Companies are warming up for everything that lies ahead in the coming months and in the coming year. 505 Games He has several video games in the works pending publication and this week I was able to stop by his offices to take a look at a couple of them. One of them has been about Stray Blade, a action rpg by the German study Point Blank Games.
The truth is that I had seen the game a couple of times in passing and it was not exactly one that I had on my list of expected releases. However, that has allowed me to be pleasantly surprised to see its proposal in depth, its playability, its setting and another series of details that will make me follow the track now, despite having died a few times during the test.
Exploring the challenging Acrea Valley
The story of this title introduces us to an adventurer or adventurer, depending on the sex we choose, who one day finds out about the legend of the acrea valley, a majestic place and apparently full of riches. However, upon reaching this place the situation becomes so complicated that our protagonist ends up dying, so it could be said that things have not started off on the right foot at all.
However, he mysteriously comes back to life, although this time with a stone equipped on his chest. It didn’t take long for us to find out that the boulder causes us to be linked to this mysterious island, so that we will have no choice but to explore the forests and ancient ruins of this place where a civilization once lived, in addition to finding a way to restore its freedom. and balance.
The latter is mainly due to the fact that the valley is full of enemies in the form of humans, wild animals and another series of monsters that we will have to deal with. Fortunately, we will not be alone, since we will be accompanied by a strange creature called Boji that will throw us a cable in this odyssey and will also be responsible for bringing us back to life every time we die.
Of course, I could not verify exactly what its usefulness will be beyond being able to revive us, because during the first bars of the campaign I only went with my warrior and from time to time both characters would have conversations in which they would drop the odd joke. In any case, the game invites us to explore each and every one of its corners.
Acrea has an open world form that at first we will not be able to access anywhere, since it will be necessary to unlock parts of the terrain, but in its surroundings there are countless materials that will be useful to us to make objects or also to create new weapons. In addition, although it gives the impression that there is a main road, until we reach it we can do it by our own methods through different routes.
A soulslike with a lot of customization
When I found out that the game was an action RPG I was afraid of encountering a soulslike, but my fear was fulfilled as soon as I came face to face with the first enemy. The point is that I’m not a fan of this genre that I’ve given opportunities to with titles like Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, etc., but with all of them I ended up getting tired quickly, because It is a genre that I recognize is not made for mesomething that is okay because not everyone is passionate about the same titles.
I do not deny that they are great games. The problem is that I am very impatient in combat and always charge at enemies when I see an opportunity to make a good thrust, although that means that they hit me back or maybe I should have been more patient and blocked the impact first or dodge and counterattack. It is also true that these types of games are generally very challenging, but with Stray Blade I have found something different.
During the hour-hour and a half that I played I lost count of how many times my furry companion revived me and I returned to the sanctuary (like the bonfires of the Souls) to get back on track. This happened to me especially very early on for the reason I mentioned previously, but with a little more calm and a good understanding of the controls and the gameplay, I was able to realize that the game it is a soulslike adapted for everyone.
Beyond the basic mechanics of dodging, blocking and attacking with a weak and strong attack, it also had a resistance bar, like the enemies, so that it could cause them to exhaust themselves to land a devastating blow. In turn, all the opponents had different patterns when it came to moving and attacking, so once you learned them it wasn’t so desperate to finish them off, including a final boss that I faced in the final stretch of the test and who I defeated the first after having learned the lesson by force.
But not everything was based on exploring and fighting, because behind these battles there are huge customization for everyone to adapt the gameplay and adventure to their style. This is because in various places we will find forges to build new weapons with the plans that we collect. There are dozens of different weapons and therefore the way to use them will vary, although they are designed in such a way that none is better than the other, so that each one can wield the one they want and we do not always use the same one.
For this, the weapons have their own level of mastery that we will go up by killing the enemies, in order to make them more powerful. And if there is something that has a greater customization, it is still our protagonist, because as we go, it will level up and increase its statistics or improve other abilities with a gigantic skill tree to which we will assign points as we get enough experience points.
Along with this there will be pieces of equipment and there will also be the possibility of modify its appearance between multitude of different colors, in case we want to give our character a more personal touch. So we can change the helmet, cape, armor and other details at any time during the game.
Definitely, Stray Blade It has a touch of challenge, without reaching those peaks of difficulty of FromSoftware games, and aims to be an action RPG that anyone can give a chance to, regardless of whether they are an expert in soulslike or not. Although the first contact has been brief, I have to say that it has left me wanting more and to continue exploring the Acrea Valley.
- platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (played version)
- multiplayer: No
- developer: Point Blank Games
- Company: 505 Games
- Launch: 2023
