The easiest way to grind this trophy is to play Exhibition mode. Set the difficulty to easy and period length to 1 minute. Score one goal and then skate around with your fastest player to run out the clock of each. Arcade sports gaming gets a shot of adrenaline in Super Blood Hockey, a violent homage to classic 8- and 16-bit ice hockey games. Customize your line-up and take to the ice, using fast-paced skills and bone-crunching brutality to dominate.Prove your hockey prowess in a deadly global tournament or against friends in 4-player local multiplayer.
Every week, PHT will spotlight hockey video games you might not have heard of. Previously, that meant looking back at games that are now largely inaccessible. This week’s edition, on the other hand, can be found in many spots: “Super Blood Hockey.”
As we look back at old and very old arcade-style hockey games, it’s almost inevitable to wallow in the sadder elements of nostalgia. Why can’t current games capture those good old days?
Well, games like “Super Blood Hockey” aim to do just that. After spending some time with the Switch version of the game, I think solo developer Loren Lemcke’s aim ended up being mostly on.
“Super Blood Hockey” is an evolution (and devolution) of NES “Ice Hockey”
Earlier in this series, we looked at the NES classic “Ice Hockey,” which originally released around 1988. Thanks to the Nintendo Switch’s SNES emulator (available with Switch Online), you can toggle between “Ice Hockey” and “Super Blood Hockey” on the same device.
Of course, it really might come down to letting your kids play “Ice Hockey,” but not “Super Blood Hockey.”
On one hand, SBH carries a lot of the same spirit of that Nintendo classic. There are “fat, skinny, normal” players, with the skinnier being more elusive, and the “fat” being tougher to knock off the puck than vintage Eric Lindros. Much like “Ice Hockey,” “Super Blood Hockey” only involves four skaters and a goalie, rather than the NHL standard.
Fights definitely play a role in the game, as much like in classic titles, the team that wins a fight — actually a wild line brawl — goes up one player. In fact, as I learned earlier today in researching the game a bit more, you can also go up four skaters to one.
A meaty and gory franchise mode
The not-so-family friendly stuff boils down to the gore, and the dark gallows humor of the franchise mode.
Rather than a dry GM mode setup such as games like “NHL 20,” you begin the “Super Blood Hockey” version by … giving up a kidney to afford your team?
© Provided by NBC Sports via Super Blood HockeyWhen you lose a fight, you don’t just essentially go on the penalty kill. You also risk being “down a man” in a dark way. Like, say, losing your best player “Ryan Bretzel.”
© Provided by NBC Sports via Super Blood HockeyThe game’s lack of an NHL or NHLPA license means that you get some fun names (Adam “Pates,” huh?) and the game can go down some literal dark alleys with drug use.
When it comes to the humor, your results will vary. As someone who worries that players might be put at risk to return to play, there’s some catharsis in the satire of “Super Blood Hockey,” though. The tone generally works for me, possibly thanks to the throwback pixel art.
© Provided by NBC Sports Players are inmates in this dark franchise mode. (via Super Blood Hockey)
In a May 2019 interview with Nintendojo, “Super Blood Hockey” developer Loren Lemcke explained the tone of the game:
The omnipresent evil of profit-motive haunts the US Healthcare system and poisons our compassion by injecting into us the necessary machinery to dehumanize others. One doesn’t have to dig very deep to discover a terrifying crypt of nightmarish and surreal ordeals inflicted upon the sick and dying in the name of profit. Super Blood Hockey is a mere cartoonish effigy of the very real kafkaesque horrors levied upon the poor.
(How many other sports video game franchise modes inspire use of the term “kafkaesque?” OK, beyond the microtransactions in the NBA2K series.)
Ultimately, “Super Blood Hockey” follows its retro roots as being a fairly stripped-down game. You won’t play 20+ seasons in this franchise mode, seeing Connor McDavid and Jack Hughes retire along the way.
Yet there’s a lot to like. I’m not sure how much of a difference it really makes when I tell my little pixely players to rest vs. hit the gym, but it’s fun to tweak their stats.
An impressive effort could be just a bit better with more resources
If you follow indie video games, you realize that small teams, sometimes basically one person, can sometimes will a game into existence. Sometimes that comes down to making the types of games that don’t get made any longer.
People craved another “Harvest Moon” game, so largely solo developer Eric Barone accomplished his own take on the series with “Stardew Valley.” That game became a smash hit, and Lemcke’s enjoyed his own success while making “Super Blood Hockey” an evolution and devolution of NES “Ice Hockey.”
Now, sure, there are beefs.
Above all else, it would be wonderful to be able to play games online. What better way to keep in touch with friends than to take advantage of their teams being down 4-on-2 thanks to lost fights?
And, while I’d argue that the game plays well, there can be some maddening moments. Sometimes it’s just flat-out frustrating trying to score against Pong-inspired goalies.
© Provided by NBC Sports Bretzel’s sacrifice? Yeah, kind of in vain. (via Super Blood Hockey)But with a fantastic retro soundtrack and look, and some fun gameplay, “Super Blood Hockey” could be a nice fit for those wanting an old-school hockey game. It’s often pretty cheap and on many platforms, from the Nintendo Switch to PC, to XBox One and Playstation 4.
