Game Review: Bleed 2 (Nintendo Switch)

What happens when you throw a run and gun game like Contra, a twin-stick arcade game like Robotron and a bullet hell shooter like Ikaruga into a blender? Well, you’d probably end up with a blender full of cartridge and disc fragments. But in the abstract, you’d end up with a game like Bleed 2.

As longtime readers of mine very well know, I hate download-only games. I’m a video game collector and the idea of a download-only future makes me a little sick to my stomach. I only download games when I really want to play something specific and a physical release is unlikely. However, at the suggestion of several reviewers I decided to check out Bleed 2. With few days to burn watching over my household full of sick family members, I was itching for something new to play and seeing this game on sale for $5 in the eShop, I decided to pull the trigger.

And I’m amazed at how much I love this game.

^{Image source: User iyse hazard on YouTube}

The horribly titled Bleed 2 is the sequel to the first game. Duh. Having never heard of the original I didn’t really know what to expect, but at $5 I figured I’d give it a shot. The story is a fairly generic alien invasion scenario, with a completely self-aware absurdity. Your pink-haired young girl character is the world’s greatest hero and the only one who can stave off this invasion, so you quickly grab your guns and katana and rush out your door.

The game’s mechanics are simple, but extremely well done. Movement uses the left stick and firing in 360 degrees requires you to hold in whatever direction you want to shoot (and you unload like a machine gun until you let go of the stick.)

Your secondary weapon is your katana for up close attacks, but more importantly it can deflect enemy bullets (and enemies). Bullets come in either yellow or pink, and all pink shots can be deflected back at enemies with your katana by slashing them when you’re close to them. Not only does this open up gaps in the barrage of enemy fire, it doubles as extra damage when reflected shots hit an enemy. If you’ve ever played Ikaruga, you’ll understand how great it is to be able to reflect half of the bullets on the screen.

Your last two skills are your triple jump and time slowing ability. After a jump, you can boost three more times in mid-air with complete control over your movement and trajectory. Imagine having three rocket boosts that let you fly and maneuver as tightly as you want — that’s what you get. Secondly, you’re given the ability to slow time down, which drains a bar below your health as you use it. When you’re not using it, it recharges fairly quickly. Mastering these two skills is essential for beating this game, but thankfully I could feel myself quickly getting more and more adapted to these mechanics as I played. It just felt right.

^{Image source: User iyse hazard on YouTube}

Thankfully, the game features incredibly tight and responsive controls. For a game with this much action going on at once, it would be broken if it didn’t control well. Most of the enemies in the game are fairly basic grunts that shoot small or large bullets at you, but there are a good number of bosses and minibosses to frequently break up the gameplay. Each boss encounter is unique and requires you to learn their patterns. One stage throws three minibosses in a row at you! Its insane, but I loved it!

Sadly, the game is very short at only 7 stages. I beat it on normal the first time in under an hour. But as a testament to how great the game is, I was soon taking it on a second time in hard mode. After hard, there’s an even harder difficulty level, which I haven’t tried out yet. In addition, there are other game modes like an endless mode with randomly generated levels, and arcade mode that challenges you to beat the game with one life and a crazy boss challenge that lets you fight up to 3 bosses at the same time!

Beating the game unlocks more playable characters, weapons and abilities and while fun to play with, I still prefer playing as the main character.

^{Image source: User iyse hazard on YouTube}

Using the popular 16-bit pixel art style, the game’s visuals aren’t going to wow you, but if you’re a fan of the retro aesthetic you’ll likely find the graphics to be charming. They’re not as detailed as something like Shovel Knight, but they are still colorful and well drawn. The stage designs reminded me of the 16-bit Mega Man games. Characters have an anime look to them, which works really well with the over-the-top theme of superpowered teenagers and an invasion of evil cats and robots.

The sound and music are great as well, with loud and meaty gun and explosion effects. Music is great too, with a techno-rock soundtrack that fits the theme well, but is often overshadowed by the constant sound of bullets and explosions happening on screen.

^{Image source: User iyse hazard on YouTube}

Going in, I wasn’t expecting much from Bleed 2. It has a generic name, it was on sale for $5 and from a cursory glance it looked fairly basic. But I’m so glad that I gave it a chance. This is the type of game I’ll pick up and play regularly through the life of the Switch thanks to its pick-up-and-play style and short length. If you’re a fan of shooters and challenging (yet fair) games, I highly recommend this hidden gem. Also available on PS4, XBox One and Steam.

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

^{Cover Image Source: Playstation.com}