#BLUD is a top-down action-adventure game similar to the classic Zelda games, with an art style and character designs that feel straight out of a Cartoon Network show from the late 90s/early 2000s. It’s quite well designed, and most probably will give you nostalgia for the cartoons of that era. As someone with an appreciation for both 90s era cartoons and video games, the game certainly felt like it was tailor made for me.

The character sprites and portraits are highly expressive and constantly in motion, adding a ton of personality. The background design, like chapter title cards, are also given special care. For example, the start of each new section is made to seem like the start of an episode of a cartoon series.

Writing-wise, the overall plotline of the game is decent. It’s not anything groundbreaking but it is also not generic. But where the writing really shines however is the character dialogue and miscellaneous interactions. That was consistently funny, with goofiness that played with both video game tropes and horror genre conventions. There’s also a social media app within the game that fleshes out the world and characters more in amusing ways. All of it, in overall, resulted in many laughs, smirks and snorts as I progressed through the game.

Gameplay-wise, it has elements of a dungeon crawler, alongside an overall gameplay feel akin to what felt like the classic Zelda games. There was a definite focus on exploration, puzzle solving and combat. It all felt safe, with not much innovation. But it was solid and fairly enjoyable. However, there were some rough edges to be found whilst playing through the game. The controls can feel stiff, especially with the dodge roll as it can abruptly stop your momentum. The hit detection is also poor at times. While the enemy variety keeps fights interesting, the mission objectives tend to get a bit repetitive as you progress in the game, with an annoying amount of fetch quests.

Technical issues are another downside, with possible bugs like getting stuck in the environment and side quests becoming incompletable. While these bugs don't prevent the completion of the main story, they still resulted in a gaming experience that can be frustrating.

But overall, #BLUD is a charming indie adventure that succeeds in capturing the spirit of classic Cartoon Network shows with art style and animation. And even though the gameplay has flaws and may not exactly set new standards, the story, writing, and presentation are strong enough to make it worth checking out for fans of the genre and aesthetic.