ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] Review

Trueworld Studios combines high-speed movement, aggressive gunplay, and blood-powered mechanics in a fast-paced FPS platformer that encourages you to keep moving, stay aggressive, and turn every battlefield into a resource.

Fast-moving action shooters have always been about more than just aiming at the enemy and pulling the trigger. Their best moments are those where you're constantly moving, constantly positioning, and constantly fighting, with standing still being your worst possible option. ALTEREDBLOOD+ (AB+) takes that concept and runs with it. Made and published by Trueworld Studios, ALTEREDBLOOD+ is a first-person shooter built entirely around movement. It's a hybrid of a platformer, an aggressive shooter, and blood-based resource management.

The game centers on the interplay between movement, combat, and environmental use. You can run, slide, dash, and jump as much as you like, and it's just as important as having the right weapon. The blood you get from killing enemies is what keeps you alive. Instead of picking up health and ammo from the usual pickups, ALTEREDBLOOD+ ties them directly to your combat performance.

The game's setting is an unusual sci-fi scenario: it's been a very long time since humanity has existed. The only reason we're still here is because of a self-replicating megastructure called MOTHER. MOTHER was launched into the center of space in 3232 and has been expanding ever since, eventually consuming almost the entire observable universe. A very small part of MOTHER remains unharmed, and humans have found a way to survive by harvesting her blood.

The downside to this is that MOTHER, in turn, creates a Reaper to kill off the humans who have been feeding on her blood. You're thus the executioner rather than the savior. This complete reversal of the expected narrative is the interesting bit, really. Rather than guarding the last vestiges of civilization, you're being asked to hunt them down for the massive structure that has pretty much devoured everything.

It's a rather odd concept, but it works within ALTEREDBLOOD+'s aggressive aesthetic and unique visual identity. MOTHER isn't just a backdrop to explain why you have enemies in various areas. It's the fundamental conflict, and it's the reason your character has a role in the wider world. The developers have also confirmed that the full story will expand through additional missions and episodes during Early Access, so the narrative is still very much in development.

ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+]'s big draw is its movement system.

In virtually every situation, you're encouraged to be on the move, utilizing running, jumping, sliding, dashing, and wall jumping to create opportunities to attack from all sorts of angles. Movement isn't something you do alongside combat; it's integral to your offensive strategy. You can't just stand there and hope your shooting is accurate. Enemies constantly pressure you, forcing you to reposition and use the environment to your advantage.

The whole thing is designed to create a constant flow where movement creates opportunities to attack, and successful attacks, in turn, give you the means to keep moving. What's so interesting about this system is its relationship to ammo management. You have a finite amount of ammo on your weapons, but ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] doesn't rely on you picking up ammo in the traditional sense to keep you going.

You can pick up ammo by performing movement actions (sliding, dashing, wall jumping), which also lets you pick up blood splattered around the level. This restores your ammo and is key to surviving. Every enemy you kill can leave you with some useful resources for the next fight. Rather than just killing an enemy and moving on, ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] encourages you to use the enemy as a resource for the next fight.

The weapon system also supports this aggressive playstyle. You start with a knife that lets you dash quickly and close the gap; as you progress, you gain access to a range of other weapons that offer different ways to deal damage. The machine gun lets you fire continuously and is ideal when you're up against several enemies; the shotgun is obviously better at close-range damage. The knife doesn't become irrelevant as you progress, though.

The game gives the knife a new role through its weakened-enemy finisher.

You can shoot an enemy to weaken them, then finish them off with a knife attack instead of wasting more bullets. That's a nice balance between ranged and close-quarters aggression. The blood system is even more crucial in how it affects your weapons and your character. Defeated enemies leave blood on nearby surfaces, creating pools you can absorb for both health and ammo.

Standing in a pool of blood also triggers the Altered state, letting you pass through certain grates and prison bars and boosting your weapons' power. This makes environmental awareness and positioning a massive factor in combat. You're not simply looking for the safest place to stand; you're looking for the best place to defeat enemies so you can use their blood to reach the next objective.

If you need to restore health, you need to be creating blood. If you need to get to a hidden passage, you may well need to trigger your Altered state first. You end up with a complete combat loop where your attack, your movement, and your resource management are all interlinked. This is one of ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+]'s most distinctive features.

Another interesting facet is how enemy positioning affects blood's utility. The direction of incoming attacks and where your targets will be dictate where the blood spreads around the environment. Positioning, therefore, matters more than simply being close to the enemy. You have to know where fights will happen and how to use surrounding surfaces as a resource.

