Developed by 24 Entertainment Lin’an and published by the innumerably wealthy NetEase, Blood Message appears to be reaching for something more specific: a grounded, cinematic take on action-adventure that favours weight, desperation, and immersion over mechanical complexity. If this early look is anything to go by, the game appears less about what you can do, and more about how convincingly it’ll make you feel throughout every perilous step.

Set in the late Tang Dynasty in 848 AD, Blood Message frames its story around a nameless messenger tasked with delivering a fateful communication across a treacherous, thousand mile-long landscape. Watching the Official Story Intro preview which premiered at Summer Games Fest, Blood Message immediately grounds you in its specific history, showcasing cultural and environmental texture of the era, from war-torn settlements to harsh deserts and vast wildernesses stretching across East and Central Asia.

There are personal stakes to our messenger’s mission too – reuniting with and protecting his son – giving his journey an emotional weight beyond securing the future of his homeland.

Crucially, though, Blood Message isn’t a stylised, Wuxia-infused take on this period. Instead, the overriding experience draws from history rather than embellishing it with fantasy. And in doing so, its narrative themes match the action’s grounded tone.

Yet, despite this groundedness, Blood Message’s cinematics sell an illusion. See, at a glance, exploration treads familiar paths – squeeze-through gaps, leg-ups, contextual traversal – feeling instantly recognisable to anyone who’s spent time with Uncharted or The Last of Us. But Blood Message distinguishes itself from Naughty Dog’s output in how its cameras frame exploration. It’s rarely static, instead responding to and shifting with movement and character proximity in a way that evokes a handheld intimacy rather than a traditional cinematic perspective.

And this approach to camerawork pays off in smaller, easily missable details. In one early moment of the gameplay reveal, our protagonist drops to a knee following a surprise encounter. The camera pushes in close, hovering for a brief pause as danger emerges ahead. It only lasts a few seconds, and it may appear like simple direction, but this vanguard style underlines something remarkable – whilst these moments are undoubtedly choreographed, the camerawork makes them feel improvised. Capturing the rawness and minutiae as it happens, Blood Message’s presentation is paradoxical; every frame is meaningfully composed, yet seeming without a thought to composition at all.

And this paradox feeds into the game’s combat too, which appears systemically dense on first read but plays out stragglingly, forcing an element of improvisation which mirrors the unsteady cameras. You’ve access to the usual core manoeuvres: light and heavy attacks, dodges, blocks, parries, and counters, and while not mechanically novel, intrigue comes in laboured movement and animation variety.

In the gameplay reveal’s first multi-man skirmish, our protagonist is knocked off balance after parrying; the consequence, it seems, of having his feet unset following a brutal takedown. Executions are visceral, diverse, and dynamic, our protagonist plunging his blade into chests, slicing limbs, and breaking necks without hesitation. In one specifically grisly execution, our protagonist is interrupted mid-strike, with an extra on-screen input prompting you to continue his killing action. See, even the most conclusive actions can present strong reactions, and this is one of Blood Message’s standout combat features, demanding constant situational awareness.

Enemies won’t necessarily wait for you to finish off their ally either, swinging into the fray to create two-on-one pressure. Another one of the gameplay reveal’s emergent moments comes in a second, more chaotic fight. As our protagonist grapples an assailant, his comrade impatiently steps in, accidentally sinking a blade into his ally’s bicep.

The environment plays a role in how battles play out, too. Clay pots can smash an opponent’s face, enemies can be hoofed into storage shelves which then shatter and collapse around them, and troughs can be used as pools for disorientating opponents, dunking their head underwater before landing the killing blow.

And when the bout is over, our protagonist shows fatigue. He’s not a superhero, nor mage or acrobat, but a regular soldier thrust into a vulnerable situation, and the toll shows in his laboured movement. Fights aren’t necessarily about maintaining momentum, but grit and determination.

