Bloodrayne 1 ReVamped

With three games and three dedicated movies under its belt, the Bloodrayne series seemed to be a pretty big deal up until 2011, but then, disaster struck. Betrayal - the latest entry in the series - fell below expectations when it came to sales, and this caused an in-development 3DS title known as BloodRayne: The Shroud to get the axe. Following this slump, the series remained inactive for almost a decade until Ziggurat Interactive purchased the franchise's rights and remastered the first two titles for modern platforms.

I have to confess that I wasn't familiar with the BloodRayne series before the pair of remasters were announced, but something that helped to pull me in was its unique setting. Set during the Second World War, the original title places you in control of Rayne, a red-head vampire that has been employed as a killing machine for a top secret organisation known as The Brimstone Society. Rayne's latest assignment sees her take on an elite Nazi army that is hellbent on terrorising the world with some deeply disturbing supernatural threats. The mix of vampire and World War II themes just feels really unique and who can really tire of slashing evil Nazis to pieces?

Speaking of the game's combat, the action is both fantastically gory and fast-paced, and you'll find yourself constantly mixing between melee attacks and ranged weapons. The range of artillery you get your hands on is plentiful, as you'll find different types of pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and grenade launchers by taking down foes. Rayne can dual wield two of these weapons at the same time and can target two separate enemies at once. Switching between them on the fly is simple too as you just need to push ZL (on Switch).

You can't rely on these too long, though, as ammunition is scarce, but luckily Rayne is equipped with a pair of razor-sharp blades. Using these blades, you can straight up decapitate enemies and leave them screaming in pain as you hack off their limbs one by one. Coating the areas you visit in pools of blood is certainly a trip, but I just wish there was more depth to the melee combat. Essentially, when approaching an enemy, you push the same button repeatedly until they hit the ground and that's really all there is to it.

Instead of waiting for your health to regenerate or collecting specific items, Rayne regains her HP by sucking on the necks of humanoid foes. Whilst it was fun to perform this action and watch my enemies recoil in horror, it was easy to abuse this mechanic, as it instantly kills most enemies and gives you the added bonus of health regeneration. Personally, I think it would have been more balanced if "feeding" was limited to being on low on health.

Rayne's journey will take you around four hours to complete, but it honestly doesn't feel this short, as you'll find yourself moving between a variety of different locales, such as a dreary swamp, an underground mine, and a Nazi military base. A glaring issue, though, is that the main objectives are largely the same - kill, kill, and kill some more. On a positive note though, your next target is always well marked and you can even press left on the D-pad to highlight where you need to head to next.

With the original BloodRayne game being more than two decades old, you might be wondering what changes the ReVamped version has made. The visuals for a start are more crisper, with improvements being implemented to the game's lighting, reflection, and textures. It's even capable at running at 4K 60fps on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series. Lastly, the game now has localised audio and subtitles in English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish - making it more accessible for a broader audience of players.

Despite this added layer of polish, there's no denying that this is an older title, and BloodRayne hasn't aged as well as some of its peers. Dated looking loading screens stand between each new area you visit, and you're only able to manually save your progress at certain intervals. The camera is also pretty poor, with it always getting stuck on walls during intense action sequences. These aren't deal-breakers, but its something to be aware of if you're accustomed to more recent games and weren't around during the PS2-era.

It might struggle to hide its age in a few places, but Bloodrayne 1 ReVamped is still an enjoyable look back at a series that was sadly lost to time. The original Bloodrayne has never looked this polished and its vampires vs. Nazis storyline is still as silly and enjoyable as it first was back in 2002. Its bloody combat, whilst having its fair share of issues, is still entertaining too, and it features a rich variety of weapons. We've got our fingers crossed that these remasters generate enough interest to pave the way for a possible sequel.