Blades of Fire is a brand-new IP from MercurySteam, the developers behind the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series. They’ve spent a while working as developers for hire on licensed game IPs and have built a strong reputation as a talented studio with a solid track record. So, what about Blades of Fire? This new title draws on their experience from games like Lords of Shadow to deliver a satisfying action game.
The main appeal of Blades of Fire is not its story, but the ability to forge and customize weapons. The story follows Aran, a warrior with a tragic past. He has the power to forge unique weapons using an ancient hammer given to him by the gods. The game clearly takes inspiration from the God of War series, but it introduces enough differences to stand on its own. Aran is joined by a young boy named Adso, a scholar who travels with him on a mission to assassinate the queen.
The opening of Blades of Fire is a bit slow. It takes time to set up the world, and early exploration is not particularly engaging. The main focus early on is moving from one objective to the next. As Aran fights enemies, he strikes an anvil that transports him to a special place where he can forge new weapons using the loot he has gathered. Adso records the journey, taking notes on events and how to handle different enemies. These notes are filled with lore, which makes them interesting to read.
The combat system in Blades of Fire might seem simple at first glance, especially just by watching it in action, but there is quite a bit of depth beneath the surface. You can target different parts of an enemy’s body and attack from four directions, each mapped to the controller’s face buttons. Enemies are color-coded to help identify their weaknesses: red means your current weapon is ineffective and should be avoided, orange indicates it will deal some damage but not much, and green means the enemy is weak to your current equipment. This system becomes important in later battles, though most regular enemies can be taken down with standard hack-and-slash tactics.
Switching weapons is smooth and can be done with simple button combinations. Combined with the enemy color indicators that appear when locked on, Blades of Fire encourages players to observe and react to enemy patterns instead of just spamming attacks. You also have defensive options that can be used during combat, such as dodging and blocking. Unfortunately, while the combat system sounds deep on paper, the lack of enemy variety limits its impact. Most encounters can be handled by switching to the right weapon and attacking based on the enemy’s weakness.
Boss fights in Blades of Fire are rare but stand out as unique challenges. These battles require you to use everything you’ve learned about the combat system to succeed. Defense plays a key role—parrying, blocking, and dodging are all essential, even on normal difficulty. The game is not afraid to be tough, but if you’re not looking for a big challenge, there are several difficulty settings available from the start.
The weapons in Blades of Fire have a durability system, which means they can get damaged over time. Sometimes, a weapon might become irreparable, but most of the time you can fix them—especially if you forge new ones and stay on top of your role as a blacksmith. Thankfully, tracking durability is not a hassle like in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Repairing weapons is also easy since there are plenty of crafting items scattered throughout the game.
I was pleasantly surprised by how the developers approached weapon forging. In most games, we just get the finished product without seeing how it’s made. Here, you watch the forging process happen in real-time. You strike the weapon with carefully timed and placed hits to make sure its reliability and quality stay high. The weapons are fully customizable too. Each part can be crafted using loot you collect, and these changes directly affect the final stats of the weapon. While you can choose to manually forge a weapon for the best results, there’s also an auto-forge option that creates a version with the best possible stats. It feels like a fun little minigame that can impact gameplay, but since it’s optional, players who are not interested can skip it.
One issue I had with the game is the visual design of its characters. The graphics overall are impressive, but the character proportions gave me déjà vu, reminding me of games from the PS3/Xbox 360 era. These types of AA action titles are rare these days, so it was nice to see one again in Blades of Fire. The level design is excellent, the soundtrack stands out with some great tracks, and while the character models are hit-or-miss, the game is technically polished and plays well. It is a confident and bold step forward for MercurySteam, especially as a new IP.
Blades of Fire Game Information
- Price: $59.99
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Developer: MercurySteam
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
