The game knowingly toys with your toolkit in later episodes, piling on water levels in which, A) beasts roam faster than you, B) surface enemies can fall in, survive, and still open fire, and C) fireworks are useless.

Cruel? Yes! But you're a tricky guy, you can figure something out!

Your arsenal is fairly unconventional, which lends to a lot of unique encounters and problem solving.

Later weapons are more elaborate but they all pack a punch, proving invaluable in a pinch. The Voodoo Doll hits enemies from any distance so long as it's within its sights, great for sniping.

Blood encourages this type of clutch setplay via Caleb's agility. How clever you move to avoid and herd enemies really pays off in later levels where ammo is scarce.

So yes, enemy reaction time is greatly stacked against you, but the idea is not always to jump in guns blazing (although it is fun).

Blood is primarily about throwing dynamite. Why? Enemies can reduce almost all your health instantly on sight, so projectiles and traps that circumvent direct combat are often preferred.

But ofc the flipside is your position. Constant movement, ducking, and jumping, is as paramount as your offence.

This honestly might as well be a corner combo

One last "wind" for the road

Real '2005-era screenshot Let's Play forum thread' hours up in here! 📝👀

I think Zelda 1 Link's kit is fun to work with. There's meaningful play in almost all ranges due to projectiles and Link interacting only in his faced direction. Poking safely, blocking attacks and trying to move safely are all interesting, since enemies shoot and move in tandem, or erratically.