Blades of Fire is a beautiful but flawed action RPG that tries to forge a new identity in the Soulslike space. It’s got the heat, but not the heart
There’s a fine line between a game that challenges you and a game that simply exhausts you. Blades of Fire wants to be the former—a test of skill, patience, and adaptability—but too often it stumbles into the latter. It’s a beautiful, atmospheric, ambitious action-RPG, but for all its ideas and visual flair, it’s also one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in recent memory.
You play as Aran, the exiled prince of a fractured kingdom, cast out from the south and tasked with traveling north to defeat a mad queen whose corruption spreads like wildfire. It’s a grim, gothic fairytale world that Blades of Fire builds around you, a land steeped in mystery, decay, and violent beauty. From the outset, it’s clear the game is aiming for the kind of layered, interconnected world design that rewards exploration and punishes carelessness. And to be fair, it nails that part—mostly.
What elevates the narrative experience is the inclusion of Adso, your scholarly companion who serves as both guide and commentator throughout your expedition. His presence transforms what could have been a solitary slog through hostile territories into something resembling genuine companionship. Adso's enthusiasm for cataloguing the world's creatures and uncovering its hidden secrets provides welcome moments of levity and humanity in an otherwise brutal setting. His observations about enemy weaknesses and environmental lore prove invaluable, making him feel like a genuine partner rather than a mere exposition delivery device.
The real hook of Blades of Fire is its weapon system. Every weapon you use must be crafted, forged from materials found throughout the world or salvaged from the corpses of your enemies. There’s no loot drops in the traditional sense. Instead, enemies drop “recipes” — basically blueprints — and raw materials that you then use to craft new weapons. The catch? Weapons break. Fast.
Now, in theory, I get the idea. You’re encouraged—forced, really—to switch up your playstyle, adapt to different weapon types, and embrace a constant cycle of experimentation. In practice, though, it’s just exhausting. Weapons don’t just break quickly; they disintegrate alarmingly fast, often in the middle of fights. And they can’t be repaired indefinitely, meaning that even if you really like a particular axe or sword, you’ll eventually have to give it up. Permanently.
That’s a hard pill to swallow in any game, but especially in one that asks for such precise combat mastery. It feels like the developers were trying to evoke that “hard but fair” Soulslike formula, but they went a little too far into “hard” and forgot to keep it fair. You spend as much time in the forge menu as you do on the battlefield.
The crafting process itself unfolds through a minigame that tasks you with matching point patterns to weapon templates. Your precision determines the final product's durability and repair potential, adding a skill-based element to equipment creation. The system incorporates various materials that affect different weapon attributes – damage output, stamina consumption, blocking capability, and overall durability. This depth creates meaningful choices about resource allocation and long-term planning. While the forging mini-game itself is fine by hour two, it felt more like a chore than a feature. By hour four, I never wanted to see an anvil again.
Combat in Blades of Fire is… complicated. On the surface, it ticks all the right boxes. It’s weighty, crunchy, and brutal. Each weapon feels distinct in terms of range, speed, and impact. But the big twist here is a directional combat mechanic that fundamentally changes how encounters unfold. When locked onto an enemy, their silhouette becomes highlighted, revealing how different weapons and attack angles will interact with their defenses. This visual feedback system transforms combat from the typical pattern recognition of most soulslikes into something more tactical and deliberate.
The directional system divides attack options across your controller's face buttons, with each corresponding to different body parts and attack vectors. Head strikes, arm attacks, and body blows each serve distinct purposes depending on your opponent's armor configuration and magical protections. The visual indicators – red for ineffective, yellow for reduced damage, green for optimal impact – create a clear language that guides your tactical decisions without overwhelming you with information.
It sounds clever. And occasionally, it works. But most of the time, it just feels clunky. There’s a sluggishness to everything — the wind-up animations, the dodges, even the blocks. The timing windows for invincibility frames during dodges or parries feel inconsistent. Sometimes you’ll dodge clean through an attack; other times you’ll eat the full hit even though you swear you pressed it at the right time. It’s infuriating, especially during boss fights where precision is everything.
And because of the weapon durability system, you can’t even rely on building muscle memory around a specific toolset. You’re constantly being pushed out of your comfort zone, swapping out your trusty blade for something new, not because you want to, but because you have to. Again, I understand the design philosophy here. But forcing experimentation isn’t the same as rewarding it. It feels artificial, like the game’s yelling at you for trying to find a rhythm.
Blades of Fire eschews traditional character leveling in favor of equipment-based progression. Your combat effectiveness depends entirely on your weapons and the handful of permanent upgrades scattered throughout the world. Health and stamina increases come from hidden collectibles, creating an incentive for thorough exploration that the confusing level design often undermines, but more on that later.
Where Blades of Fire succeeds—massively—is in its worldbuilding. It heavily borrows from familiar fantasy wells – ancient kingdoms, dark magic, and landscapes scarred by conflict. While competently constructed, it rarely ventures into truly original territory. The lore feels adequate rather than inspired, providing sufficient context for your journey without offering the kind of rich, interconnected mythology that makes the best fantasy worlds feel lived-in and authentic.
Enemy design is equally strong. Each region introduces new creatures that reflect the area’s history and corruption. Some are humanoid, others are twisted beasts made of bone, flesh, and fire. They’re dangerous, grotesque, and often unsettling in all the right ways.
Visually, Blades of Fire succeeds in creating a compelling fantasy atmosphere. The environments showcase impressive attention to detail, from the intricate stonework of ancient fortresses to the organic curves of forest pathways. The color palette shifts effectively between different regions, using warm earth tones for wooded areas and cool blues and grays for the northern wastes.
The technical performance on PS5 is generally solid, maintaining consistent frame rates even during intensive combat sequences. Load times are minimal, and the visual fidelity remains impressive throughout the lengthy adventure. The game's engine handles the transition between different environmental types smoothly, creating a sense of journeying through a cohesive world rather than disconnected levels.
But while the world is beautiful, it’s also a nightmare to navigate. The level design is unapologetically labyrinthine without purpose, creating confusion about progression paths versus optional exploration. There’s a map system, but it's a 2D map for a game with a lot of verticality. No quest markers. No golden path. Just vague hints and visual breadcrumbs. That would be fine if exploration felt intuitive or rewarding, but it rarely does. More often than not, I found myself backtracking through the same corridors, unsure if I was progressing or just lost. And the fact that your character can’t jump—not even a little hop—makes traversal even more tedious. Obstacles that seem passable block your way arbitrarily. Ledges you think you should be able to climb are just set dressing. It’s immersion-breaking, and it undermines the game’s own ambitions. A 3D map system like the new Doom games would have made exploration much more enjoyable and the game overall more fun.
When I heard MercurySteam was behind this, my expectations were admittedly high. Their previous work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was, in my opinion, amazing. Those games were confident, cinematic, brutal and easy to play in a way that felt satisfying. Blades of Fire feels like a very different beast—a slower, more methodical, less directed experience. That’s not inherently bad, but it’s definitely not what I was hoping for.
Having said that I can see how some players might love getting lost in this world, optimizing their forge builds, and slowly mastering the combat mechanics. But for me, it just didn’t land. There’s a fine line between challenging and punishing, and Blades of Fire too often falls on the wrong side of it. But if anything I mention sounds even remotely interesting to you, maybe consider checking it out. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a PS5 via a promo copy provided by PR. Blades of Fire is available on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