Between battle arenas, however, are stealth sections, and these follow the standard tropes too: tall grass, dark shadows, silent takedowns, including an Assassin’s Creed-like aerial assault. You’re likely familiar with Blood Message’s subterfuge stylings already, but there is a distinction found once-again in presentation. See, the gameplay reveal’s stealth sections showcase numerous takedown animations, and it’s here, away from multi-enemy chaos, that a question arises: how are these animations assigned? Are they contextual, systems-driven, chosen by proximity and direction of approach, or completely random?

"He’s not a superhero, nor mage or acrobat, but a regular soldier thrust into a vulnerable situation, and the toll shows in his laboured movement."

It’s an interesting thought, sure, but the bottom line is this level of variety prevents the stealth sections from feeling too formulaic, at least during the footage’s 19-minute runtime. Another differentiator, perhaps, are environmental triggers, and we see two in the gameplay reveal: a flock of birds who alert a guard when disturbed, and a caged dog which draws an enemy’s attention as our protagonist passes its line of sight. The takeaway here, then, is that Blood Message’s stealth isn’t just about remaining invisible but maintaining situational awareness.

If you’ve any doubt Blood Message is a cinema-first experience, the reveal’s closing set-piece chase should convince you. Mechanically, the sequence can be broken down into a series of jumps, vaults, and QTEs, with lots of running in-between. The transition between gameplay and scripted events is seamless, lending the feeling of playing a movie over interacting with a defined system. The low input complexity ensures the chase’s dynamic design – the collapsing structures, clinging on by fingertips, leaping from rooftops – is meant to be experienced in one go, first time, rather than a sequence to be memorised and mastered. Combat and exploration aren’t quite as basic, but they share the same philosophy.

Visually, Blood Message impresses through texture and detail as much as spectacle. Weathered brickwork, worn fabrics, and dirt-streaked skin all carry a tangible sense of place, reinforced by enveloping illumination. Sound design follows suit, with subtle notes, like the countless creaks of aging wood, adding to the tactile immersion. And voice acting, despite the language barrier for English speakers, reinforces the game’s grounded tone, where feelings of confidence and desperation transcend borders.

While reaction is indeed positive, there is some criticism levied against Blood Message’s simplicity, with its over-familiarity luring it closely to Naughty Dog’s established formula. But there is a key question you can ask at this juncture: does simplicity matter when the story and execution are on point?

Look – while broader narrative details are currently unknown, Blood Message’s ‘cinematic-first, systems-second’ approach could deliver something genuinely special. Combat is visceral yet it isn’t deep, stealth is familiar but reactive, and set-pieces are guided and thrilling. The game is set to bring a cohesive cinematic vision where player expression takes a backseat for grounded action. Again, it’s less about what you can do, but more about how you feel when doing it.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The gameplay walkthrough for Blood Message showcases a mix of story moments and gameplay. Starting off with the protagonist – Pei Changguan – seemingly investigating what appears to be an abandoned store alongside another character named Arrtai. As the two walk around the building to figure out what happened, the visual fidelity of Blood Message becomes quite evident, especially when the protagonist picks up an embroidered cloth, with its 3D detailing being easily visible.

Things pick up quickly when the two characters have to run through other buildings to chase down a potential suspect. Eventually, Pei is ambushed by a Tubo soldier, and we finally get to see some action. While essentially kicking things off with a quick-time event, we then get to see the hack-and-slash combat, with Pei scrambling to make sure that his attackers are dealt with while also trying to keep Arrtai alive.

While not too much has been revealed about the combat system, it looks like Pei will be quite a versatile fighter, being able to use a sword as well as his fists as part of the same long combo. Along with this, he is also able to use his environment to his advantage, and in one instance, drowns one of the attacking soldiers in a tub full of water.

The two characters than resort to sneaking around to avoid more conflict, while still continuing their investigation. Through this, we get to see that Blood Message will also feature a stealth system of sorts, and players will even be able to sneak up on enemy soldiers and quickly take them out without raising any alarms.

Eventually, however, as many games tend to do, Blood Message gets back into its fast-paced action, with Arrtai being a more active participant this time around and not needing any saving. The hack-and-slash combat of Blood Message looks like it will largely be based around countering enemy attacks with parries while still keeping up with your own flurry of attacks.

