There’s no denying that a new soulslike being announced and released isn’t as exciting nowadays as it once used to be, due to how bloated the genre is nowadays. There are new ones coming out pretty much every time I wake up these days. However, Blades of Fire did pique my interest before launch, mostly because it was being developed by MercurySteam, a developer I have a lot of respect for. They are the ones responsible for the flawed but fascinating Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, as well as Metroid: Dread. I was interested in seeing if they would be able to add in a new touch to this saturated market. Does Blades of Fire do enough to help ignite the flames, or did it smoulder and fade away?

You play as Aran De Lira, a humble blacksmith who stumbles across a mighty divine hammer created by an ancient race of forgers who have shaped the world to their liking. Aran, with the newly discovered magical hammer, sets out across the world to assassinate Queen Neera, who plots to turn everything to stone. I won’t lie… the story is nothing to write home about, and I found myself skipping over dialogue that felt bloated with characters that are forgettable. 

Blades of Fire really does try to distinguish itself from other soulslikes, thanks to its emphasis on weapon forging, which is not only a significant part of the game’s narrative, but also heavily ingrained into the progression and core gameplay loop. Just about every weapon you will be using is one that you’ve forged yourself, being able to pick from seven different weapon types, including swords, greatswords, spears and many more, each with their own distinctive subtypes. 

On top of this, once you’ve selected your weapon type, you can really dial in the stats by picking from various material strengths, hilts, blades, and metals you will use. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, the mini-game that comes alongside the weapon crafting is a bit of a chore as you strike the weapon to shape it. The better you perform, the more potent the weapon becomes and the longer you can use it. Whilst good in theory, it’s just a bafflingly bad minigame that makes me actually dread crafting new weapons instead of being excited to do so. 

The forging system is Blades of Fire’s biggest strength, but also its weakest element.

Once a weapon starts to degrade, you can repair it, which takes off 1 star until it becomes unusable. This is an interesting spin on the dreaded weapon degradation system that has plagued some fantastic games like Breath of the Wild. It makes every single use of a weapon feel much more personal and impactful, knowing that eventually the weapon will pass its usefulness. As a whole, the weapon crafting adds a personal layer to the experience, even if it has annoyances, and the process could be better. 

If you’ve played a soulslike before, then you’ve got the basic idea of what to expect from Blades of Fire. You’ve got your standard light and heavy attacks, a stamina system, healing potions that can be refilled at a bonfire (or an anvil in this game), which also respawns enemies, and a metroidvania approach to level design, with winding pathways and sometimes something more open-ended than the traditional souls experience. The level design, whilst not treading any new ground, does a decent job with plenty of secrets to find. However, there are definitely moments where the game doesn’t do a good job of highlighting where you need to go and can often be confusing in the opening hours. 

As for the combat, this is also pretty good and plays closer to The Surge than others in the genre. Each face button is mapped to a weapon’s directional attack, necessary for when you are fighting enemies in enclosed spaces and don’t want to bash your gun on the wall a few times, or to hit a weak spot more easily. Most enemies are mostly just fine and bosses are reasonably well balanced even if they do feel a little too repetitive. Even dying has its own unique twist. Instead of losing the standard XP, you will drop the weapon you were currently using. Speaking of which, there’s no levelling at all and instead, progression is tied almost entirely through exploration and weapon crafting. Overall, though, nothing in this gameplay will blow you away but it is definitely more than serviceable.

Hitting things with hammer makes a bloody mess.

In addition, different weapons will be more beneficial than others in key moments. A heavily armoured opponent is better dealt with using a blunt weapon until the armour is broken, when you can switch to being added. This is indicated when locking onto an enemy. Their highlights will turn green on particular body parts when you deal the maximum amount of damage, and red when it’s completely mitigated. 

Playing on the PlayStation 5, it’s clear that Blades of Fire does have a lower budget than a lot of other games; however, it does have a charmingly janky edge to it. The world design, whilst not entirely original, does look pretty solid with greater use of colour and grandiose vistas that make the world feel large. You will end up trekking through a wide variety of locations throughout Aran’s adventure. 

Blades of Fire is a much better game than I initially anticipated. Granted, don’t expect grand innovations to the soulslike genre, but we’ve got some really novel ideas, such as directional-based combat and a weapon crafting system that add a unique flavour to the game. Even if not all of them work, I still have to admit I respect the efforts. I highly recommend fans of the classic Souls games to check this one out. 

Blades of Fire is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC. 

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Blades of Fire was provided by the publisher.