Review: Super Blood Hockey
“I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out”
-Rodney Dangerfield
Super Blood Hockey is a retro style arcade hockey game that is greatly inspired by classic NES games like Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel. It’s currently available on Nintendo Switch and on Steam.
Gameplay
The gameplay is, for the most part, familiar, if you played any of the old school hockey games mentioned above. You have a dedicated shoot, pass and check button. But right before the puck drops, this game becomes unique. The players come out of the tunnel and start to skate on the ice, but you can skip that by pressing any button. If you do this, the players get blasted out onto the ice in comedic fashion, and then approach the face off dot.
From the drop of the puck, you are playing a game of no rules hockey. You can check anyone at any time with no penalty. If you’re on defense, and it looks like there is an open man to receive a pass, just go check him and take him out of the play. Every time you check someone you start to paint the ice with beautiful, pixelated blood. Check the same person too many times and a fight will break out. The fun thing here is the fights are not just one on one, they’re a total line brawl. The team with the last man standing wins the fight. In real hockey, Power Plays are when you have the man advantage because the other team took a penalty, but in Super Blood Hockey, winning fights is how you earn a power play. After the fight, a player on the losing team will stay down with an injury. Injuries range from minor (like bruised ribs) to potentially fatal (like a ruptured spleen). Some of them had me laughing out loud to myself, like the minor injury of visibly warped ribs, and a fatal injury of devastatingly damaged buttocks.
After the fight is over, the injured or deceased player just lays on the ice convulsing and bleeding for the remainder of the injury.
There is a referee present on the ice and he can get in your way! Try to pass when he’s in front of you and the puck will deflect off of him and change direction. If you’re skating near the referee you can check him and take him out of the play for a little bit. There is no benefit besides him being out of your way, but it sure is a fun little thing I wasn’t expecting.
For me, scoring is difficult. Most of my goals come off rebounds when I have someone in the right place at the right time. Breakaways seem to happen frequently for me, but I have scored on only one of them. The challenge of scoring makes it even more rewarding when I do net one home.
Another fun little detail that the game adds: after the period is over the players exit the ice. There is always at least one player who doesn’t make it out in time and gets run over by the Zamboni, over and over again.
From a gameplay standpoint, it hits all the notes I want from an arcade sports game. The controls are minimal and easy to understand. The difficulty of the game makes it hard, but it’s never the fault of poor controls.
The Game Modes
There are quite a few modes, but there’s not too much depth to them, except for the franchise mode. The franchise mode is where I spent most of my time but not where I had the most fun. The most fun came from the challenge modes, which I’ll get to shortly.
I’ll start with the biggest time sink: the Franchise Mode. In this mode, they give a little context to the game so you don’t feel as bad when you murder someone on the ice. It’s the future, and all the players are inmates. I don’t really know why it being the future matters, but it’s a detail they give. You are the coach and you are starting your own team, but uh-oh you don’t have enough money. They then knock you out and take your kidney, and they take it in an over the top bloody way. The money made from the kidney is what funds your team.
Now that your kidney is sold, it’s time to start the franchise. The mode is deeper than just playing games; all your players have health that deteriorates each game. You have to manage your player’s health, your money, the facility, the medicine, and even use illegal drugs on your players. Be careful not to lose any fights; if one of your players dies on the ice your going to have to spend some money to get a replacement.
The mode I had the most fun in was the Challenge Mode. There are five challenges total, and winning a game in Challenge Mode unlocks different options to use in the game. For example, there is a challenge called skate and chew gum. This challenge requires playing a game with manual goalies; winning a game of this unlocks the option to play other games with manual goalies turned on. The other challenges are a turbo mode, a mode where you are outnumbered by four skaters, a mega rumble which is a crazy 12 v 12 match — good luck following the puck in that one — and my personal favorite: a mode where you play as only one skater. This game mode is my go to. You play as the center and only the center. Remember, there are no penalties, so it’s a lot of fun to skate around and just start checking everyone and anyone, just because you can. After a nice check, it feels great to get your self in a good position by the net and score.
Other game modes present are very standard. A tutorial mode to help learn the game, an exhibition mode and a tournament mode. One mode that is definitely missed is online versus mode. It has a local multiplayer, but sometimes you just can’t be in the same room with someone you want to play.
Verdict
Super Blood Hockey is an amazing take on the classics. Its as if an old school brawler met an old school hockey game. Great controls, fun visuals, and some crazy violence make this a game I will be playing for a long time. However, I do wish it had that online mode. I want to paint the ice red with the blood of my friends online. I give this game a thumbs up and a score of 7/10. Truly enjoyable for everyone, not just fans of the sport.
For more on video games check out my article What I want and don’t want from The Last of Us Part II and be sure to follow me I’m @Big_Broons and follow @TheSpinchoon to see everything we are doing.
