Alright, here goes nothing. Let’s dive into this swirling sea of blunt words and tangled thoughts about “Blades of Fire,” or “BoF” for short—because acronyms are life savers.
Okay, so MercurySteam. They’ve been around since, like, 2002? Spanish studio. They’re that bunch known for making games like Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and the Metroid stuff. Weird daydream: I always imagine them in a sun-drenched Spanish town, probably just one café panic away from a breakthrough. Anyway—Blades of Fire—it’s been forever since they launched a new IP. Almost a decade? Feels like waiting on a slow internet day.
So, “BoF” is all about that fantasy vibe, third-person shenanigans, action-adventure, you get it. They’ve spun this Soulslike genre—those games that make you question your life choices at like 2 AM. Combat and originality? Yeah, major pluses. But man, it’s got its quirks. More potholes than a post-winter road on this ride.
The tale kicks off with Aran de Lira—talk about a name flex, right? He’s this seasoned warrior and gets one of those fancy godlike hammers. Seven ancient Forgers’ Hammers, they say. So he pairs up with Adso, this young brainiac. Together, they go after this tyrannical queen causing havoc across the land. Story sounds solid, almost cookbook material, right? But hold on. No rush, they unravel it slooooowly.
Not much of a backstory hit till you grind a few hours in. Twists and emotions? They pop up when you least expect it. The writing and voice work? Awkward silences would’ve been better sometimes. Picture yourself in a serious convo and someone cracks a dad joke. Yeah, that level of dissonance. Plus, Aran and Adso have this annoying loop of dialogue—like they forgot if they’d just said it, or even why. It all feels a bit, I dunno, cookie-cutter?
Anyway, the game’s meat is in its gameplay—fight, slash, repeat. They’ve got this traffic light thing where enemies glow colors—green, orange, red. I feel like I’m at an intersection deciding if running the light is worth it. Green? Yeah, punch away. Orange? Think twice. Red? Eh, you’re wasting time.
And you meet different foes—armor-clad, resistant types. Basically requiring you to switch your combat rhythm up. You’ve got to mix blunt hits with slashing or whatever gets the job done. Combat stays fresh thanks to those slow-motion finishers. Like, think of gory artwork playing in 0.25x speed—grotesquely beautiful somehow.
But let’s talk forging—ah, the freakin’ heart of “BoF.” Create weapons from scratch. Scroll blueprints, metal tweaks, heating minigames. Ever tried baking bread? It’s like that; a pain until you get it right. Once you’ve got it dialed in, it’s like crafting your Excalibur for each enemy type. Customize till it fits—length, damage, and all that jazz.
Explore, explore, and well… explore more. Levels are these beefy maps with hidden routes and goodies. Gems, healing boosts, materials—it’s like a scavenger hunt on steroids. However—and here’s the crunchy part—pacing, man. Blades of Fire drags like a school day before summer break. Backtracking and twisting mazes can be brain-numbing. Also, bosses—oh dear! They repeat. A lot. And they hit like a freight train, killing you in one go. I don’t know if “artificially difficult” is a term yet, but it should be.
Just when you’re dazzled by the game’s shiny things, it turns around and smacks you with odd difficulty and levels that spiral into confusing voids. “Blades of Fire” is that beautiful but inconsistent high-school project—it had potential but somewhere, chaos ensued.
To wrap this mess up, it’s a mix of brilliant execution and frustrating design. Tweak a couple of things here and there, like refining that Forge or fixing the storytelling to stop tiptoeing between awkward and epic, and it’s golden.
So there it is, my cluttered thoughts on “Blades of Fire.” Maybe they’ll figure it out by next launch, maybe not. Who knows.
