When I sat down to play developer MercurySteam's latest project, Blades of Fire, I expected something akin to a modern take on their Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series, perhaps updated with the stylistic flair of God of War. An hour into the game, my perception shifted; it felt more like a Soulslike, albeit one where the focus was on weapon stats rather than an RPG character sheet. By the end of my three-hour hands-on session, I realized that Blades of Fire is a unique blend of familiar elements and innovative ideas, creating a fresh and engaging action-adventure experience.
While not a direct clone of Sony Santa Monica's God of War, Blades of Fire shares similarities with Kratos' Norse adventures, such as a dark fantasy setting and heavy-hitting combat viewed through a close third-person camera. Throughout the demo, which covered the game's opening hours, I navigated a winding map filled with treasure chests, aided by a young companion who assisted in puzzle-solving. Together, we sought out a woman of the wilds who resided in a house atop a giant creature. These elements, combined with features borrowed from FromSoftware's catalog—like anvil-shaped checkpoints that replenish health potions and respawn enemies—can sometimes make the game feel overly familiar.
The game's world evokes a nostalgic 1980s fantasy vibe. It wouldn't be out of place to see Conan the Barbarian mingling with its muscular soldiers or orangutan-like enemies bouncing on bamboo pogo sticks reminiscent of Jim Henson's Labyrinth. The narrative has a retro feel too—an evil queen has turned steel into stone, and it's up to you, Aran de Lira, a blacksmith demigod, to slay her and restore the world's metal. However, despite these charming elements, the story, characters, and writing may not stand out as particularly compelling, reminiscent of many forgotten tales from the Xbox 360 era.
Blades of Fire truly excels in its mechanics. The combat system is rooted in directional attacks that utilize every face button on the controller. On a PlayStation pad, tapping triangle targets the head, cross the torso, while square and circle swipe left and right. By carefully reading an enemy's stance, you can break through their defenses. For example, a soldier shielding their face can be defeated by aiming low and striking their gut, with satisfyingly visceral effects as blood erupts from the wounds.
The demo's first major boss, a slobbering troll, showcased the combat system's potential. It had a secondary health bar that could only be damaged after dismembering the creature. The limb you sever depends on your attack angle, allowing you to disarm the troll by removing its club-swinging arm or even cutting off its entire face, leaving it blind and flailing until it regrows its eyes.
Weapons in Blades of Fire require meticulous attention compared to most games. They dull with use, gradually dealing less damage, necessitating sharpening stones or switching stances. Each weapon also has a durability meter, requiring repairs at anvil checkpoints or melting down for new crafting opportunities in the forge—the game's most significant innovation.
The weapon crafting system is extensive. Starting with a basic template, you sketch out your design on a chalkboard, modifying elements like the length of a spear's pole or the shape of its head, which affects stats such as range and piercing or slashing capabilities. Different materials impact weight and stamina demands, enhancing the feeling of genuinely crafting your weapon. Once designed, you physically hammer out the metal in a detailed minigame, adjusting the length, force, and angle of each strike to match a curved line on the screen. Overworking the steel weakens the weapon, so precision is key, and your performance is rated by stars, influencing the number of repairs possible before the weapon breaks permanently.
While the forge concept is intriguing, introducing a skill element to what's usually a menu-driven system, the minigame felt frustratingly obtuse after several sessions. A clearer connection between strikes and the resulting metal shape would enhance the experience, and hopefully, improvements or a better tutorial will be implemented before launch.
The forge's core idea extends beyond the demo, aiming to forge a deep connection between players and their weapons throughout a 60-70 hour journey. As you explore and discover new metals, you can reforge your weapons to enhance their properties for tougher challenges. The death system further emphasizes this bond; upon defeat, you drop your weapon and respawn without it, though it remains in the world for retrieval, encouraging backtracking and reforging.
MercurySteam's adoption of elements from Dark Souls and its siblings is unsurprising, given FromSoftware's influence on action games and Blades of Fire's spiritual connection to Blade of Darkness, a precursor to the Souls series developed by the studio's founders. The game feels like a continuation of their earlier work, incorporating advancements from other studios during their hiatus from the genre.
Throughout my playthrough, the influence of Blade of Darkness, FromSoftware, and God of War was palpable, yet Blades of Fire stands distinct from these inspirations. Rather than simply replicating established systems, MercurySteam has reinterpreted them as part of a broader canvas, crafting a unique recipe that sets Blades of Fire apart.
Despite some reservations—the generic dark fantasy setting may struggle to support a 60-hour adventure, and repeated encounters with the same miniboss raised questions about variety—the depth of interaction between your forged blades and enemies has me intrigued. In an era where complex games like Elden Ring and Monster Hunter have gained mainstream success, Blades of Fire has the potential to offer something fascinating to the gaming landscape.
Blades of Fire Screenshots
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