I've tried all the DOSMan games now and sadly this is the first one I didn't enjoy.

Melee really doesn't work too well in this engine. So I'm regularly just poking VERY tanky enemies and Michael Jackson moonwalking everywhere. There's no block, parry or dodge, just poke, retreat, poke, retreat.

I consider myself a fan of DOSMAN Games. I’ve played several of their titles. Sadly, Bloodmatch isn’t their best work.

To its credit, the game does introduce some improvements over previous DOSMAN titles. The addition of a heavy attack mapped to the right mouse button is a nice touch, and there’s a more defined story this time around, complete with full voice acting. The voice work is pretty amateur, but honestly, I love it and think it has a lot of charm.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is where things fall apart. While I understand the concept of being a gladiator fighting in an arena, most encounters quickly devolve into kiting enemies in circles. You’ll spend a lot of time holding S and A while holding your left mouse button, and it gets repetitive fast. I’d say over half the fights play out this way. Later in the game, I found myself skipping parts of the slave quarters and story just to complete the game as soon as possible.

There are a few more challenging levels toward the end, and I wish more of the game leaned in that direction. Even the projectile-based enemies, while sometimes more annoying than difficult, at least add some variation. More arena hazards or dynamic elements could have gone a long way in making combat feel more engaging and strategic. As it stands, the gameplay feels pretty mindless and easier than other DOSMAN games I’ve played.

Performance-wise, the game ran fine on my PC, and at $3.99 (or less on sale), it’s not a huge investment. Still, as much as it pains me to say it, I don’t think Bloodmatch is worth your time. Previous DOSMAN titles like Reverend, Satan, or even the original DOSMAN offer much more satisfying gameplay at the same price point. I’d skip this one.

The culmination of all previous melee-focused DOSman Games's Games!

Bloodmatch is a melee-focused retro FPS game developed and published by DOSman Games. It starts a Roman barbarian warrior as he fight his way through battle after battle in the arena to earn his freedom. It's another DOSman game that mainly focuses on melee weapons with secondary on the side BUT it's significantly different with how the gameplay loop turns out and it ends up being easily the most notable in-house game from them so far!

Gameplay of Bloodmatch is unique from what might be expected as right off the bat it features a "homebase" of such. Represented with the holding quarters of the warriors, you're then sent out into the arena sometimes being able to choose. Being a melee-focused game in the style of old Retro FPS games one might expect just circle strafing and attacking until you win and while that is sometimes the case, there has been some sort of an effort to diversify it with level hazards and enemy behavior. On the weapon side of things, there is a huge variety of era appropriate weapons ranged from spears, swords, maces, bows, etc. While there are some weapons that were copied from other games like the sling from Skarab they fit in the theming pretty well. All of them also have alternative fires, providing a slower but much more powerful attacks which is a nice inclusion. This does however, make the ranged weapons THE most effective weapon type in the whole game, if you manage to get your hands on one that is. There's also an armor system and it's main gimmick is being able to pick up armor pieces off of your enemies as you attack them, which is a really cool mechanics they were able to implement given engine limitations. As mentioned, before each fight you start in the holding cells before the arena and these do change as you climb the ranks AND are included with friendly NPCs to talk with. They're even voice acted too! With a variety in quality but it's charming all the same!

Stylewise, Bloodmatch features that same old DOS game artstyle that all of DOSman Games's work has used in the past. Very cartoon-y but highly detailed pixel art that looks of the era that they're trying to replicate. Again the sheer amount of new assets made for this game is absolutely nuts. Easily having THE most designs for both the enemies you fight and the folk watching you duke it out. As mentioned eariler there really is only a few designs and sprites taken from previous DOSman titles, everything else is seemingly original. Even just the detail of each arena getting progressively more fancy and bigger complete with new aesthetics that fit the Roman theme is simply impressive for the scope of this game.

Overall, while Bloodmatch does still have flaws from it's short scope and limitations from the EFPSE Engine as other DOSman developed titles have showcased. This is easily the most involved game from them yet, a big variety of weapons all with altfires, some variations with some of the enemy fights, and a ton of new assets made for this game. There's even a tiny bit of replay value with achievements and arena fights that you have the choice to choose between. I honestly hope that more DOSman project experiment with their bite-sized form cause there's only so many times you can reuse the same formula with a different theme.