Blades of Fire Review

Blades of Fire is the latest title from Mercury Steam, a Spanish video game studio. They rose to international fame with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010), developed in partnership with Konami and produced by Hideo Kojima. The game’s success led to two sequels and established MercurySteam as a major developer. In 2017, the studio collaborated with Nintendo on Metroid: Samus Returns, and later developed the acclaimed Metroid Dread (2021), which became the fastest-selling game in the series. Known for revitalizing classic franchises and delivering polished action games, we were so hopeful about Blades of Fire.

Blades of Fire Gameplay Loop

The core gameplay loop in Blades of Fire revolves around exploration, combat, and crafting. The world is divided into semi-open zones, each with distinct environmental hazards, enemies, and hidden secrets. Progression is fairly linear, with occasional branching paths that lead to optional bosses or hidden crafting materials. Players control Aran from a third-person perspective and engage in combat using melee weapons and limited magical abilities. Attacks are mapped to the face buttons, with combos being relatively simple to execute based on direction of the hit.

While the controls are responsive and weighty, giving a satisfying crunch to each strike, the combat system suffers from a lack of depth. Enemy AI is rudimentary at best, and after a few hours, battles become predictable and repetitive. Most enemies telegraph their attacks with overly long windups, and there’s little variety in their behavior. Even boss fights, while visually impressive, rely more on spectacle than substance, making them more of a chore than a challenge.

Weapons in Blades of Fire

Where Blades of Fire truly shines is in its weapon crafting system. Players can collect materials from enemies, environments, and quests to forge and customize their weapons at blacksmithing forges scattered throughout the world. Each weapon component affects not only the weapon’s stats but also its attack animations, speed, and even elemental effects.

The depth and creativity afforded by this system are genuinely impressive. Players are encouraged to experiment and create blades that reflect their playstyle, from fast dual daggers imbued with frost, to slow, heavy swords that burn enemies over time. The forging UI is intuitive, and weapon durability adds a layer of strategy to each encounter. This crafting mechanic alone adds hours of replayability and is arguably the game’s strongest feature.

Despite the stellar crafting, the combat in Blades of Fire fails to capitalize on the tools it gives the player. As mentioned earlier, enemy AI lacks complexity. Most encounters devolve into spamming attacks while dodging once or twice. There is no complex parry mechanic, no meaningful crowd control, and minimal motivation to vary tactics between fights. The game’s difficulty curve is inconsistent; the early sections are challenging due to limited resources, but the mid-to-late game becomes easy once a strong weapon is crafted. This undermines the sense of danger that the world tries so hard to evoke.

Level design in Blades of Fire is another weak point. While the environments are visually distinct, they are plagued by linear pathways and invisible walls. Exploration feels restricted, and the few secrets that do exist are either too obvious or too obscure to feel rewarding. Puzzles are simplistic, often involving pulling levers or lighting torches in sequence, and fail to break up the tedium of combat.

Blades of Fire Paradoxes

Visually, Blades of Fire presents a paradox. Its artistic direction is undeniably stunning. The use of color, light, and shadow creates a rich, oppressive mood that fits perfectly with the game’s apocalyptic setting. Textures, stylized fire effects, and gothic architecture lend a painterly quality to the game’s world. However, this artistic strength is often let down by poor technical execution.

Character models are stiff and lack detail. Facial animations are almost nonexistent, breaking immersion during emotional cutscenes. Enemy designs, though imaginative, suffer from clipping issues and awkward hitboxes. The animation quality is inconsistent, with janky transitions between attack moves and visible frame stutters during more intense scenes. These flaws create a sense of unfinished polish that stands in stark contrast to the otherwise captivating art direction.

Narratively, Blades of Fire sets up an intriguing premise but fails to deliver on its promise. The story is driven by Aran’s quest for revenge and redemption, yet his character development is shallow and often sidelined in favor of exposition-heavy lore dumps. Supporting characters, while visually distinct, are underwritten and serve more as quest-givers than meaningful companions. The game’s ending is particularly disappointing. After hours of build-up, the climax is rushed and lacks an emotional payoff. Key plot points are resolved in a single cutscene, and major characters disappear without explanation. It is a conclusion that feels unearned and abrupt as if the developers ran out of time or resources.

Despite narrative shortcomings, the overall atmosphere of Blades of Fire remains one of its most commendable aspects. The game successfully creates a world that feels lived-in, bleak, and scarred by magic and war. Ambient sound design, haunting musical cues, and dynamic weather effects all contribute to an immersive experience that invites exploration even when the level design resists it.

Blades of Fire is a game full of contrasts. It offers one of the most engaging crafting systems in recent memory and boasts a strikingly atmospheric world. Yet it stumbles in nearly every other area. A flawed gem with moments of brilliance, Blades of Fire is worth experiencing for its atmosphere and crafting alone, but temper your expectations when it comes to gameplay and story.

The review code was provided by the publisher