Remember in that Go Go Jump!! review where I mentioned that Eastasiasoft games are usually ‘an indie title, sometimes niche, sometimes full of anime boobs, but almost always a fast supply of achievements’. Hot Blood is all of the above!
From Deklazon, the setup follows the same path as their previous games, Drunken Fist and Drunken Fist 2. There is a shit-ton of enemies to literally punch and kick to death, often resulting in a wet explosion (stay with me) of juicy claret.
The difference with Hot Blood is that there’s more of a story. Roxy, our hero, is in the mall with her boyfriend when the zombie apocalypse kicks in, and her lover is taken. All she wants is to shop, so it’s not in the interests of the undead to get in her way.
Hot Blood PS5 Review: Bloody
Hot Blood takes place in the mall, slowly taking the fisticuffs into the car park and adjacent shops. There are about 30 rooms that you need to clear, which means heading into an area and killing everything in sight until you get to your boyfriend. These areas can be tackled in any order, though it makes sense to do them in order (ish), save you backtracking.
The other incentive for fighting in order is based on the levelling system. For each kill you get, you gain XP, and that improves your power and moves, though the moves are automated. There’s no skill set to learn other than punching, kicking, and combining with a run. Alternatively, you could smack them with a baseball bat, a chainsaw, or throw all manner of objects from a distance.
Now, this bit is one of the downfalls in Hot Blood. The targeting system is slightly off when throwing, yet you can adjust and hit the zombies without them engaging. This takes the fun out of things, but as it’s a reasonably lengthy experience, gameplay can get monotonous, like a Dynasty Warriors game.
Mall Rats
The second ingredient of our shit sandwich is the targeting system once again. Combat is surprisingly satisfying, and executing(!) a combo is straightforward and fluid. However… when surrounded and in the middle of an attack, it’s neigh on possible to turn around and target another enemy, and should you take a hit, the enemies will do some hefty damage.
Though Roxy levels up, increasing her health and whatnot, the damage received is practically the same throughout. When overwhelmed, an easy way out is to sweep the leg. Sure, it does next to no damage, but it is great at crowd control, allowing you to take a step back and then open a big can of whoopass.
Aside from beating everyone to death (again), Roxy is fundamentally a shopper – hence the mall location. For each kill, some money drops can be squirrelled away to buy new clothes. Understandably, the costumes in Hot Blood don’t work safely, but they come in various colours that add to the whole customisation.
Hot Blood PS5 Review Summary
I completed Hot Blood in one sitting, which took a couple of hours or so, and it was worth it. The audio (bay-bee!) can be mildly annoying, but it was a good start to the weekend—taking out all that zombie trash and getting myself some new clothes. Win-win.
