US EditionBlades of Fire Review
- MercurySteam released Blades of Fire, a third-person fantasy action RPG, on May 22, 2025, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.
- The game builds on Soulslike combat with unique mechanics and a crafting system, aiming for an exploration-focused, accessible experience with difficulty options.
- Players control Aran, a commoner wielding a forging hammer on a quest to stop a damaging queen, accompanied by Adso, a young scribe who aids lore discovery but not combat.
- Combat involves targeting enemy body parts with eight attacks across 35 weapons, featuring a wide range of enemies, boss fights, and optional collectibles over at least 55 hours of gameplay.
- While praised especially for crafting and combat, the game suffers from pacing issues, long scavenger hunts, and a disappointing ending, suggesting room for improvement in future titles.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Blades of Fire Review
I always look forward to it when a studio steps out of its comfort zone to create something unexpected. Blades of Fire, a 3D action-RPG from developer MercurySteam, best known for the stellar Metroid Dread and its action-packed take on Castlevania during the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era, does just that. Combining its past successes to give you control of a blacksmith who crafts his own weapons of destruction seemed like a promising concept. Unfort…
Blades of Fire Review: A Lukewarm Forge?
Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), Xbox Series, PlayStation 5 Genre: Action, RPG, Soulslike, Smithing These days, you really need a standout feature to elevate your future action game with double-A production values. Developer MercurySteam, after their major success with Metroid Dread a few years back, are returning to the days when they made third-person action games
Blades Of Fire Review - A Soulsian Adventure Like No Other
MercurySteam holds the rare distinction of having worked on both the Metroid series and the Castlevania series. A true master of the Metroidvania (search-action) genre. So when the Madrid-based developer gets the opportunity to forge their own destiny with a new IP, what did they make? An action-RPG with some elements of a soulslike. Huh? But unlike other soulslike-adjacent action-adventure/action-RPGs, Blades Of Fire doesn’t want to be pigeon-h…
Blades of Fire Benchmarks & PC Performance Analysis
505 Games has lifted the review embargo for Blades of Fire. Powered by Mercury Engine 6, it’s time to benchmark it and examine its performance on PC. For our benchmarks, we used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, AMD’s Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, RX 9070XT, as well as NVIDIA’s RTX … Continue reading Blades of Fire Benchmarks & PC Performance Analysis → The post Blades of Fire Benchmarks & PC Performance Analysis appeared first on…
Blades of Fire Review – A Double-Edged Sword of Innovation and Frustration
Blades of Fire delivers a fresh take on dark fantasy RPGs by centering its gameplay around blacksmithing and a unique directional combat system. Playing as Aran De Lira, you'll forge weapons to fight against a queen who has cursed all steel to stone. The game's standout feature is its innovative Forge system, where crafting becomes an engaging mini-game that directly impacts combat performance. The post Blades of Fire Review – A Double-Edged Swo…
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