When I was little, I used to play a soccer game on the NES. I remember it vividly because you could kick around the other players with quite a bit of violence. When I googled my childhood memories, I found out it was the Nintendo World Cup for the NES, a localization of Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: Soccer on its own. Well, Super Bloody Hockey fits the same style of gameplay as the NES game from my childhood. Instead of using a ball, we’re going to kick out teeth with a puck.
Hockey vs. Hockey
Hockey isn’t that big in the Netherlands, at least when we’re talking about hockey on ice. In the Netherlands, hockey on a grass playing-field is huge, and we’re quite good at it (not me personally). It’s a little less rough and less.. American (even though the game is developed in Finland). In a way. Luckily we have the world wide web, and we can watch hocket in all it’s formats on TV since the Scandinavian countries are also competing in the known tournaments (including the Olympic Winter Games).
I don’t want to call myself a jock. I used to participate in Judo (both as participant and referee) until an injury messed up my right shoulder. So when I play sports games, it’s digital, and if you’re looking for a shot of pure adrenaline, Super Blood Hockey got you covered. It’s a violent homage to classic 8- and 16-bit ice hockey games. Time to customize your line-up and take to the ice, using fast-paced skills and bone-crunching brutality to dominate.
Super Bloody Hockey
For those unfamiliar with hockey’s rules, they included a family-friendly tutorial. You get a rundown by a certain, mustached man who looks a lot like a certain Ron from a certain industry. He teaches you the basics of the game, which are pretty good to follow for someone who doesn’t play NHL regularly. Once you get the hang of the gameplay, it’s time to Prove your hockey prowess in a deadly global tournament or against friends in 4-player local multiplayer. Build and manage your own squad in Franchise Mode – with the right diet and performance-enhancing drugs; your team can be season champions!
And it’s called Super Bloody Hockey for a reason. You can settle games by scoring points (duh) or kicking the bedazzles out of your opponent. If you manage to start a fight, which is harder than you might think, it’s time to knock all the opposing team players to the ground (ice?). If you manage to do so, you’ll get a small power boost since one of the opposing team players will be out of the game temporarily. If you fail to win the fight, it’s the other way around, so be sure to pick your battles.
Conclusion
So to conclude, Super Bloody Hockey is a fun retro-styled arcade sports game, which will find the audience, I’m sure about that. The graphics look straight out of the 90s; it runs like a charm on the Switch and can even be enjoyed by those who are no hockey pros. The Franchise mode was a little tough for me since I don’t feel with the hockey set, but for seasoned veterans and fans of the sport, this will be like Football Manager (but in retro style). And if you want a physical edition of a digital version, you can get that one right here.
