DaRmaZat Captain Blood is an action-heavy pirate adventure with roots dating back to the original Xbox era, somehow resurrected after years of cancellations and quiet whispers across the high seas of game development hell. Finally surfacing in 2025 on modern platforms through the efforts of Seawolf Studio, General Arcade, and publisher SNEG, it arrives as a time capsule—complete with all the quirks and curiosities of its long slumber.
In classic pulp style, the game opens in the Caribbean during the 17th century, where English nobleman Weldon Langford is ambushed at sea by the fearsome Jack Easterling, who promptly kidnaps Langford’s daughter Lorain. From there, we cut to Port Royal, where the pirate captain Peter Blood and his eccentric sidekick Walt dine in a tavern and discuss war, profit, and mischief, only to be interrupted by a violent Spanish raid. It’s pulpy, cartoonish, and gloriously excessive, drawing from every swashbuckling trope imaginable—and it works, at least initially.
Arcade-Style Combat With Pirate Flair
Combat is at the heart of Captain Blood, and it comes with a certain old-school flair. Swords clash with satisfying thuds, grenades can be lobbed into enemy clusters, and there’s a rudimentary gunshot mechanic tied to cooldowns. A special rage state adds extra flair during combat, and execution moves allow for stylish finishing attacks. There’s no enemy lock-on system, which occasionally makes the action feel chaotic, but there is a functional dodge roll and block to balance things out. The adrenaline meter and gear upgrades hint at deeper systems that never fully mature—yet the potential is there.
Boss fights add spectacle, with powerful enemies who only become vulnerable after triggering specific events or exhausting them into submission. Some of these encounters demand environmental interaction or deal with phases, during which fresh waves of enemies intrude, upping the chaos. Despite the repetition, there’s an arcade-like sensibility in its fast pace and waves of foes, evoking something between an early 3D hack ‘n slash and a pirate-themed beat-’em-up.
Plunder and Blunder
Outside of the main character, players occasionally take control of Walt, often in missions that recycle previously seen areas. These sequences feel like padding rather than novelty, especially since Walt doesn’t benefit from the same upgrade paths. The game includes an in-game shop where you can buy upgrades, combos, and finishers using gold gathered from fallen enemies or chests—of which there are plenty.
Captain Blood’s visuals are a mixed bag. Cutscenes lean into theatrical framing and colorful presentation, and environments like storm-tossed decks or cannon-lit ports offer strong atmosphere. However, the game’s fixed camera doesn’t always serve the frantic melee well, and graphical options are sparse on PC. Occasionally, lip-sync issues or stuttery animations show the seams of a game cobbled together across decades of limbo.
Off Target and Overboard
Despite a range of difficulty levels, Captain Blood is far from an easy game too. Controls feel quirky, with input responsiveness that can be hit or miss, especially during frantic mob fights. Meanwhile, riflemen armed with guns tend to be more frustrating than fun, disrupting the flow from a distance while your melee swings miss them by inches. Heavy enemies, meanwhile, feel like sponges, rarely reacting to your attacks and instead soaking up damage until a finisher becomes available.
Deck battles, in particular, aim for grand set-pieces but often miss the mark. With cannon fire erupting and waves of soldiers pouring in, you’re tasked with racing between cannons while avoiding constant attacks. These sequences drag and frustrate more than they excite, especially with questionable hit detection and limited invincibility frames during dodges.
Final Thoughts
What holds Captain Blood back from greatness is its inability to unify its many ideas. Story segments often suffer from dry delivery, while playing as Walt feels underdeveloped compared to Peter. And yet, for all its technical stumbles and aged design choices, there’s a raw charm to Captain Blood. The musical score, bursting with piratey flair and foot-tapping tavern tunes, sticks with you. Walt’s oddball animations and dancing lend a slapstick edge. And at its best—when you’re carving through foes in a downpour, landing the perfect shot to sink a giant vessel, or unleashing an execution move right as the music peaks—the game truly finds its groove. It’s not as deep as the ocean, nor as polished as a gleaming cutlass, but it revels in the sheer fun of being a pirate—or more accurately, a privateer.
Additional Information
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: Seawolf Studio, General Arcade
Publisher: SNEG
Relevant Links: Captain Blood on Steam | Captain Blood on Xbox Store
