Painted in Blood Preview: Action Horror With Great Weapons

Solving the mystery of your spouse’s disappearance turns into a dangerous fight for your life when the undead arrive. Their numbers are numerous but you have powerful weapons to even the odds. Keep your guard up because you never know where enemies are going to appear from. Utilise light, powerups, and environmental obstacles to conserve resources while progressing past enemies.

Painted in Blood gives every weapon a chance to shine, even the melee weapon you find early on. There’s sufficient information and resources to help you fight against the obstacles in your path. Numerous obstacles also means there’s lots of information to digest and the story doesn’t get much focus. Fighting vast numbers of undead is fun and it’s exciting to see what comes next but the downsides are noticeable.

Painted in Blood is available in Early Access on PC for USD 9.99.

There are several paintings in each level, not all of them are bad.

Story – Your Wife Disappears

You are a painter in a loving relationship with your wife but she disappears one day. The circumstances aren’t immediately obvious but you embark on a journey to find out what happened. Clues are scattered around the areas you explore but they mostly reinforce the fact that something isn’t right. Undead enemies are trying to kill you but it’s never established why that’s the case.

There are plans for more story chapters but it’s not clear how the story will develop. What’s currently available doesn’t establish the story much or expand on its premise. You know you’re a painter and your wife is missing. But you don’t actually know why you are exploring locations or what you hope to accomplish. More chapters will be available in the future that hopefully shed more light on your motivations and the story.

You don’t know much about what’s going on but there are monsters.

Gameplay – Horrors in the Darkness

You play from a first-person perspective similar to Daimon Blades though you aren’t on a timer. As you explore each level, enemies emerge from the darkness to attack. They don’t spawn limitlessly but they do move into your sight slowly. If you know what you are doing, you can run past enemies but there are times where you must stand your ground and fight. Gameplay is similar to survival horror though you often have more resources to work with.

Every weapon is useful, especially the axe you find early on. While firearms let you dispatch enemies from a distance, your axe deals decent damage and helps with ammo preservation. You also have your flashlight that can disperse rat swarms and repel shadowy beings. Various items also assist you during battle if you can pick them up. It’s great to have several methods of tackling enemies that are reliable, letting you choose your preferred combat method.

Enemy information helps you find their weak points.

There is a decent amount of information to remember that complicates gameplay. Blasting enemies is simple but understanding their strengths and weaknesses is crucial. You don’t get many opportunities to practice as you must progress through levels and ammunition isn’t infinite. You get a good feel of combat for now but it can be tough to adjust as you encounter more enemies without much practice.

Audio & Visual – Regular Survival Horror

Even though the visuals are similar to what you would find in games like Massacre at the Mirage, this isn’t survival horror. There is sufficient lighting in many areas while dark areas aren’t that common. Enemies look blurry at first but once they approach, the visuals sharpen and you know what you are fighting. The environment is detailed and you know what you are looking at, especially if you are going off the beaten path.

The audio doesn’t disrupt your experience much as it is mostly quiet. You can hear enemies approach you or moan as they appear. If attacks are coming your way, the noise is loud and distinct enough that you know what’s coming. 

Painted in Blood was previewed on Steam with a code provided by Perp Games.