"Blades of Fire: Exclusive First Look"

When I sat down to play developer MercurySteam's latest project, Blades of Fire, I initially expected it to echo the studio's previous work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, perhaps updated with the modern stylings of God of War. After an hour, I found myself thinking it was more akin to a Soulslike game, albeit one where the stats focus was embedded in the weapons rather than a traditional RPG character sheet. By the end of my three-hour hands-on session, I realized that Blades of Fire is a game that both draws on familiar ground and innovates in unique ways, resulting in a fresh and engaging approach to the action-adventure genre.

Although not a direct clone of Sony Santa Monica's God of War, Blades of Fire shares many similarities with it at first glance. The game features a dark fantasy setting, powerful strikes, and a third-person camera that keeps you close to the action, reminiscent of Kratos' Norse adventures. Over the course of the demo, I navigated a labyrinthine map filled with treasure chests, aided by a young companion who assisted in puzzle-solving. We searched for a woman of the wilds living in a house mounted on a giant creature. The game sometimes feels too familiar, especially when you consider the elements borrowed from FromSoftware's catalog, such as anvil-shaped checkpoints that refill health potions and respawn enemies when rested at.

The game's world evokes a nostalgic 1980s fantasy vibe. You could easily imagine Conan the Barbarian fitting right in with its muscular soldiers, while the orangutan-like enemies bouncing on bamboo pogo sticks wouldn't seem out of place in Jim Henson's Labyrinth. The narrative also has a retro feel: an evil queen has turned steel into stone, and it's up to you, Aran de Lira, a blacksmith demigod, to defeat her and restore the world's metal. Despite its old-school charm, I'm skeptical about the story, characters, and writing being compelling enough. They feel very "video game-y," reminiscent of many forgotten Xbox 360 era tales.

The game's mechanical innovations are where Blades of Fire shines brightest. It features a combat system centered around directional attacks that utilize every face button on the controller. On a PlayStation controller, tapping triangle targets the head, cross aims at the torso, while square and circle swipe left and right. By carefully observing an enemy's stance, you can break through their defenses. For instance, if a soldier holds up a blade to protect their face, you can aim low and strike their gut, resulting in satisfyingly visceral effects, with blood spurting from the inflicted wounds.

The combat system really stands out in certain situations. The demo's first major boss, a slobbering troll, had a secondary health bar that could only be depleted after dismembering it. The limb you remove depends on your attack angle, so I could use a right-hand strike to sever its left arm, effectively disarming the troll. Even more dramatically, you can slice off the troll's entire face, rendering it blind and flailing until it regenerates its eyes.

Your weapons in Blades of Fire require significant attention compared to most games. Edged weapons become dull with use, reducing damage incrementally with each strike. This necessitates sharpening your blade with a stone or switching stances, as the edge and tip wear down independently. This mechanic adds a tangible feel to the weapons, influenced by your combat style.

As in Monster Hunter, you'll need to find moments during combat to sharpen your sword. However, all weapons have a durability meter that depletes over time, regardless of maintenance. When a weapon breaks, you can repair it at an anvil checkpoint or melt it down to craft a new one, which leads to Blades of Fire's most significant and innovative feature: the forge.

MercurySteam has developed an extensive weapon crafting system. Instead of finding new weapons in the world, every weapon's life begins at the forge. You start by selecting a basic template, which Aran sketches on a chalkboard, and then you tweak and modify it. For example, when designing a spear, you can adjust the pole's length and the spearhead's shape, affecting the weapon's stats. A longer pole increases the spear's range, while the head's shape determines its proficiency in slashing or piercing. Different materials influence the weapon's weight, impacting its stamina demands. This process makes you feel like you're genuinely crafting your weapon, and you can even name your creation.

The crafting system doesn't end with design. You must then physically forge the weapon on an anvil through a detailed minigame, where you control the length, force, and angle of each hammer strike. The goal is to match a curved line on the screen by arranging vertical bars, similar to a graphic equalizer. Overworking the steel weakens the weapon, so you aim to match the line with as few strikes as possible. Your performance is rated with stars, determining how many repairs your weapon can withstand before breaking permanently.

While I appreciate the forge's concept and its introduction of skill to what is typically a menu-driven system, the minigame felt frustratingly complex after several attempts. The connection between the areas I struck and the resulting metal shape wasn't clear. I hope for improvements or a better tutorial before the game's launch, as it would be a shame for such an innovative feature to be hindered by confusion.

The forge's concept extends beyond the scope of a three-hour demo. MercurySteam aims for you to form a deep attachment to the weapons you craft, carrying them throughout a journey they claim will last "no less than 60-70 hours." As you explore and find new metals, you can reforge your weapons to enhance their properties, ensuring they remain effective against new challenges. This bond with your armaments is reinforced by the death system; upon defeat, you drop your weapon and respawn without it.

This mechanic is inspired by Dark Souls, but it builds on a more meaningful connection: while lost souls can be regained through combat, a meticulously crafted sword you've bonded with is irreplaceable. Fortunately, dropped weapons remain in the world, so your challenge is to retrieve them. I'm eager to see how this plays out over the full campaign and whether backtracking will allow you to recover and reforge weapons from earlier in your journey.

It's no surprise that MercurySteam incorporates multiple ideas from Dark Souls and its successors, given FromSoftware's significant influence on action games. Blades of Fire is also a spiritual successor to Blade of Darkness, an early 2000s game developed by MercurySteam's founding members, which some consider a precursor to the Souls series. In many ways, the developers are building on their past work while incorporating advancements from other studios.

Throughout my playtime, I felt the influence of MercurySteam's inspirations – from the brutal combat of Blade of Darkness, to the innovations of FromSoftware, and the world design of God of War. Yet, these influences do not define Blades of Fire. Instead, they are reinterpreted as part of a broader tapestry of ideas, allowing Blades of Fire to carve out its own unique identity.

I do have some concerns – I'm uncertain if this generic dark fantasy world can sustain a 60-hour adventure, and within three hours, I encountered the same miniboss three times, raising questions about the game's variety. However, the depth of the relationship between your forged blades and the enemies you face has me completely intrigued. In an era where complex and often obtuse games like Elden Ring and Monster Hunter have found mainstream success, Blades of Fire has the potential to add a fascinating new element to the gaming landscape.