Bloodworm

Most people prefer not to think about horrible places and situations, because it doesn’t do much good. However, vicarious thrills are part of the human condition, which is why we have so many horror flicks and extreme sports. Video games play an important role in this regard as well, because they can be the perfect conduit for some truly scary stuff, at least if the designers do their job right.

Bloodworm is a 2D platformer with a horror theme and a rather interesting set of gameplay mechanics, although it is still a bit unpolished as of right now. You mostly have to walk around, jump over obstacles and climb the environment to make your way further, but every once in awhile something exciting happens: A giant worm attacks you.

There is not much of a story right now, because you kind of have to figure it out yourself along the way. You seem to be a dead girl trapped in some kind of afterlife, only it’s not the kind with angels singing on clouds. Instead, everything is red as blood, and there are disgusting creatures crawling everywhere. Eyeballs stick out of the walls as well, just to emphasize on the creepiness factor.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, you only need to jump and occasionally hide from foes. There are a couple of special events as well, such as when slugs fall on you from the ceiling and you have to shake them off. However, you can also keep them on for a while, because they can help you hide from the huge monster that follows you around.

Visually, everything is rather basic from an artistic point of view, but the colors and the level design are nice enough to create a creepy atmosphere. The environments still get repetitive after a while, especially since nothing happens for long stretches, but you can power through it. The sound effects are decent as well, although a better soundtrack would have done the game a lot of good.

Bloodworm is certainly on the right track, because it’s got the elements needed to intrigue the players. However, it feels empty and lackluster at the moment, so it needs a few additions before one can truly recommend it as a complete game.