Local Multiplayer Stealthmurder: Badblood Released
Never saw 'em coming
With local multiplayer games like TowerFall, Nidhogg, Gang Beasts, and Samurai Gunn buzzing around, we live in a fine to virtually murder pals sitting next to you. But what for the connoisseur of the quiet kill, the sneaky stabber, the hiding horror? Aye, you'll want to have a look at Badblood [official site], which came out on Friday. It's a two-player deadly game of hide and seek in long grass, where each player's side of the screen is rotated differently so you'll need to carefully figure out quite where they are before striking - and making yourself vulnerable.
Badblood has a lineup of four would-be-murderers, with different attack ranges, stamina levels, and special abilities, such as a flashbang grenade, a hunting dog, and a gun with one single bullet. Stamina is an important one, as striking without nailing the other player will reveal your position and leave you tired for a wee bit, opening you up to counter-attacks.
It also has a mode where players take turns as hunter and hunted for 30 seconds, trying to survive and run down the clock.
Made by Winnie Song, Badblood is out for Windows and Mac through Steam and DRM-free on Itch for about £5. It's on show at an event Cara and I are DJing at this week, and I'm keen to watch folks get to grips with its murders (I really enjoy watching the meta develop and shift in local multiplayer games over the course of an evening as players return and watch each other). Anyway, have a launch trailer: