Captain Blood Review — Nostalgia for Nothing

Oh boy, Captain Blood is… a doozy. I don’t think I’ve reviewed a game yet that I’ve had such conflicted feelings about. This title, which failed to release over fifteen years ago during the 360 generation of consoles, can certainly feel dated and yet stands out for its visual creativity. It touches on a nostalgic feeling in an era where you just don’t see games like this anymore. It’s hard for me to put a solid score on Captain Blood, as it’s a game that’s going to be a huge draw to some audiences while also being a big skip for others. The confusing nature of the game’s appeal is reflected in its Steam reviews, many of which use the “positive” rating and yet directly criticize the game. Because of this, I urge readers not to skip to the score section and really read what I have to say about it before you decide if Captain Blood is right for you.

Or just ignore me and give the game a try for yourself. This is, after all, just one reviewer’s opinion, and for all I know, Captain Blood could be your next favorite thing. It is just as likely, however, to be a fast refund.

Captain Blood is a game with a very complicated origin story. If you aren’t aware, the game was originally set to release in 2010 but was scrapped due to legal issues. From what I’ve been able to gather, the game was latched onto by members of the studio where it was being worked on, who eventually purchased the rights to the game and released it over fifteen years later with some “modern optimizations” to go with it.

That is a heartwarming story if I’ve ever heard one. Being so attached to a game you worked on that you release it over a decade later, past all of its marketing and hype, is commendable.

It is therefore unfortunate to admit that Captain Blood wasn’t received well in 2010, and the version that released earlier this month isn’t in a much better state.

As far as modern optimizations go, Captain Blood has some nice textures that make the game look like a well-put-together remaster of a PS2-era title. For that, you have to give the team credit. Captain Blood looks really, really good, and I found myself enjoying the retro-yet-modern style more than I thought I would.

Beyond that, however, Captain Blood is essentially a 2010 God of War ripoff that players weren’t incredibly impressed by back when those kinds of games were relevant. Captain Blood has all of the hallmarks of a forgettable 2000s title. The combat is stale, with attacks lacking any weight or satisfying hit feedback. Ranged enemies are an absolute nightmare to deal with, being faster than the player and firing at a speed that defies the game’s own logic of black powder reloading. Enemies gang up on the player in massive hordes and stunlock you with attacks both in melee and at range, and the game’s checkpoints feel downright insulting. They force you to replay frustrating segments over and over again, potentially to make up for what is already a fairly short game. Blocking feels meaningless, and the lack of parrying or counters leaves the combat feeling dated even for its time. There’s no platforming or interesting gameplay outside of the repetitive, unsatisfying combat, and the game’s quick-time events remind you why the industry as a whole has been moving away from them.

Other technical specifications, such as the game’s horrible audio mixing, make the project feel cheaply and haphazardly put together. You can hardly hear when characters are talking during cutscenes, and when you can, you’ll often have the audio desynced anyway. When I could hear the characters talk, however, I was a big fan of them. The cast is pretty likable, due in large part to their cool designs.

And yet, despite all of these complaints, I couldn’t help but find myself feeling oddly nostalgic during my admittedly short playthrough of Captain Blood. Though the game failed to keep me engaged throughout, for the portions I did play, I felt that same feeling I had as a kid, when you would rent a game from a Blockbuster Video and push yourself to complete it before you had to return it at the end of the weekend. A quick browse of the game’s reviews shows that I’m not the only one who feels this way. However, I’m an adult now, and hardly still have the patience to rush through a mediocre game like I did as a child.

I also found myself fond of the artistic direction of Captain Blood. Everything looks cool, and there are some very creative designs, moving away from the very generic pirate theming that a lot of games and media did at the time. The inspiration to include some very comic-booky elements, like giant swords that make no sense and automatic cannons, gives the game a great identity. One could say that the game was only like this due to the popularity of God of War, the franchise it’s clearly trying to mooch off of, but I’d rather not think about that and instead give a bit more credit to the design team, wherever they are now.

Try Hard Guides was provided a Steam PC Review code for Captain Blood. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Captain Blood is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.