So there's a particular way I play old-school shooters. I've never really figured out whether my experiences are universal, but I play this way, and I balance my maps around it, and nobody's ever seemed to complain too much so I guess it can't be that rare. Basically, I have a kind of chronic "but I might need it" disease. I am constantly trying to maximise my ammo reserves for the weapons that are not just the most powerful, but (crucially), the most versatile.
See, the value of something like the plasma gun from Doom or the lightning gun from Quake isn't just that they do a lot of damage, but also that they're fairly simple to use—you just hold down the button and point it at the bad guys until everything stops moving. You can use them basically anywhere, up to and including the situations where you get caught with your pants down. A simple, straightforward damage hose, without any concern for self-inflicted damage, or reload times, or situational shortcomings, is worth keeping stocked up.
Blood is notable because it is packed full of weapons that are the fucking antithesis of that. It has an unwieldy flare gun. It has three types of dynamite charge. It has an aerosol can flamethrower that doubles as a firebomb. It has so many ways to inflict damage that are slow, circuitous, inconvenient, liable to get you killed, or just kind of niche. And then it has some normal guns, which you will treasure because they're the fastest, safest way to remove a surprise cultist who's just chunked half your health away from point-blank range
When I play these games, and I'm not immediately in mortal peril, I'm always trying to dispatch enemies with the riskiest, most niche option I can get away with—precisely so that when I'm actually in danger, I can just point a normal uncomplicated gun in the direction of whatever's trying to eat my face. Essentially: I try to answer low-risk situations with high-risk tools, so that I can answer high-risk situations with low-risk tools.
Blood is special because it has so many high-risk tools, and so many opportunities to exploit them if you dare; to look at a situation and figure out the most inconvenient way to defeat it without getting hurt. Luring enemies into proximity traps, dropping dynamite around the corner, or just firing a flare into their chest and giving them the run-around until they burst into flames—none of these are particularly good or safe approaches, but they might save my ass further down the line when I really need an extra few rounds of buckshot. And when a handful of hitscanners can vaporise you in seconds, it pays to have that low-risk option stowed away.
I love playing that extended game of chicken. I love seeing how far I can push the envelope. I guess at my heart I'm just another min-maxing gremlin. But at least it results in a lot of chaos and screaming cultists.
