REVIEW: ‘Blood Dungeon’ Is The Most Frenetic Roguelike In Years

A good roguelike can be hard to come by. When you think of the genre, you go to Hades or Dead Cells. Well, while it may not be up there with the greats, Messhof’s Blood Dungeon has the distinction of being one of the most frenetic of the genre. Plus, as an auto-shoot-em-up, it’s accessible and an easy recommendation to anyone, new and old.

Messhof might not be a studio you’d immediately recognize, but its iconic brawler Nidhogg will surely ring bells for many fighting players. Plus, with titles like Wheel World and Flywrench, it’s no wonder many watch every time it puts out a game. Luckily, if you loved the pixelated visual style and pick-up-and-go gameplay, Blood Dungeon is your next best thing.

Once you hit start, you jump right into the overworld and can immediately get into gameplay. Right off the bat, you’ll notice you can only move and jump. Your weapons, whatever you get via upgrades and chests, fire by themselves. All you need to do is survive. Sounds easy enough? Well, not when you’re bombarded by countless enemies and stages without bounds.

Messhof’s Blood Dungeon offers players pick-up-and-go gameplay. 

If you haven’t played an auto-shooter like Vampire Survivors, Blood Dungeon’s gameplay can take some getting used to. You are at the mercy of your reload and upgrades and, if it’s not powerful enough or runs out, it spells defeat. Movement is key, and being able to climb onto walls and ceilings to crawl around and maneuver paths makes for intense moments.

Each run is a chance to try out new upgrades via blood and collect bones. As you progress, you’ll unlock new abilities, characters, weapons, and stages. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT, of content in store. While you can unlock all the stages within three to four hours or so, getting to 100%, which includes new characters, weapons, and upgrades, can likely take dozens of hours. Everything has to be unlocked, so you’ll always have something to work towards.

The key to a good roguelike is its replayability and, luckily, Blood Dungeon, as mentioned before, has a lot to keep coming back for. I will say that the characters, at least the ones you’ll unlock first, don’t feel too different from each other aside from slight boosts in areas like knockback or speed.

The effects do show later on in a run, like the movement or damage, but it isn’t as noticeable as you’d want it to be. In addition, the weapon variety doesn’t stray too far from projectiles and AOE, especially in the starting roster, so it’s hard to fine-tune your playstyle.

There is much to keep coming back for in Blood Dungeon.

There are six stages available in the game, and each comes with its various obstacles and scenery. They do unlock after beating the first bosses of different stages, so, depending on how fast you do that, it can be quick. Unfortunately, not all of the stages are as good, and I find myself going to a select two or three instead of all six.

Furthermore, the game truly feels like an amalgamation of ideas and designs, and that’s not a bad thing at all. There are dozens of enemy designs ranging from simple rats to gigantic demons. All of them feel right at home and add to the already frenetic combat and gameplay. Even more so, the unlockable characters, like a pistol-shooting baby and a naked swordsman, exude a level of insanity that only a great studio can make not only work, but fit right in. It’s chaotic in a good way.

Things, at least for me, picked up once I got access to more upgrades like better health and weapon slots. Still, some runs don’t feel as rewarding as they should, with some resulting in nothing but bones and a good score. Plus, with the simplistic gameplay, there’s not much I can take from a defeat other than that I died.

Take, for example, in Hades, the enemies there all have varying health windows and attacks, so you can, if you perish by them, figure out a good Boon or weapon that may give you an advantage. Here, however, it all works the same, with no enemy being weak to a certain weapon type or ailment.

It’s harder to take a lesson from your loss when you can’t find a solid answer as to how it happened outside of losing a heart. Of course, winning a run feels incredible in Blood Dungeon, as rare as it is. Regardless, in a game of abundance, things can feel quite repetitive.

While the loadouts are random, I do love doing a gun like the Machine Gun or Shotgun along with a Sword or Whip to both shoot from afar and keep myself protected. Plus, I focus on improving weapon reload speed and the number of shots per reload. That way, I can be safe and have some peace of mind in those hectic situations. Still, you never feel overpowered nor underpowered. It’s a great balance that helps keep me aware, even when things are going my way.

Music-wise, Thomas Hoey’s techno beats only improve the already off-the-wall gameplay. It’s fast, jumpy, and not too distracting when you’re blasting away at the many fiends. If I had to describe Blood Dungeon’s music, think Castlevania but on an acid trip.

In terms of performance, I experienced no frame-rate drops or glitches of any kind. If anything, it’s one of the smoothest experiences I’ve played it quite a bit. Even when enemies filled almost every pixel of the screen, it still ran like it did when there were none.

It’s crazy that the team packed so much into what seems like so little. In a game where you only move and jump, it doesn’t feel that simple. You can pick it up and play it for a thrill, or go deep and craft the perfect run.

Ultimately, Blood Dungeon succeeds in what it sets out to do: be a 2D bonkers roguelike with endless possibilities. While not all of it works, like the drawn-out content and iffy level design, it has the making of yet another Messhof classic. Plus, it’s the best bang for your buck, literally, for those looking for a fun new run.

Blood Dungeon releases on August 25, 2026, on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 1 + 2.