Blood Within takes you to a dystopian world ruled by darkness, where you're trying to save the realm from demons. As Thorne, the main character, you're not just defending the world from these sudden demon attacks but also trying to figure out where they came from. If you love souls-like games, you'll quickly get into Blood Within, especially with its challenging boss battles. Along the way, you meet different enemies and interesting characters who add depth to the story. As you uncover the mystery of Bloodstar, you explore new worlds and learn their unique stories.

Even though it's a 2D game, Blood Within brings character mechanics to life. Thorne might only wield a sword, but the attack animations, various skills, and parry feature keep things exciting. What breaks up the monotony is the Deck of Fate, allowing you to customize Thorne's approach and gameplay style. This adds a new layer to the game and gives you plenty of options to experiment with. The creatures in the game are also full of life, each with its attack style and strategy against Thorne. The variety of bosses and their unique attack patterns are really impressive since the quantity of the bosses is taken into consideration.

Blood Within starts with a pretty straightforward story, but as you progress, there are lots of twists and surprises (seriously, play it yourself to avoid spoilers!). The game's universe is filled with stunning map designs and visuals that perfectly capture the dark, dystopian vibe. The unique environments pull you into the world, making you feel despair, loneliness, and fear.

In short, Blood Within is a fresh challenge for fans of the souls-like genre. The coolest part? It was made by just one person! It always amazes me how one person could make such a brilliant game. To be fair, it might not redefine the genre, but it has everything a good souls-like game needs. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Maybe there is something here. But with how combat works currently, it just isn't very engaging. With no animation cancelling basically it's just waiting for bosses to attack while you slowly get in one or two hits. So a lot of you and the boss staring at each other. The jump is weird and slow, but being able to dodge roll in the air and wall jump from the beginning are pretty fun.
Also, wild that there is no controller support (can be solved with Steam Inputs) and also no remapping, and also it doesn't show what the controls are anywhere.
I'll probably keep an eye on it for a little while to see if any changes are made but in its current state I can't recommend this game.