advantage of Blood Strike is its well-implemented gameplay. The battles are interesting and the dynamics do not sag. The game has almost no suspense inherent in PUBG, since there are revivals, but instead Blood Strike gives fun and adrenaline. A great combination for a shooter.
And if NetEase has learned to make excellent gameplay, then in terms of design there is still something to strive for. The gaudy graphic design and flashy interface slightly spoil the impression of a wonderful game.
Pro
- Fun and adrenaline during the game
- Well executed shooting
- Variety of modes
- Battle Royale Mode Changes Add Dynamics
- Good graphics with excellent performance and optimization
Contra
- The character and lobby interface design is garish.