Blades of Fire Co-op Review - Intriguing But Not Compelling
The latest from Metroid and Castlevania veterans MercurySteam is their spin on the “souls” formula called Blades of Fire, and we have not one but two non-souls players here to review it. Matt and Paul have been diving into this interesting adventure and are ready to report in on their findings.
Matt Hewson: In the little blurb above, I mention the word interesting, and I think that is the best way to describe Blades of Fire. It has a lot of new and interesting systems and elements that certainly help it stand apart from the sea of FromSoft copies that are out there these days. There is no denying that MercurySteam are trying to stamp their own spin on what is now a well-worn formula, and I really appreciate it for that. In fact, I would say the new systems they have cooked up are easily the best part of the game.
Paul James: There’s definitely an interesting spin here, now I’ll admit, I’d heard rumblings before the launch that this was more of a return to the Lords Of Shadow formula as opposed to something embracing Souls tendencies, so on that note, I’m a bit flat and disappointed. As is fairly well documented, I’m not much of a Souls guy, and it’s only those that have included fairly generous difficulty modes that have retained my interest. That said, I persisted for a while, and despite the game possessing some weaknesses, it also has some really unique strengths. I must say, I’ve not seen this level of expansive weapon-crafting in a Soulslike before, and it is this aspect that was most appealing and intriguing to me. What did you make of it?
Matt: The weapon customisation and forging is not only unique to the genre, but I would say in all of gaming. It is such a cool concept for levelling. Instead of putting points into stats, you forge stronger and better weapons. The mini game to do so is also actually enjoyable, which was a big surprise, and when you nail all of the elements and get that perfect new sword, spear or warhammer, it then allows you to save that build so you can repeat the process easily. This comes in pretty handy because when you die in Blades of Fire, you don’t lose souls or exp or somesuch, you simply drop the weapon you were using, and if you want it back, you have to venture back to your place of defeat and pick it up. All this ties into the direction combat system beautifully, which is another new system that really shakes up the formula, don’t you agree?
Paul: You’re right, I was a bit too narrow-minded there, it’s a wonderfully refreshing idea, and like you say, I can’t think of it being implemented elsewhere. Like you, I did enjoy the mini-game idea for the crafting, but felt like it could have been scaled down in length just a little bit, because I did begin to tire of it. I did like not suffering the penalty of lost experience whenever I died (something that happened all too regularly), but I did feel the pull to go reclaim my weapon more than I ever have felt compelled to reclaim lost XP, meaning that I would get myself back into the same conflict multiple times, stuck in a viscious loop of reclaiming my weapon, dying and losing it again. That then transitions to your directional combat system. When the direction I was facing wasn’t face down in the dirt, I quite liked the challenge of recognising the cues of enemies to try and responding to that in both offensive and defensive ways. Though the pace and complexity differed, it gave off some Kingdom Come Deliverance vibes in this respect, and I dug it. What I could cop, though, is some of the bloat. Unlike you, I’m nowhere near done with the game, and that’s in part due to the brutality of it, but also due to some excessively complex level design. Did you find this too?
Matt: Absolutely, some of the levels are mammoth and twisting, a trait of the genre, but the signposting and similarity of each area make it hard to memorise and leads to a lot of backtracking. One particular section of the game also had me escorting a skeleton child and every time I got hit, it got scooped up by an undead nanny, so I was forced to run to its location, free it, get back to where I was and try and find my way out of the bloody fortress. It was a frustrating section and one I feel could have been handled better. I can cop dying, I just thought this was a step too far. This is also plagued by the somewhat generic look the game has going for it. It is very much going for a by-the-numbers European fantasy look that just doesn’t do a lot to distinguish itself. That said, though, some of the enemy designs were memorable, especially some of the bosses. How do you feel about the presentation aspects, Paul?
Paul: On a technical level, Blades Of Fire looks nice enough, but through the artistic lens, I quickly felt a bit deflated as the various environments began to bleed together. The complicated level design and varied topography did create some environmental differentiation, but it did largely feel the same-old-same-old at points. I will say that the character and monster designs, however, were quite impressive, something that I’ve appreciated from several of MercurySteam’s previous works.
Unfortunately, I’m probably bringing the vibe down a bit with some less-positive sentiments. Did you have any other positives you wanted to highlight, Matt?
Matt: Look, I think it is the sort of game that deserves applause. It is trying something different in an increasingly crowded genre, and I love that. I found the difficulty to be more manageable than a Souls game, but still quite the hefty challenge, and the new mechanics and systems all worked well, and most importantly, were intuitive to use. Sadly, the game is let down by some confusing level design and a generic aesthetic. I go back to my original statement that this is a very interesting game, and I am not sure I say that about many titles. I think this is a game that will find an audience, though it will probably be a little later once the price drops a little and people are more willing to dive into something that doesn’t have “FromSoft” printed on the cover. A noble attempt, kudos are deserved, but it just doesn’t quite stick the landing.
Paul: It’s hard not to look at Blades Of Fire and long for MercurySteam to go back to the well on a Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow-inspired adventure. Though there are certainly some strong, and quite inventive elements of the experience, there are also missteps, from the game’s lacklustre level design, to its sometimes wild difficulty spikes that make the game immediately less enticing to return to. I sincerely hope that the game can find its community that will love it, blemishes and all, but I don’t ever see myself being a part of the group championing it.
Blades of Fire was reviewed on both PC and Playstation 5 with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