As far as what’s next for Lemcke, well, I might need to check out his other project. If you’re of a certain age, you also have fond memories of the “Rampage” arcade games. It looks like Lemcke shared such memories, because check out “Terror of Hemasaurus.”
That looks like it might be worthy of its own movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, to be honest.
PHT remembers other hockey video games:
- Tony Abbott (@OhHiTony ) shares his memories of NHL Hitz 2003.
- NHL Championship 2000, Fox’s rare foray into hockey video games, starring Mike Modano.
- NHL Slapshot, a Wii video game with Wayne Gretzky and a small plastic hockey stick peripheral.
- EA’s NHL ’98, when the company hit its polygonal stride, and also featured a great soundtrack (ironically and unironically?).
- An ode to the NHL 2K series, which challenged and sometimes surpassed EA’s popular entries.
- Who needs Tecmo Super Bowl when you can have Tecmo Super Hockey? (You might want to stick with Tecmo Super Bowl.)
- “Ice Hockey” makes a fat, skinny, normal impact on the Nintendo NES.
- Looking back at hockey video games on the Nintendo 64.
- Bone up on Bones Jackson & Co. in “Mutant League Hockey.”
- “Get the pass (?)” with this retrospective on “Blades of Steel.”
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James O’Brien is a writer forPro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.
PHT reviews hockey video games: ‘Super Blood Hockey,’ a gory good time originally appeared on NBCSports.com
Some new players, myself included, have problems winning scoring goals or winning games at all. This guide will give some tips to new players on better ways to play.
Goalie
If you're a hockey fan, throw out everything you know about goalies and how they work when playing this game. It's better to think of the goalie as a small, animated pong paddle than an actual goalie. Any shot that hits the goalie's hitbox will be blocked. So, no matter how many times you shoot at the goalie, he will make every save.
Some other things to keep in mind with the goalie is he's the only character that can't be hit (unless you count the Zamboni). He can, and will, check everyone else, though. Even his own teammates. Best to stay clear of both goalies no matter what side you're on. The goalie will also never cover the puck... or play the puck at all.
When first starting, it may seem impossible to make goals. But, by using the other team's defense (or lack of) against themselves, you can start making more goals.
Offense
Once you gain control of the puck in either your ice or neutral ice, the both teams will make a rush to the opposing team's goal (except for one player who will chase you).
This is both handy and irritating, depending on what side you're on. The best thing to do is play keep-away until you reach opposing ice, either by carrying the puck along the boards or passing to open players. Generally, from what I've seen, the puckholder is ignored until you reach enemy ice except by the chasing player.
Once you reach enemy ice, it gets a little more tricky. Like stated above, this isn't a normal goalie you're facing. You've got to get around him to make a goal while avoiding being checked by the enemy team.
Fortunately for you, there isn't much of a concept of defense (formations, tactics, etc.). Which can often leave the goalie by himself, like this:
In real hockey, this is the worst possible scenario for a goalie. But, because this isn't a normal goalie, we've still got to get around his hitbox to make a goal.
There are about three ways to do this:
- One-Timer
- Rebounding shot
- Sniper shots
One-Timers
Basically, shooting the puck around the goalie:
To do this, you have to wait until your teammate is in an open position. Once the goalie is out of position, quickly pass the puck to the open teammate and immediately fire into the unblocked portion of the goal.
You can note that, as soon as you shoot the puck (either to pass or shoot) the goalie immediatly drops to make a save:
This further opens the goal for one-timers as the goalie is down and out of position to block your other teammate.
Rebound Shots
Sort of what it sounds like: you take a shot at goal, which bounces off the goalie, only to follow it up with another immediate shot, either by the same or different player. This is more tricky to pull off. This is a good idea when you can't set up a one timer because your passing lane is blocked. This shot requires pretty quick reflexes as you have to make sure that you regain posession of the puck immediately after the first shot. The goalie will slide towards the other goalpost after blocking the shot. Your best bet is to then immediately shoot the puck at or near the opposite goal post.
Super Blood Hockey Online
Sniper Shots
Probably the hardest to pull off. This is a one-man shot that gets around the goalie. Because the goalie's hitbox and speed are limited, it is possible to shoot a puck near the goalposts and have it go in (or deflect off the goalposts into the goal). In my experience, this is really only successful when using the the 'sniper' class. But, using this class leaves you more vulnerable to being checked and losing puck posession.
Defense
Puck posession is what's important in real hockey and this game. The enemy team will get puck posession, either by checking your puck-holder, winning faceoffs, or intercepting your passes. As stated above, there isn't much of a concept of defense. That also applies to you. Just like the enemy team, once the opposing team gains puck-posession, your entire team will rush to your goal.
Ideally, in real hockey and this game, keeping the puck in the enemy's territory is a top priority. If you lose posession in enemy ice, a good idea is to try and attack the puck-holder. Switching to a player close to the enemy puck-holder and checking him will often gain you puck possession.
A note on checking: Be careful when checking larger players. Right now, the game seems to be set up so that around 6-7 checks in a row to a single player in a short timeframe will trigger a brawl. This may or may not be good. If you're down points, it may be worth the risk to gain the man-advantage.
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