Release Date: 18/12/2018
Played On: Win
Available On: Win
Time Played: 2h 41m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Next Studios
Publisher: Next Studios
There's always so much to be gained from going into a game blind, with no real idea about what to expect. Then again, we've all be burned by a movie or a game that looked interesting, but turned out to be a stinker. However, when you go in blind and discover an excellent little experience that you were never expecting, the overall level of satisfaction gets raised significantly.
If I could always have my way, I'd begin every story without any prior knowledge or hints as to what I might be getting myself into. With movies and books it's fairly easy, as it's common to have favourite authors, directors, and actors, so picking a property with someone we like involved might be a good place to start. Video games are a little more unpredictable, as the most interesting experiences often come from smaller teams who we've never heard of. Plus, when was the last time you watched a game's credits and genuinely took note of the Creative Director?
Recognisable figures in the gaming industry are few and far between, so it's hard to pick up a game and simply trust that it will be good, because you know the studio that made it. Although I think this is becoming less of a problem, as more and more studios are carving out their own niche in the landscape and recognising the value in producing games that share a level of quality and design.
Most notably I think of studios like Remedy and Supergiant, who both have identifiable styles and signatures to the games they produce, for better or worse. In the case of some larger studios like Ubisoft, or even Nintendo, their recognisable style can be quite polarising, as not everyone enjoys the childish mascots of Nintendo, or the open world collect-a-thons from Ubisoft. However, I would argue that I have never felt deceived by these companies, as I always know what I'm getting myself into. As a result, I tend to enjoy Ubisoft's open world formula, while I can't stand another second of Mario jumping about and all his stupid friends.
This sort of identity crafting might work really well for mid-level and large development studios, as they have the ongoing resources to make an impact and maintain their style through multiple games. Unfortunately for the little indie devs, it's not so easy to release a series of successful games that produce an identity and thus, shape expectations for whatever you're making next. Most of the time indie studios struggle to make a hit with a single game, so there isn't a lot of room to think about long-term style and identity. If I were them I'd rather focus on making something that will sell and keep the studio in business.
With all of that in mind, rolling the dice on a game from a larger studio that we know is actually a lot safer than taking a chance on a little indie game that had no precedence or reputation. At the same time though, it's really cheap to pick up bundles of indie games for a few bucks and give them a go. Then if they're all crap, you've only lost a small investment when compared with the full-priced "triple A" experiences.
By now you might have figured out that Bladed Fury is one of those games that I picked up somewhere for a few bucks with little to no expectations. Actually, I can't remember how I acquired it, so it must have either been in a good sale, or as part of a cheap bundle, but thankfully I recently found it in my library and decided to give it a go. All I could tell from a brief glance at the game's page in Steam, was that it involved some kind of ancient Chinese setting, and it looked very pretty. Thus, I went into this game with little to no idea about what I was getting into, but I'm here to say that I haven't been as pleasantly surprised in a long time.
Bladed Fury is a revenge story set in Ancient China that tells a fictional tale of folklore set amongst the very real conflict that faced the Qi Kingdom. Although, this isn't just a conflict between emperors and kingdoms, as there are demons who possess and control key figures in the conflict and attempt to skew events to their own manipulative ends.
We play as the princess Ji, who has been betrayed by a demon who chases her out of the palace of Qi kingdom, where her father the Emperor remains in thrall. Ji is then set on a path to avenge her father and defeat the evil that has taken over the land, and with the help of other spirits and friends, she grows in power and acquires the skills necessary to fight the demons and send them packing. In fact, quite early on in the game, Ji discovers the ability to manipulate and control spirits to her own gain, which is not only a nice way to tie the mechanics in with the story, but it's the very thing Ji needs to take revenge and defeat her enemies.
The game is broken into a series of levels that represent the locations Ji encounters on her journey to the big bad guy at the other end. With the help of spirits and ethereal elements, Ji not only infiltrates enemy military camps and palaces, but traverses the world of the undead and fights mechanical monstrosities on her path to glory. The levels are fairly concise overall, but they provide a genuinely satisfying amount of variety. Each area ends up needing a certain amount of conditions to be met in order to reach the end, so while one level may simply require you to defeat all the enemies, others will task you with solving puzzles, or exploring for unique ways to get around and fight.
Now, I'll be the first to say that I should never bother playing any game with a lot of platforming in it every again, but then I would have missed out on this gem. After all this is without a doubt an action platformer that thankfully focuses more on the combat than the jumping around. However, if you're like me and hate to see levels filled with platforms floating in the air without any real-life analogue, get ready to be annoyed because there is no doubt about this game's platforming core.
