Super Blood Hockey – Review (Switch)

By Phil Neyman Last updated Apr 29, 2019

Remember when you could make Gretzky bleed from his head in some of the older NHL video games? Well, you’re not alone. The developers behind Super Blood Hockey took that concept and ramped it up to eleven.

To write Super Blood Hockey off as a modern take on the 8 and 16-bit hockey area would be doing the game an injustice. With simple gameplay and graphics leading the way, it’s easy to make that assumption right off the bat. But the game actually has a lot of depth to it.

Anyone that has played an arcade hockey game will be able to pick up the controller and play right away. Controls consist of shooting, passing and hitting your opponent as often as you can. Fighting has always been a huge part of hockey but here it takes center stage. Fights will break out on the ice and the entire team is involved. Win by knocking down every player on the opposite team. Though penalties don’t exist in this world, sometimes injuries and even death can knock your players out of the game. The losing team during the fight usually gets hit the hardest. A player will labor on the ice with their injuries until they are healed enough to return to action. They never leave the ice and it can be quite comical watching them slide around with blood squirting out all over the place. That’s if they were lucky enough to survive their injuries. Not since The Oregon Trail have characters died from such strange afflictions. The first time I lost a player on the ice it was due to liquefying triceps. You do not want to go out like that. When this happens, the player stays on the ice throughout the game and you have to play around their rotting corpse.

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Where the game really finds depth is in the many different modes that they offer – with Exhibition, Tournament and Franchise mode being the highlights.

Franchise mode is wild. You enter a new team into the league and find yourself a little short on cash. Have no fear all they need is one of your kidneys and you’re in. After surviving the operation you are then tasked with putting your team together. This consists of purchasing prison inmates to round out your roster. The nice thing about inmates is they are expendable. If they die on the ice you can simply get a new one (providing you have the funds available).

Franchise mode is deep. You have to manage your players’ diet, workout routine, and sleep in order to keep them and their brain in tip top shape so that they can continue to play for you. Winning is a must and you must replenish your available cash or in time you won’t be able to feed your players – causing the body count to rise.

Franchise mode takes a fairly simple game and really adds depth to it that you have to play to believe.

As mentioned earlier, the game looks and sounds like it belongs on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. Some feel like that was the heyday for sports games like this and after a few matches you’ll be humming the music without even noticing.

Recommendation: Super Blood Hockey feels right at home on the Switch. Fans of old school hockey games and sports simulators will love the simplicity and depth that the game has to offer. With a price point of $14.99 there is a lot of game to dig into so we definitely recommend giving it a shot.