What is it? Nidhogg creators take on the 'bullet heaven' or Survivors-like roguelite
Release date August 26, 2026
Expect to pay TBC
Developer Messhof
Publisher Messhof
Reviewed on RTX 3060 (laptop), Ryzen 5 5600H, 16GB RAM
Steam Deck Officially "unknown", but works great
Link Steam

Blood Dungeon adheres rigidly to the autoshooter or 'bullet heaven' format: it's about moving around a scrolling arena auto-gushing projectiles that turn a steadily increasing horde of enemies into XP. Every level up grants a choice between two or three randomised perks or improvements, steadily turning the player into a blur of pulsating DMG-emitting fireworks. Rounds are usually over in less than ten minutes.

I loved Vampire Survivors but then I got over it. I've never been gripped by any of the clones. But Blood Dungeon has some appealing bullet points going for it: it transforms the commonly top-down autoshooter into a sidescrolling platformer. At a glance, it looks more like Spelunky than it does Brotato or Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.

The presentation is more appealing than your average bullet heaven fare too: Blood Dungeon is the work of Nidhogg studio Messhof and their distinctively globular 2D art style is a perfect fit for precision-oriented action. Animations in particular are often brilliant, and the music—which its creator Matthew Hoey aptly describes as dungeon drum 'n' bass—is simultaneously madcap and hypnotic.

There's no denying Blood Dungeon is a sleek, well-wrought take on this modern subgenre. It's probably among the best examples of it. But as the hours I spent with it wore on it started to feel exquisitely meaningless.

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