The enemy will burst when they're down and leave behind more blood, which you can use to top up your blood as you keep fighting.

The aftermath of every encounter becomes a big part of the battlefield, rather than something that goes away. The altered weapon mechanics give you another reason to try out different approaches. Each weapon has a different relationship to blood and movement, and that relationship changes when you're in the Altered state. That alone opens up a whole raft of options beyond picking a gun based on damage.

The machine gun and shotgun already have very different roles in combat. Still, each weapon's altered effects encourage you to think about how environmental resources can affect your weapon. With ammo being so limited, it's all about knowing when to use a particular weapon and when to go for a knife attack to keep the momentum going. There's a lot of room for experimentation as more weapons and mechanics are added during Early Access.

Platforming is also a huge factor in the experience. Wall jumping, sliding, and dashing aren't just for looks. They're all tied into ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+]'s resource economy and combat. Moving around the environment lets you absorb blood as you set yourself up for the next shot. That gives you a real reason to find alternative routes through each arena rather than treating it as a basic shooting gallery.

The movement system is very much in the vein of the fast FPSs from the Doom and Quake era, and the marriage of platforming with the blood system gives ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] its own distinct identity. The same design philosophy that makes the game so engaging can also be a learning curve for the uninitiated. Players new to movement-based shooters will find it hard to combine several actions on the move, track enemies, and manage the very limited ammo you'll have.

To be aggressive isn't just about running at everything you see.

You have to learn when to slide, when to jump, when to use a dash attack, and when to switch weapons. The game is designed so you learn these things through practice, and players who prefer a more measured form of combat are likely to find the pace a bit much. That said, difficulty is part of ALTEREDBLOOD+'s DNA, and the developers will have to walk a fine line between challenging experienced players and keeping the mechanics at least somewhat accessible to newcomers.

The visual presentation goes a long way to defining the game's character. ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] uses a vibrant aesthetic with distinctive environments and character designs, juxtaposed against the violent results of its combat. Blood isn't just a bloody effect to make things look more intense. It's a fundamental part of the experience, soaking the floors and walls and telling you exactly where your resources are.

It's a very important part of the environment, and it's very much a part of the action. The contrast between the bright, colorful presentation and the graphic combat gives the game a unique visual identity that works so well in the sci-fi setting. The Early Access release is key to understanding what ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] offers right now.

Trueworld Studios has made it clear that community playtesting has been absolutely vital in balancing the movement and combat systems. They intend to continue this process throughout development, using community feedback to tune existing systems and expand the experience. The initial Early Access release will feature story episodes, missions, a hub world, Gravekeeper wave survival arenas, weapons, enemies, a chapter boss, character customization, and online leaderboards.

That said, the studio has also confirmed that some story content and secrets are still to be completed, and that it will add more content through future updates.

The roadmap gives a much clearer indication of what the studio aims to deliver before 1.0 (currently targeted for late 2027). The full version will include the full suite of story missions, additional Gravekeeper levels, more weapons, tweaked weapon mechanics, new enemy types, and so on. Localization, improved accessibility options, and a host of quality-of-life improvements are also on the cards.

The price will be incrementally increased as more content and features are added. That makes the current version more appealing to players who want to follow an indie game's journey rather than those looking for a fully fleshed-out experience from day one. Community involvement is another positive aspect of the plan. Players can join Steam playtests and submit suggestions via the official Discord server.

Those who don't want to use Discord can also submit feedback anonymously via other channels. This gives the studio several avenues to gather feedback and identify areas that need work. For a movement-based game where small changes can have a massive impact on the feel, feedback from a variety of players could be very useful. Nevertheless, Early Access means some of the experience is still very much unfinished.

More story content, more enemies, more weapons, and more survival levels are still to come. Several features are also still being ironed out. You shouldn't be expecting the same amount of content or narrative completeness as you would from a full-price release. The team has been very open about their plans, but this approach's success will ultimately depend on how well they keep delivering useful updates and respond to feedback.

Overall, ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] has a clear central concept: integrating movement, combat, and resource management into one system. The blood mechanics give every fight a reason beyond just killing the enemy, and the movement is so aggressive you're encouraged to try all sorts of ways to get around each map. The setting and visual presentation are strong in their own right, and ALTEREDBLOOD+ will stand out in the FPS field.

It's still in Early Access, so there's obviously still content and features in the works, but Trueworld Studios has a clear direction. For the more movement-focused FPS fan who wants to learn a fairly complex combat system, ALTEREDBLOOD+ [AB+] is a compelling foundation.