Blood Message Hands-on Demo Proves 24 Entertainment Studied Naughty Dog’s Last Three Generations — and Took Notes

NetEase's upcoming action/adventure game Blood Message feels immediately familiar in the best way, channeling the kinetic, cinematic momentum of Uncharted while still carving out its own identity. During a brief Summer Game Fest 2026 demo, the game impressed me with its constant forward motion, brutal close-quarters combat, and a design that keeps the action moving even when QTEs or stealth attempts go sideways.

In a way, Blood Message is the single most Uncharted-coded game that I've played in a long while, and I mean that endearingly. There is a constant sense of "failing forward" in the gameplay that lets the player still feel like they're making progress even when they screw up a hidden QTE or get hit in combat. This is most obvious during the numerous running sequences where protagonist Pei Changguan is on the run from enemy raiders, only to get shoved out of a window, break a mantle point when climbing across a precarious old rock wall, shove his way through a market stall- you get the point. There isn't a moment in the Blood Message demo where I wasn't either fighting, fleeing, or searching for clues during the few brief moments of respite.

Getting into or evading a scrap isn't always a scripted event either; in Blood Message, there are a few moments where the player and his brother Arrati have the opportunity to sneak up on enemies and dispatch them without much of a mess, but failing the QTE often leads to a fight where Blood Message shines. Enemies are aggressive but not always overly so, as some might hold back and wait until you're winded to go in for the attack. It's rarely a one-on-one affair, and blocking/attacking from all directions is important to stay alive. While he might not look like much of a fighter, Pei Changguan is skilled with the tools of a tradesman, and many of his brutal finishing moves involve introducing his trusty hammer to an enemy's face or knees. There isn't a health bar to know just how well Pei and the enemy forces are holding up in combat, so paying attention to their movement and tells is about as good an indication as you'll get in a demo that doesn't feature any semblance of HUD.

All of the motion and visceral combat show off an understanding that 24 Entertainment Lin'an Studio has clearly watched and even emulated what Naughty Dog's narrative adventures have done for the last three PlayStation generations. Nothing here feels stale or overly reused across the brief hands-on session with Blood Message. Even as I intentionally failed a combat sequence to see the different death animations or outcomes, I kept finding new immersive ways to interact with the environment, such as luring an enemy over to a standing water fixture and countering their attack by shoving them into the water and holding their head under.

In a similar vein to Nathan Drake's greatest adventures, Blood Message is largely a roller coaster from beginning to end. Sure, there are slow moments when you take in the ambiance of a broken home or reflect on your actions from your first unintentional murder, but it's still constantly moving towards a final endpoint, whether the player wants to or not. Even if the studio wants to map this Tang Dynasty-era epic directly to the Uncharted formula, there's still plenty of momentum for them to keep the somber narrative going even after just cutting down a squad of rampaging pillagers.

Blood Message does not yet have a confirmed release window, but it will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC. Stay tuned for additional details as we continue to cover the development of this impressive-looking AAA adventure.

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