Blood Facsimile

gives me cruelty squad vibes but focused on exploration. also pretty calming/relaxing

Probably one of the most alluring blueprints to come out of Early Access in a while. It's "40% complete", but the combination of Mario 64 collect-a-thon and Cruelty Squad nihilism is a duo so stupidly charismatic, it's a wonder it didn't happen sooner. What it lacks in terms of content it more than makes up for in the usual im-sim qualities, to the point where it'd more than likely be an absolutely fantastic introduction to the memetic genre, should anyone be so inclined to finally dip their toes into the water. Rene, you're cooking. Don't stop.

i like what's here (or at least the vision in my head of a complete version of what's here), but the game is far too unfinished to say anything concretely just yet. a few thoughts on the direction the game is going though: i think it should stray a little farther from cruelty squad. cruelty squad is nice in its own right, but i dont think this game benefits from a lot of the similarities it has to cruelty squad. even in cruelty squad, its annoying small enemies ran a quarter of your speed and had a predictable movement pattern and hitbox; this games fleshrats come in the shape of hornets that fly just as fast as you run, constantly wiggle unpredictably, sticks to walls and begins flying randomly, and change trajectory in an instant. they also deal about as much damage as bullets do (3-4 of them at once is practically an instant kill, and you likely wont see it coming since they make very little noise to telegraph their anger towards you). took me a bit to realize they're passive if you dont attack them first... sometimes... sometimes they're just evil... the gunplay is on par with cruelty squad (id say its honestly better seeing as the enemies aren't as ♥♥♥♥♥ up), but it currently boils down to just clicking heads. enemies make loud footsteps and you'll practically never get jumped if you keep your earballs open. first weapon has no spread and minimal weapon sway so it'll easily carry you through everything the game has currently. this does have some great things going for it though! music is nice, the interconnected levels are cool and well implemented in regards to the tokens and keys, collecting stars and upgrading (currently extremely limited and barebones) is nice and promises to be satisfying. also had no issues with performance, or a lack of settings, and i don't think i ran into any glitches either. i've only played 2.8 hours, and thats mainly due to the game being very unfinished; i refuse to enter an area with the WIP disclaimer. i think this game was released into early access way too early, but either way i had fun with what was here, and i'll be waiting to see future progress :D

Do you like Mario 64 but think it should have involved more sniper scopes with thermal optics? Do you like Deus Ex but thought JC Denton should have been collecting glowing stars hidden throughout the levels to expand access in a hub world and enter different levels through magical paintings? Do you have a soft spot for Cruelty Squad's critique of capitalism but are put off by how aggressively alienating it intentionally is? Play Blood Fascimile, a game that combines the overall structure of Mario 64 and the minute-to-minute gameplay of a stealthy ImSim title. It's still very much in early access (the devs make no secret of this; both on the store page and in the game) but what's there really does point to something pretty rad. It is a game that at once lets me do absurd John Wick gun ballet stuff while also letting me just double-jump between rooftops looking for stars to collect like it's Crackdown. My absolute only complaint is that there aren't enough power-ups yet (I've only found two? and I'm not sure there are any more as of this release) but man, I cannot wait to play the final thing. It's my favorite highly lethal, beat-a-level-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth game since Pigface, and I adore Pigface.

I need consequences for being merciful or corporeal. Haven't finished what is here yet, however, while I like that the levels can connect with geographical accurate doorways, I'm wondering if you had waited until the game was released that you could have added more clever doorways to the levels that don't exist right now. Guns are cool, but to be honest, the game is so easy you only need pistol. I would like to have felt like I needed the thermal scope, or to use the sleep darts but I really don't need them at all- or even the AK. And since there is no consequence for killing (that I know of right now) there's no point to sleep darts. I understand it makes the graph show up and move, you become more corporeal and less merciful, but unless it causes more blood hornets to appear or does something I don't know about, it doesn't seem to change much. Sounds negative, but the game is so good and unique. I adore exploring these levels, talking to the npcs, the artstyle, and the gameplay of stealth has intrinsic value so I do use sleep darts when I can. I just need more right now.

great soundtrack, great atmosphere, intriguing level design that's all about exploring however you want. love collecting things in a bizarre world with a very consistent artstyle and vibe. only critical thing i can think of is that i don't think i have any context for why i'm doing ... whatever it is i'm doing. maybe i just have to play a bit more and/or look around a bit better. either way i look forward to the future of this game :)

Cruelty Squad-esque boomer shooter/imm-sim with mario 64 star mechanics and a much cleaner and more esoteric vibe. Music is awesome, level design is neat and rewards exploration and taking your time. Really great so far but absolutely incomplete. Looking forward to seeing this develop and still have more to replay and explore, even if its just to absorb the immaculate atmosphere and music.

Usually games like this go for a more frenetic pace. Not this one. This game is as cool as it gets. Cooler than ten cucumbers. Imagine a movie theatre floor. Freshly cleaned. An ocean of soft deep red to tread upon. Walking barepaw on one of those, effortlessly striding through a brick hallway topped with lights that don't humbuzz and twinkle like there's vaseline on the lenses. Feels like a dream. And I can't really point to any other game that does it like this. Maybe the house in Mama's Sleeping Angels but even that has different... speed? Tone? Vibe? Vibe. No one else does it like Blood Facsimile, and we feel that that is quite admirable.