Acts of Blood lives up to its name

November 05, 2024 | 08:28am

This Brutal The Raid-Inspired Beat-'Em-Up Now Has A Playable Demo

Acts of Blood lives up to its name

A look at Acts of Blood's gameplay shows off its quick and bloody melee combat, with Hendra able to swiftly swap from punches and kicks to wielding melee weapons like bats, knives, hammers, and machetes. There are firearms as well, though the emphasis looks to be on the brutally efficient hand-to-hand combat. The environment plays a big role in combat too, with Kendra able to use parkour to run, slide, and climb through levels, as well as ustilize destructible objects in the environment as weapons.

Eksil Team, the developer behind the game, isn't shying away from the brutality of it all. In the game's mature content description on Steam, Eksil Team states the game includes blood, gore, and dismemberment, and that the violence is "frequent and integral to the gameplay experience, with detailed and realistic portrayals of combat injuries."

This new Beat ‘em up game inspired by The Raid films combines 3rd person action with fast-paced martial arts, and brutal hand-to-hand combat. Acts of Blood demo is available on steam now pic.twitter.com/nO3rWEdgWc
— 𝗩𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘 (@VoyagersRevenge) November 5, 2024

Acts of Blood wears its The Raid inspiration, a 2011 film known for its bloody and bone-crunching fights, on its sleeve. If that wasn't clear from the blood-soaked fights, The Raid and its sequel, as well as Acts of Blood, all take place in Indonesia. But its focus on melee combat also brings to mind Square-Enix's Sleeping Dogs, another hand-to-hand combat-heavy action title known for its over-the-top environmental kills that was in turn inspired by Hong Kong action films. Sifu, a more recent beat-'em-up title, is another game Acts of Blood looks to be inspired by, though the 2022 game (despite its Mature rating) is far less blood-soaked than Acts of Blood.

In addition to playing through some of its story, the Acts of Blood demo includes an arena mode so players can fine-tune their combat skills, as well as outfit customization that lets players tailor Hendra's look. Acts of Blood can currently be wishlisted on Steam.

The Best PC Games To Play In 2024