Blades of Fire Reviews

Game would be good, if some dev did not huff paint fumes and decide to have the first 'dungeon' are of the game also be yoshi island escort quest where you have to protect a tiny skeleton child who will fall off your back if you get hit once or twice, get kidnapped and then respawn on the other side of the map, requiring rescue. Oh, but you also canst fast travel while ferrying the skeleton child and also you have a respawning, teleporting nemesis style pursuer enemy coming after you constantly also the area is a maze, vertically and horizontally. I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say my feelings towards this game went from a 9 out 10 to 0, if not outright negative due to this. Any and all patience I might have had for this game was outright sucked and drained out as I kept having to fight rooms with 9 to 10 undead enemies (if not more) while the respawning boss showed up, and other elite enemies spawned to get the kid, would fight my ass off, only to realize, somewhere in the struggle I had gotten hit and the kid fell off my back, and had since re-spawned in a cave in the ass end of the map. The absolute final drop for me was finally getting the kid back, managing to fight my way through a room with constantly spawning skeletons and two flaming enemies without losing them getting to the exit... and then the respawning boss teleported in front of me, hit me once, the kid fell off... and would not climb back on, my attempts to get them back getting me cornertraped and killed. kid respawned in the same cave, and I needed to get my lost weapon back, so, I started to make my way there... had to deal with one of the invisible ambush enemies... and the boss once more teleported right next to me and backhanded me off a cliff. Just, f*** game, I have never seen potential get squandered by one gigantic (and very obviously bad) stupid decision like this. It has been a while since a game has managed to inspire such rage and hatred in me. Like, any one of those mechanics on their own would have been grating but bearable stack a few of them, still bearable. its all of them at the same time that just goes one step too far.

Absolutely amazing game. Great combat system. A pleasant setting. Fascinating weapon crafting. And most importantly there's an easy game mode, so I can actually play it

as a blacksmith myself i am always looking for games that can moderately well recreate the forging experience and Blades of fire hit the anvil squarely. it features a bar system for forging to simulate thinning and lengthening the steel i only wish reheating brought more chances to refine

Warning: Long read. After a year of exclusivity, the latest MercurySteam entry, Blades of Fire, has finally reached gamers. I am a Lords of Shadows enjoyer, so I was eager to see what the next title would be. However, the aftertaste is more bittersweet than absolutely positive. Quickly about the positive aspects. The gameplay is very good. The fencing system is not only fairly unique, but also makes many battles very dynamic and intense, especially when enemies change the armor parts or your weapon weathers off. The story is good and very classic. For many, it can be disappointing because there are no great philosophical themes or sudden 180-degree twists. But for me, it was compelling and heart-warming enough to progress and meet interesting characters along the way. The enemies' AI is very good and tough if you are not trained and have improved yourself and your gear. Forging is good when you finally handle all the aspects, not only the number of repair times, but also weathering, damage type aspects, and so on. And in this part, we move to ambiguous aspects. There are weapons that are not as effective as others. Out of 35 weapons, there are 10 max that are effective, deadly, and deal the biggest punch combined with the best materials you have. Everything else is simply to fill the advertised amount and will be quickly abandoned or left simply for collecting every upgrade. Level design is quite outdated, and I would even dare to say very bad at times. 10 years ago, during Lords of Shadows 2, you could overlook the puzzling and convoluted corridors that you have to run around to find 1 small narrow path to progress or to find an upgrade, or run 5 floors back and forth in frustration to discover that somewhere along your path you had to jump or grab the rope that is blending with the environment. This intense maze system can get you very frustrated and angry very often. At least the developers could add the menu option to turn on or off some form of guiding light or fairy or guiding sparks in order not to waste a player's time. The console limitation prevents you from jumping properly. Even Elden Ring finally got a jump button; in Blades of Fire, it could have not only solved some of the traversal nuisances but also added even more dynamics. Finally, the truly bad things. Graphics and performance: stylistically, it looks okay, and I wouldn't have put it into negatives, but looking at these graphics, you wonder why it gives a mediocre performance and even occasionally gives frame drops and freezes for 2-5 seconds. I highly recommend turning off ALL programs on your PC while playing the game to minimize freezes. Even Version 2 doesn't fix the performance problems. And we're talking about the in-studio engine and not the famous UE5. This leaves a lot of questions considering optimization and Mercury Engine as a whole. Sad, because there seem to be no super-detailed textures, extreme hair, water, or mimic effects to show such a level of performance. Conclusion: The Blades of Fire proves that being in EGS doesn't guarantee that the game will be polished when released on the mass PC market of Steam and GOG. I understand that developers required funds to compensate developing cicle, and I'm glad that they were able to complete their new IP during the industry's turmoil. But a bit more care about optimization would be appreciated. I hope they will further improve the fencing system - this could become a great 3rd way of action-RPG games: currently there are basically only the FromSoftware and Team Ninja approaches. If you're a fan of unique battle systems, old-school level designs, and a directing approach, I highly recommend it. If you are a more modern gamer who cherishes comfortable gaming, wait for the sales. Also, there are issues with optimization, so be prepared. Despite everything, I personally loved the game and will wait for a sequel.

very nice crafting system, good combat, its a very fun game

An absolute gem. Not so good: The story is only there to drive the game, it's nothing special, but the game itself is really good. Combat is fun and satisfying, lots of distinct weapons, some enemies feel very fresh, exploration is rewarding and the graphics with the level design make it gorgeous. Also, barely any bugs. You can feel the spirit of "Blade of Darkness" in this, very well done devs.

