Bladed Fury - Review

 

It is quiet this time of year for game releases, I decided to go through all the games released in the last 7 weeks to see if I missed anything and I had. Bladed Fury by NExT Studios, a beautiful looking game with side-scrolling action. It was on Steam for only €5 so I thought why not give it a go.

Crunchie is a very underrated chocolate bar, growing up I was not huge into them as the honeycomb felt weird on my teeth. When I got older and especially at Christmas time I really got to enjoy them especially the little ones in selection boxes. They are a nice treat, small, pretty and tasty. Playing Bladed Fury I found myself asking was this the little tasty treat I needed?

Story

The story is set in Ancient China and sees you take control of Princess Ji, who in the first few minutes of the game is accused of murdering Duke Kang Qi and as a result is exiled. Demons seem to be entering our world and Ji has to find out why and try to save the kingdom.

Overall the story is fairly rich and provides a lot for such a short game. It's a good story that focuses on the folklore, demons and the evil that is man.

Visuals

The visuals in the game are impressive, a beautiful art style mixed with Chinese Art and filled with woodblock tapestries. The demons are interesting design and sometimes random, like a chest of drawers coming to life, in other circumstances, it may come off as comical but in Bladed Fury it just comes across as dark.  The movement and look of Ji are really smooth even when in fast-moving battle sequences. The cut scenes are works of art depicted as paintings that changed as the story is told.

Overall the visuals are fantastic and they really stand out as one of the most impressive parts of the game.

Music

The music is described as 'Future Bass + Ancient Instruments', which sounds almost impossible but Bladed Fury managed to achieve it. The music is composed by Austrian composer Edwin Wendler, whose credits included the soundtracks for; Iris Fall, Into The Blue, Unknown, and X-Men Apocalypse to name but a few.

The soundtrack is a little over thirty minutes in length, and while it may seem short it packs a lot in. Easily my favourite soundtrack of the year so far, and while most of the time I can pick out specific tracks that are highlighted for me this time I just can't, all the tracks are strong and work well with the game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is side-scrolling fun, Ji has both light and heavy attacks depending on what the situation calls for. She has an awesome slide movement which allows her to pass by any enemies and avoid attacks. A really cool feature of the gameplay is that as you beat bosses you capture their spirits and can use their moves in battle, this is particularly helpful with boss fights.

The game has a levelling up system for your abilities, which can be obtained in one playthrough. One of the most helpful abilities being rejuvenation which allows you to carry more health vials. Saving the game and upgrading abilities can be done at lamp posts throughout the game which are never too far away from you.

The boss battles start off simple-ish and then get crazy towards the end, the most impressive being the serpent battle where I had to use everything I had to stay alive.

Overall the gameplay is play is fast and fun, while it offers a challenge at times I never felt like was going to pull the few remaining hairs in my head out.

Final Thoughts

So, after just over four hours how did I feel? Really happy! The story was interesting, the visuals were amazing, the soundtrack was fantastic and the gameplay was smooth and fun. Overall it is hard to find fault in it and certainly the chocolatey treat I needed after Gears Tactics. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5