Ultimately though, the saving grace for Bladed Fury is that it focuses more on interesting combat than hardcore platforming. There are some out-of-the way collectibles that require some creative movement to reach, but it's simple enough to skip most of these and have a good time instead. In fact, even if you hate platforming mechanics like me, the combat systems are satisfying enough to ensure that you don't ever really notice how much running and jumping you're actually doing.
Don't get me wrong though, this isn't Platinum levels of action combat systems, so make sure you metre those expectations a little. In fact I would say that the combat in Bladed Fury is focused much more on being enjoyable and fun, as opposed to complex and challenging. While some might argue that complexity and challenge both lead to greater enjoyment, I would argue that feeling badass no matter what you're doing is a lot more enjoyable for a lot more people. Suffice to say that if you're a real hardcore action-combat focused gamer, this might seem a little "light" for you.
Meanwhile everyone else like me will find the combat mechanics to be super fun to learn and get better at, while still making you feel like a complete boss in the process. It's essentially a simply combo system that involves light and heavy attacks, dodges, blocks and basic counters. As you progress through the game you unlock better variants on the basic combos, as well as new abilities like double jumping and multiple dashes in a row. This is the kind of system that lets you button mash if that's the way you want to play, but also provides more detail for those who want to learn a few combos, but not find it as confusing as an actual fighting game.
The enemies follow this model, as they consist of your usual roster of varying strengths and abilities. The basic grunts can be owned by mashing light attack, while stronger enemies need a heavy or two to break down their armour first. Plus, there are the big dudes, the quick dudes, the dudes that fly, the dudes that jump around, it's everything you 'd expect from this kind of line-up.
What really makes the combat interesting though, is that Ji has four slots where she can store four different soul powers. These are typically acquired from defeating bosses, who each have unique move sets and attack patterns to learn and overcome. Once defeated though, the unique boss power becomes one that you can call on during battle, bringing that warrior into the fight while they perform their special move. Essentially each boss has been corrupted by a demon, so when you defeat them, their pure soul is thankful and becomes a power you may wield against evil. It's a neat way to tie everything into the story, which is enhanced by the defeated souls appearing each time you summon them.
Speaking of appearances, this is where Bladed Fury really sold itself to me overall. If the combat system made the platforming bearable, then the gorgeous art and design make this game something special indeed. I absolutely adored everything about the illustrative nature of the graphics, which lean heavily on their traditional Chinese influences. From the beautifully artistic environments, to the excellent character design and animation. This entire game is a real feast for the eyes for anyone like me who has a passion for illustration.
Thus, as you're slicing your way through waves of enemies with your fancy (yet manageable) combos and attacks, everything looks as slick and gorgeous as it possibly could. As much as I love a game that looks this beautiful when it's played, I love the fact that Bladed Fury manages weave in satisfying gameplay mechanics that relate to its decent story.
Sure, this isn't a big blockbuster and it doesn't take ages to get through all the levels and finally take your revenge, but as soon as I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I talked a lot about identity and style earlier in the post and I'd like to mention it again for one good reason, because it's actually important here. This is a game that oozes style and identity, thanks to its beautiful graphics and its fun gameplay that not only feels great to play, but looks incredible in motion. All I need now is for Next Studios, the game's developer, to maintain this excellence into their next game.
I hope that Bladed Fury sold well and there's another like it in the works, but I also wouldn't be surprised if this little gem went unnoticed by so many other gamers like me. After all, I can't even remember how I got it in my library, so it was only down to chance that I managed to play it in the first place. Thankfully though, this is one of those times where taking a chance has paid off in spades.
As a general though to cap off this post, I encourage everyone to take a chance on small games that look even slightly interesting to you. Sure you'll get burned every now and then, but nobody says you can't stop playing, or even ask for a refund. The point is that if you take a chance every now and again, you might just stumble onto something brilliant like Bladed Fury. I'm super keen to see what I can find in the future, but for now I'm pumped to have had such a fun time with this great little game.
I mean... just look at that art!
PS: I looked up Next Studios after writing this post and they have a bunch of other games available on Steam, but sadly none of them appear to be in the same realm as Bladed Fury. In fact, if I hadn't searched for the developer specifically, I wouldn't have seen anything to tie their games together, which is as disappointing as it is expected.