It's a lot to take in, and that's just the condensed version. If there's one thing that Blood Will Tell has in spades, it's creativity. Combined with the detailed and stylish CG intro, well, it's hard not to get excited. Unfortunately, the rest of the presentation isn't as slick. The voice acting is wildly inconsistent from character to character, ranging from passable to laughable. To be fair, this is also due in part to the rather poor translation, which ends up sounding very formal and long winded at points. Of course, the poor character animation and muddy textures don’t help much either.

Blood Will Tell is separated into chapters; eight, to be exact, along with a cinematic-laden prologue. As Hyakki slays the fiends, he regains his body parts and becomes more powerful. Recovering an eye lets Hyakki see the surrounding world in color, a leg allows him to dash, his nose the ability to sense nearby fiends. Every little bit helps, even the minor organs that serve as nothing more than a stat bonus.

Not all the fiends are out in the open though. Each chapter contains several hidden fiends, which often require later upgrades to discover. Even if Hyakki can find a fiend, that doesn't mean he'll be able to defeat it. The game also utilizes an RPG-esque experience system that rewards players for every demon they slaughter. Different fiends are categorized by their level - the wider the gap between the level of a fiend and that of Hyakki, the harder the fight will be. Upon completion of a chapter, the selection screen displays the number of remaining fiends in that area, giving players the option to go back between chapters and hunt down those they missed.

Hyakki isn't just limited to his multi-use appendages during combat, he can also make use of the various swords he finds during his adventures. Each sword has a unique property that makes it useful, such as protection against an element or a stat bonus. For the most part, combat is your standard regular/strong attack affair with an emphasis on combos and a screen-clearing special attack. Hyakki can also utilize his Arm and Leg Cannons for ranged attacks, though ammunition isn't always in abundant supply.

What separates Blood Will Tell from every other hack 'n slash out there is the Slice Attack. By holding down the triangle button, players can charge their energy. After a bit, Hyakki's blade will flash once, indicating the attack is ready. Assuming the attack hits an enemy, the game enters into a special mode where patterns of button presses are displayed on screen in groups of four. The more sets a player can get through in the limited time, the more damage they do and the more goodies they receive. If a player happens to press the wrong button or gets hit by another enemy, they're kicked out of the mini-game and receive no bonus.

And then there's Dororo. At times, players will be given control over Hyakki's sidekick. These segments, which offer a break from the slash-slash-slash gameplay of Hyakki, often featuring platforming and puzzle elements. The platforming sections are, bar none, the worst experiences in the game thanks to the horrible camera angles.

Like many other 3D games, Blood Will Tell has problems with its camera. There are three modes the camera alternates between: Free, Fixed and Boss. During Free mode, players can somewhat adjust the camera with the right analog stick and recenter the view behind their character at any time by tapping L1. In Fixed mode, the camera cannot be adjusted at all. During boss fights, players can choose between Boss mode (which centers the camera on the boss) or Free mode by pressing R3. Regardless of the mode, there will be times when you’ll end up attacking enemies that aren't even on-screen or repeatedly missing jumps due to a poor camera angle.

Blood Will Tell is certainly not the worst game ever, but it's not that great either. The upsetting part is that with a bit more polish, it could have been so much more. I struggled for a bit deciding on the grade, as I really liked certain parts of Blood but absolutely hated others. I eventually chose a C, which I feel perfectly describes it as “entertaining, but not really worth the asking MSRP.” Blood Will Tell is definitely not for everyone, but those who can look past its shortcomings will find a lengthy adventure brimming with replay value.