EDIT: I got to a section where skeletons keep spawning and you have to shut coffins so the kid can do his magic, but the spawn rate is just high enough that they knock you away and force you to restart the coffin-shutting process again. Very infuriating. Not recommending this game purely for that section. I want to like this game, I really do. I can see the vision the devs had for this title with the focus on crafting your weapons and using the right weapon at the right time for the right enemy. And if I just had a little more patience and a willingness to take a moment, reassess my options, then go back and forge something better suited to the area, I could probably get through this game. It wouldn't change the annoying NPCs though. Who thought it was a good idea to have a forgetful ghost man follow you around, blabbing about how he doesn't fight and then he suddenly says "Wait! I remember something!". Then you have to stand around for several seconds while he slooowly walks over to a wall and tells you to press a switch. I've never made it past the graveyard is what I'm saying. Anyway, if you have more patience than me and love (really love) crafting in games, you might enjoy this game. That's the only reason I'm giving it a recommendation.

If there was an "I'm not sure" option, I'd be picking that. All in all this game is a solid 6 out of 10. Great story, unique fighting system that feels good, the strength lies with the combat. But poor level design and creature design take away from the experience, until you're frustrated and just wanting the game to end. The level design feels partically bad when you have to back track multiple times over the course of the whole game. It's made even worse by nonsensical choices around level design in the penultimate stage. Confusing level design all the way through which had me googling to find out whether or not I could even access an area. Wandering around because the levels themselves were poorly designed and labyrinthine, the map was absolutely useless to the point it could be replaced with circles and still get the message across. A next objective marker was present which honestly was no help at all. Gameplay additions made in the last 5 hours that could have been really fun (it's essentially a kratos rage mode) but it's added too late into the piece to be of any benefit to any situation since all of the bosses are already beaten and playing the gauntlet that lets you replay bosses purposely barres you from using that new ability. So honestly, it may as well not existed, or just straight up been added in New Game+ only (which it's available in, immediately, by the way.) Dialogue that ruined the tone more often than served it "oh no, drama, sadness, suffering" next minute they're bickering about whether or not the main character is too heavy for a ladder, or too old to climb a rope. Still, it's a lot of fun, and if you asked me if I want a sequel or not, my answer would be yes. Still... 6/10. Probably not gonna replay it. This game honestly made me wonder if it had a Quality Assurance team. It does, and the head of that team probably shouldn't have a job.

This is a seriously good game, performance is great, story is fun, and the mechanics and progression is unique enough to separate it from other souls-likes.

Honest to god, a great, although flawed game. I would love to rank it higher than a 7/10, but objective thinking just won't let me do it with good conscience. Whats great: )The customization of your gear, and almost entirely your gear, with only upgrades to health and stamina found through exploration. Love it. ) The feel of the game itself. This feels like a videogame, I know that sounds dumb, but it's been a while since something felt this much like a classic oldshool game. Cheesy dialogue, tried and true tropes, and a bit of nichè-ness. ) The characters, I really like Aran and Adso, Glynda is great as well. They are sometimes a bit shallow, which falls into one of the critiques I have, further down. )The combat, it's a bit clunky at times, and repetitive, but the concept of directional attacks is refreshing and weapons feel great when you hit something with them. ) The Exploration, maybe this games strongest aspect. There are so many secrets and hidden areas it's baffling how much you can miss if you don't look everywhere. And that is a good thing. )The visuals, I'm not a big graphics nerd, but it looks really nice, mostly it's art-direction, still, very pretty. Now for the negative aspects: ) The writing and pacing of conversations and cutscenes. This game could have been the next god of war if the script was a bit better. Sure, some other things would have to step up as well, but it's mostly this. ) The enemies in later stages. There are lots of different enemies, but also a lot of game to get through, so after a while they get repetitive. Some can only be hurt by certain runic weapons you need to get in the overworld, and while I think this is a good thing, I did not enjoy it a lot. ) Enemy placement, while I get it that it's a bit more of a hack and slash vibe, I hated getting swarmed, especially in the later stages, it got unbearable in the final area. ) The combat. Yes, while it is good, there is a sizable chunk of bad stuff here. Parrying and dodging felt unreliable, no matter the equipment used, and no matter what enemy, with some especially bad candidates. Final verdict: I love this game, I am a blacksmith myself, which got me into it, but I stayed for the story and characters. For the sequel, which I hope actually gets made, I would wish for better dialogue and pacing. There is so much potential here, so many cool lore-bits, so many interesting characters, so many systems of power to be explored. And of course more weapon customization, maybe the strongest draw I had to this game in the first place. Not for everyone, get's a bit frustrating at times, but still worth checking out. Overall: Objective 6/10 - Unrefined with lots of potential Subjective: 9/10 - Refreshing classic single player game with great story and characters.