Blood Dungeon is the new game from Nidhogg and Wheel World studio Messhof, and it looks like a silly platforming mess complete with MS Paint-style graphics, twitchy mechanics and, of course, giant flying worms. These are all positive descriptors, clearly. 

Blood Dungeon is a hand-animated, auto-shooting 2D platformer that features six arenas, nine unique playable characters, more than 100 weapons and over 100 enemy types. The majority of these features are unlocked as you advance through the maps dodging traps, collecting resources and kiting enemies to strategic locations. Each stage has plenty of platforms, obviously, but also nets, ladders, chains and water areas to keep things interesting as hordes of enemies hunt you down.

Messhof

Blood Dungeon is due to hit PC and consoles in late summer this year.

In the game’s reveal trailer, part of the Day of the Devs 2026 summer showcase, Messhof co-founder Mark Essen clarified that Blood Dungeon is not a Metroidvania because you’re not upgrading abilities as you go. He described it as something like Vampire Survivors blended with Spelunky, saying, “It’s like these other survivor games you’ve probably played where you’re kiting the enemies and they’re sort of following you in a big mass. But in this game, you’re in a maze as well. A maze with gravity. It’s really a game about routing.”

Messhof

The game’s bad guys include a giant Medusa head, a faun playing a pan flute, spooky ghosts, skittering bugs, all kinds of animals and a big ol’ worm. The primary playable character is called Gun Man and he kind of looks like a baby in a onesie (as drawn by a middle schooler in the computer lab in 1997), but additional heroes include a hooded skeleton, naked buff dude, big buzzing insect and other cool cats. Note that there are no actual feline characters that we can see in the game’s reveal trailer, but with more than 100 enemies, there could be one or two in the mix.

Messhof was founded in 2013 by Essen and producer Kristy Norindr, in Venice, California. Nidhogg and Nidhogg II are indie classics from the 2010s, featuring an elegant yet silly blend of fencing and tug-of-war mechanics, plus some archery in the sequel. Both games also feature a giant mythological worm that flies in at the end of every match to devour the victor. Looks like war isn’t the only thing that never changes.