The Bloodrayne franchise has had its ups and downs; some would say more downs than ups. While the first game, released in 2002, is remembered fondly, it didn’t perform spectacularly with critics. The sequel fared about as well. Then infamous German movie director Uwe Bowle got a hold of the property and, well, we all know how that one went. Now Rayne, the half-vampire vampire hunter has made her return in WayForward’s Bloodrayne: Betrayal.

There’s very little in the way of storytelling, but it’s clear from the beginning that there are dudes to kill, and plenty of them. An attempt at story emerges towards the middle with a central villain, Rayne’s father Kagan, and bosses that are actually relevant in some way – the first two boss fights literally come out of nowhere. It’s clear that story isn’t the focus here, however; it’s all about the high scores and speedy runs. 

Eschewing the series’ third-person action, Betrayal is a 2D sidescroller that plays an awful lot like Devil May Cry – if Devil May Cry was 2D – with a mix of both blade and gun attacks as well as a good deal of juggling and air combat. Ample combos and environmental hazards make for some interesting combat situations.

The blade attacks, assigned to the ‘square’ button, aren’t very complicated, but timing becomes extremely important after the introductory levels. This happens to be one of the game’s weaker moments: the controls are a bit too loose to allow for precise combos. It’s hard to say if Rayne feels too floaty, or if the animations just lag behind button inputs, but I found myself missing what should be easy combos much too often for my liking. 

One of the most basic combos, a juggle, has you launching the enemy with a simple "up+attack" input then throwing them forward with an equally simple "forward+attack.’ When you encounter the game’s myriad spinning blades and environmental traps you realize how incredibly useful this combo is, yet it often doesn’t work. Using the D-pad in place of the analog sticks increases the precision, but the combat still feels too loose. Certain points in the game actually require this combo so it can be doubly frustrating. 

As Rayne is half vampire, there is a copious amount of blood sucking. New to the series, though, is the ability to “infect” an enemy then detonate their body as an improvised explosive. After stunning the foe with a basic attack, you can either tap ‘circle’ to infect or hold to heal. Much like the previously described combo, this one is hit or miss. In the heat of battle it becomes quite difficult to stun and infect quickly while also avoiding damage from any other enemies, blades, or spikes. Successfully blowing up a baddie, however satisfying, is more work than it's worth. What WayForward attempted with Betrayal’s combat is pretty interesting. The combat avoids over-complication and there’s plenty of room for experimentation with the various abilities and combos. As I said before, mixing up melee and ranged attacks a la Devil May Cry is a good time... when it works.

Certain areas of the game go for a less combat-heavy approach. These sequences require you to transform into Rayne's raven form in order to traverse obstacle courses and, much to my dismay, the gameplay is essentially an avian variation on the Helicopter flying flash games where you hold the button to fly up and release to descend; you’ll fly through corridors dodging enemies, blades, and spikes. It’s not the slightest bit fun. If the transformation sequence from Dhampir to Raven was quicker and more fluid, there could have been some intriguing combat opportunities. Combining aerial combos, air dashes, and raven abilities could have been special. Sadly this skill is relegated to frustrating flight sequences. 

If you can get used to the gameplay, there's a good deal of replay potential. If you enjoy the combat and platforming, you may feel driven to replay levels for a higher score, but for most the 4-5 hours of content will be more than sufficient. There are treasures and hidden skulls scattered across the game’s chapters, some of which require a fair amount of searching to uncover. You'll need to master all of Rayne's various abilities to be able to reach some of these secrets but, as I've said, that task is easier said than done. For t

Throughout each chapter, points are awarded for defeating enemies, performing special combos, and discovering treasures; you’re also awarded a time bonus at the end. From the outset, you’re encouraged to blast through the levels for a top score and the max rank, Dhampir. I won’t lie, the game’s hard. This difficulty owes quite a bit to the aforementioned loose controls, but there’s some legitimate difficulty here as well. Enemy attacks are nearly as varied as your own with melee, ranged, and elemental attacks all bearing down on you at once; add in the abundant blades and spikes, and you’ll become dependent on precision and speed immediately. At its peak, Betrayal is reminiscent of a bullet-hell shooter. Dashing through certain bosses attacks offers brief invincibility, but it's hardly enough. Persistent screen-clearing attacks coupled with loose controls and the inability to heal (due to a lack of other enemies) does not a good game make. 

Changes made to the game’s visual style may be the most striking. While hand drawn sprites don't necessarily work with this game, they do look nice. The art style as a whole is pretty great, despite not quite fitting. It’s not often that I’ll refer to fountains of blood as beautiful, but that’s definitely true in this case. Yes, it’s gratuitous, but it provides a level of satisfaction for each kill that is perfect for the game’s style. 

I’m inclined to say that Betrayal is the best Bloodrayne game to date due purely to its style. The visuals don't fit this game too well - 2D sprites would've been better than hand drawn models - but it is a pretty game. The attempted gameplay fits the world better than the previous two; the frantic 2D action seems much more appropriate than the series’ 3rd-person pedigree. However, the lack of precision from the controls, frustratingly needless bird sequences and occasionally absurd difficulty are nothing if not a killjoy. Overall, Bloodrayne: Betrayal has several really good ideas that, for the most part, aren’t fully realized and don’t come together in the end; it is occasionally fun, but often not.