Blades of Fire Review – Steel Yourself
Official Score
Overall - 80%
80%
Blades of Fire tries something new with its combat, truly excelling as a result. Those that devote the time to its blacksmithing and weaponry will no doubt have fun slicing and dicing (and piercing and blunting).
The lords at MercurySteam, known for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and other hits, are working with 505 Games for their new original action-adventure Blades of Fire.
Does this title have the right tools for the job, or does its approach to combat feel a little dull?
Blades of Fire Review – Steel Yourself
Blades of Fire keeps things unique from the offset – taking control of the punished Aran de Lira, players will set off to take down Queen Nerea holed up in the Royal Palace and bless her royal highness with a one way ticket to the afterlife.
Joined by the young Adso de Zelk (send him back to camp if he gets annoying), players set off to stop anyone and anything that stands between their mission – and there’s a lot in its interconnected world.
Enter Blades of Fire’s combat system: Featuring Slashing, Piercing, and Blunt damage, Blades of Fire gives tremendous weight to every battle. The direction of one’s strikes also comes into play too – always be mindful of one’s opponent, surroundings, and stamina! There’s even runes like the Time rune for those looking to change things up.
Quoting the almighty South Park, if you approach Blades of Fire as a mindless hack-and-slash, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Aran de Lira isn’t Devil May Cry’s Dante or even God of War’s Kratos (Greek and Norse) – he’s a man with the right tools for the job.
Even if they have to be recycled first.
Rather, players will need to be methodical with the way they approach each of its many battles! Turn your brain on, lock in (as the kids say), and get ready to bring the fight to armored Warmongers, fiery Lords, and spooky scary skeletons – among others.
On that note, Blades of Fire masterfully eases players in to its different battles. Color-coded systems ease the burden, while the general flow of each battle means that failure is – generally – nobody’s fault but your own.
That being said, Blades of Fire is far from an easy title – and it does admittedly have a different feel compared to industry standards. It’s one of those instances where players will need to firmly grasp how to put things into practice.
Those that take the time to learn Blades of Fire will feel an immense feeling of satisfaction. Put simply, Blades of Fire features an adventure unlike anything in the gaming space today – just be sure to keep your weapons sharp!
That being said, we could have done with fewer instances of bringing X thing to Y spot…
Outside of Blades of Fire’s main battles, players can head to the Forge with one’s handy-dandy Forgers Hammer via strategically placed Forger’s Anvils. From there, players can set out to make sure one’s weapons are stronger than any Queen’s blade.
Requiring the right resources, players will set out to – carefully – make the weapons of their dreams. One will need to hammer things home (heh) and carefully time their strikes, making sure that things are just right.
Again, rushing things and phoning it in will get a crummy one-star weapon; not exactly ideal. However, mastering Blades of Iron’s Forge system, along with its other mechanics, leads to some truly fantastic results that cut through the competition – so to speak.
Blades of Fire tries something new with its combat, truly excelling as a result. Those that devote the time to its blacksmithing and weaponry will no doubt have fun slicing and dicing (and piercing and blunting).
Blades of Fire Review
Reviewed On: PC (A digital code was provided)
Release Date: May 22, 2025
MSRP: $53.99
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: MercurySteam
Publisher: 505 Games
Aggregate Scores: Metacritic, OpenCritic
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