NetEase has confirmed that players will have access to light and heavy attacks, along with defensive options like dodging, blocking, parrying, and countering. Downed enemies can be swiftly taken out with an execution to get them out of the battle as quickly as possible.

The video walkthrough culminates with Pei having learned that the person he was tracking has set off to another place, and he ultimately decides to grab his weapons and gear to set off on his own journey.

Blood Message was originally unveiled back in June 2025. More recently, the title got a trailer over the weekend, giving us our first glimpse at its main story that will revolve around a massive journey towards the east.

Along with the narrative setup, the reveal trailer for Blood Message also gives us a look at some of its fast-paced hack-and-slash gameplay, which seems to have a heavy emphasis on making sure weapons feel weighty. The title will also seemingly focus on large-scale battles, with players being thrown in the thick of it, having to take on hordes of enemy soldiers during battles.

Along with standard swordfights, Blood Message will seemingly also allow you to, at least temporarily, play as other characters that have their own unique weapons and movesets. The action as a whole is also quite violent, with plenty of blood and dismemberment showcased throughout the action-packed trailer.

NetEase has confirmed neither the release window nor the platforms for Blood Message. However, the company has confirmed that a playable demo of the title is available during Summer Game Fest’s Play Days, starting from tomorrow onwards. Considering the visual fidelity, however, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see it arrive on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Blood Message was first unveiled all the way back in June 2025. At the time, NetEase Games had noted that it would be its first foray into single-player games, since the company is typically more focused on multiplayer releases like Marvel Rivals.

If you’ve missed this one, it’s set after the fall of the Tang Dynasty in a visually gritty world in which you’re a nameless messenger who must travel the lands on your mission, fending off enemies and environmental obstacles alike in your quest to fulfill your goals. It brings a healthy mix of fast-paced combat, sneaky stealth, parkour-based traversal, and a cinematic story that might just have you glued to your screens thanks to how well it’s all presented in its trailer.

It’s shaping up to bring a healthy balance between style and substance to PCs and consoles, and is definitely a title that we’re going to try out as soon as we can get our hands on it. We’re already gearing up for the event, and you can be sure that we’re going to be telling you more about Blood Message as soon as we see more of it in action, so stay tuned!

https://x.com/geoffkeighley/status/2061251388894503048

Black Myth: Zhong Kui 

Black Myth: Wukong was one of the biggest surprise hits of recent memory, but developer Game Science has ensured that it has more games in the pipeline. Much like how Wukong took players to amazing worlds and made them face against awesome bosses, Zhong Kui is all set to take things up a notch above its predecessor. We don’t really know much about the game at this point in time, but it’s going to be a fast-paced adventure with plenty of boss fights and picturesque vistas. There is no release period announced yet.

Blood Message has been described as being a story-driven, cinematic game with linear levels. NetEase Games also notes that it will be the company’s first foray into a completely single-player experience, rather than its traditional multiplayer outings like Marvel Rivals.

“We are ushering players into a new generation of high adventure with Blood Message,” said lead producer and executive vice president Zhipeng Hu in the press release announcing the title. “As our first completely single-player focused experience from NetEase Games, after two decades of deep dedication to the gaming industry, we are prepared to deliver a truly epic and cinematic experience for players around the world.”

The trailer leans quite hard into the cinematic side of things, giving us a brief idea of the title’s main setting and story setup. Going by the trailer, it looks like Blood Message will largely take place after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, leaving even the Silk Road in disarray. Some of the tension behind the story revolves around another faction fighting to bring the Tang Dynasty back.

While the trailer doesn’t focus too much on gameplay – the little bit shown was lacking any sort of HUD – it does look like Blood Message will involve a mix of action, stealth, parkour-styled foot chases and even Assassin’s Creed-styled takedowns. Then there’s the raw visual fidelity, which looks impressive.

According to the main description of the game provided by the press release, Blood Message will have players step into the shoes of a nameless messenger who must set off on a thousand-mile journey to the heart of the Tang Empire. Along the way, players will have to deal with enemies as well as environmental obstacles across the vast deserts and wilderness areas of East and Central Asia.