Raining Blood: Hellfire Review Summary

Engaging gameplay and satisfying combat shine with stunning visuals, but unbalanced runes, scarce ammo, and overly tanky bosses can frustrate.

Gameplay is highly enjoyable: Multiple reviews consistently describe the game as fun, addictive, and satisfying, with challenging yet rewarding gameplay. This is the most common sentiment, reflecting strong overall enjoyment.

Developer care is evident: Reviewers note the game is crafted with great care and affection, evidenced by its detailed design and polished execution. This attention to quality significantly enhances the player experience.

Combat and shooting feel great: The combat is described as satisfying with excellent shooting mechanics, good hit feedback, and impactful weapons. This contributes to the game's action-packed fun.

Graphics and art are praised: The game's beautiful graphics and appealing pixel art style are highlighted, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience. This visual quality is a notable positive point.

Weapon variety is strong: Players appreciate the wide range of weapon types with distinct performances, making combat diverse and addictive. This variety adds depth to the gameplay experience.

Rune system is unbalanced: Many runes are punitive or useless, with some causing excessive ammo consumption while others provide minimal benefit. The system is seen as hostile to new players and forces dependence on a few specific strong builds.

Ammo scarcity is severe: Players consistently run out of ammunition, especially against bosses and in later waves, forcing tedious resupply trips or rendering weapons useless. The low bullet drop rate and high cost of ammo significantly hamper enjoyment of powerful guns.

Bosses are tanky: Bosses are criticized for having excessive health and damage, leading to tedious, drawn-out fights that rely on attrition rather than skill. Many players report running out of bullets before reducing boss health to 75%.

Characters get stuck frequently: Players reported multiple instances of getting stuck on objects, terrain, and corners, which disrupts gameplay flow. This issue is exacerbated by collision boxes that remain active when hit, leading to repeated deaths in tight spaces.

Melee combat is poor: Melee weapons are widely considered useless, with slow attack speed, no upgrade path, and inability to deal with approaching enemies. Players report that melee cannot even defeat the first boss when ammo runs out.

Skill tree enables growth: Multiple reviews highlight the presence of a skill tree, often described as POE style, which allows players to unlock new options and customize their build. This is a key progression feature.

Roguelike survival gameplay: The game is identified as a roguelike with elements of survival RPG, combining procedural runs with persistent progression, and is also described as an action roguelike.

Rune system modifies gameplay: Runes that combine to change gameplay, along with buffs and a rune unlocking system, are noted as a significant mechanic. This is separate from the skill tree.

Game has high difficulty: Reviewers consistently note that the game is difficult, especially at the beginning, and that the gameplay is challenging. This difficulty is a defining characteristic.

Diverse boss battles: Boss fights require different strategies and are present, with some bosses having combos, which adds tactical depth.

Game optimization is poor: Multiple users report significant lag and poor performance, indicating the game is not well optimized. Additionally, one user noted that optimization causes the notebook to heat up considerably.

Runs well on some systems: Some users report the game runs smoothly on a medium PC (i5 2400, 8GB RAM) and plays well on Steam Deck, suggesting performance can be acceptable depending on hardware.

Black borders resolution issue: One user mentioned that to avoid black borders, they had to lower the resolution, indicating a display or scaling issue.

Generally recommended by reviewers: Multiple clusters of feedback indicate strong or general recommendations for the game, with some reviewers explicitly recommending it without hesitation.

Good value for price: Several clusters highlight that the game is worth its price, with some reviewers suggesting it offers more value than its cost.

Recommended for specific audiences: The game is recommended for fans of specific genres, including zombie shooters, roguelikes, combat-focused games, and puzzle-solving, indicating broad appeal.

Buy without fear: Some reviewers strongly encourage purchase, suggesting that the game is reliable and safe to buy without concerns.

Support Brazilian developer: Feedback highlights the game as a product of a solo Brazilian developer, with reviewers suggesting it is worth supporting, especially for fans of Brazilian games.

Community fair range: $4.99 - $9.99.

Game completion: 7.5h.

Session length: 0.7h.

Endgame: 80.0h.

Players report that the game is repetitive, tedious, and lacking in meaningful progression, with a grind that takes over 15 hours to approximate completion. No reviewer identifies a point where the game becomes enjoyable, indicating it never clicks for these players.

Friction: Highly repetitive and tedious gameplay; No real progression or variation between runs; Heavy grind to extend gameplay (15+ hours for upgrades); Only three levels currently available; Lack of online multiplayer.

National Supporter: Plays to show support, explores content, and encourages others to buy. Motivation: Supporting an independent Brazilian developer and fostering community pride. Stance: buy.

Content-Hungry Fan: Plays regularly, pushes for harder challenges and multiplayer, monitors updates. Motivation: Seeking extended content, multiplayer features, and deeper progression. Stance: buy.

Roguelike Connoisseur: Experiments with weapons and builds, optimizes runs, appreciates roguelike mechanics. Motivation: Enjoying roguelike gunplay, build variety, and strategic depth. Stance: buy.

Single developer praised: Multiple reviewers highlight that the game was developed by a single person, which is seen as impressive. The developer is also described as being responsive to feedback and actively improving the game.

Early access status noted: Many reviewers mention the game is in early access with incomplete content and only a few maps. Some feel it does not yet feel like a 1.0 release, but others see potential for improvement.

Brazilian origin emphasized: Many reviews note that the game is made by Brazilian developers, which is a point of pride. Some describe it as a national work of art and hope for more Brazilian developers to get opportunities.

Comparisons to Call of Duty Zombies: The game is frequently compared to Call of Duty's Zombies mode, often with an original twist. This comparison is used to describe the core gameplay loop and wave-based survival elements.

Compared to other roguelikes: Reviewers compare the game to popular roguelikes such as Enter the Gungeon, Vampire Survivors, and Risk of Rain 2. These comparisons highlight the game's genre and mechanics, with some noting it stands out among them.