is a survival horror game developed by Crazy Games and released for the Dreamcast in 2001. It was published by Crazy Games in Japan and Amusement Interface Associate (AIA) in North America. The game follows Eriko Christy, a high school student who explores a horror-themed amusement park to find her missing friends. The player explores six haunted house attractions based on fictional horror films, detecting and neutralizing hidden traps and enemies which can harm or frighten Eriko and her friends.

Crazy Games was known as Climax Graphics until a month before Illbleeds release. As Climax Graphics, they developed and published Blue Stinger (1999), an action-adventure game for the Dreamcast. The team wanted to explore horror themes in their next game, and so drew inspiration from haunted house attractions and horror films to create an original scenario that would differentiate it from other horror games.

Illbleed was released in the months following Sega's discontinuation of the Dreamcast. It received mixed reviews, with praise for its original concept, dark humor, camp style, and horror B movie qualities, but criticism for its game design, controls, and playability. It was a commercial failure, only selling a tenth of Blue Stingers figures; a port for the Xbox was planned, but canceled. In retrospective, Illbleed is often celebrated as an underrated title by numerous critics, who often cite the game as one of the best titles for the Dreamcast. The original game has also become a high-valued and sought after collector's item.

Gameplay

left|thumb|Eriko stands in front of a stage entrance for the game's second level

In Illbleed, the player explores six stages, each an amusement park attraction themed after a different fictional horror film, and complete objectives unique to each one. Items can be found throughout levels or purchased at the park's grandstand, which serves as a hub world. she and her friends win the prize money, but she states that she is returning to Illbleed and tells them not to follow. This initiates a new game plus mode, wherein Eriko meets Michael Reynolds and discovers he is her father. Reynolds explains he built Illbleed out of his obsession to scare Eriko. Eriko scares Reynolds in return, causing him to transform into a monster, which Eriko defeats. Admitting that the monster scared her, she leaves the park. Some time after, Eriko has now become a timid, easily frightened girl, with Kevin swearing to look after her. The company was known as Climax Graphics until one month before the game's release. The team began working on Illbleed after completing their first Dreamcast game, Blue Stinger (1999), They considered making a sequel to Blue Stinger, which Sega had requested after its commercial success in the West. However, they elected to make an original horror game instead.

thumb|[[Haunted attraction (simulated)|Haunted house attractions, like this haunted hospital at Fuji-Q Highland, were key inspirations for Illbleed.]]

The team had avoided horror elements in Blue Stinger to distinguish it from horror adventure games on the market like Resident Evil, but they decided to wholly embrace horror for Illbleed. At the time, horror media was undergoing a renaissance as a result of the success of films such as Ring (1998) and Spiral (1998) in Japan, and Scream (1996) in the United States. A playable demo was demonstrated at E3 that year and at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2000. Although Crazy Games originally expected Sega to localize the game due to Blue Stinger success, Sega of America dropped Illbleed from its localization lineup in mid-2000, citing a crowded first-party release schedule. Despite this, Sega felt it was a strong game that would get picked up by a third-party publisher, two months after Sega announced it was discontinuing the platform. Crazy Games also released an action figure of Eriko Christy, which was limited to 1,000 figures. Illbleed was a commercial failure, only selling 50,000 copies worldwide, a tenth of Blue Stinger sales.

| CP = 75%

| Edge = 6/10

| EGM = 7.5/10, 6/10, 7/10

| EPD = 7/10

| Fam = 6/10, 6/10, 8/10, 8/10

| GI = 5/10

| Gamekult = 6/10

| GSpot = 6/10

| GSpy = 7/10

| IGN = 6.7/10

| NGen = 3/5

| rev1 = Dreamcast Magazine (JP)

| rev1Score = 8/10

| rev2 = Dreamcast Magazine (UK)

| rev2Score = 87%

Illbleed received "mixed or average reviews", according to the video game review aggregator Metacritic. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) wrote that Illbleed "picks up the dying survival horror torch, douses it in gasoline, and throws it into your treehouse, laughing all the while".

The most-praised elements included the campy B movie style, twisted dark humor, and gratuitous use of blood.

In retrospective, Illbleed has be re-evaluated by numerous critics, and is often regarded as one of the best games for the Dreamcast, and one of the best retro horror games overall. Daniel Trock for DualShockers stated that the game has a "very campy vibe that a reboot would absolutely need to carry over," further stating that "The best kind of horror attacks you in every available sense: horrifying sights, unpleasant smells, sudden sounds, vile tastes, gross textures, and that mysterious sixth-sense chill up your spine. The only horror game that utilizes this framework in full is Illbleed." Mandi Odoerfer for CBR praised the game's utilization of awareness, claiming that "Illbleed should have been a horror hit, but because it was released in 2001, after Sega announced it was discontinuing the Dreamcast, it wound up flying under the radar." Nicholas Owen for GameRant reviewed the game in 2023, citing Illbleed as an enjoyable, "replayable," and challenging game, writing: "Illbleed is definitely one of the weirdest horror games of all time, and it's a shame that it will become more and more difficult to find."

Notes

References

  • (English)
  • (Japanese)