Magic, monsters and… metallurgy? The epic action is presented in many fantastic forms, but Mercurysteam's next trip to a brand new world of peril based on fantasy has a particularly unique approach. Yes, there is the mysterious mysterious and slightly brooding protagonist – Aran de Lira – in a quest to defeat a brutal and brutal queen, determined in destruction.
And yes, there is a courageous squire – ADSO – acting as a studious companion of Aran, documenting your trip to the Royal Palace, while helping to solve puzzles and by offering deficient strategies and jokes in enemy. But also, shining in this rich quest promising something between 60 and 80 hours of gameplay is something that gives the blades of fire its edge: the blacksmith.
“We are waiting for the opportunity to come back to the kind of fantasy [we explored in Blade of Darkness]A brutal, physical and tactical fight, ”explains Enric Álvarez, CEO of Mercurysteam, and director of Blades of Fire. “When we created the premise where a queen of the evil witches transforms steel into stone, the hero has a problem. You must therefore forge your own weapons. This simple thing is how we had the idea of the forge. »»
The forge of the gods at the Enric refers is a dark and brooding kingdom where Aran has the possibility of conceiving and making the weapons he needs to make his way through more than 50 enemy types, soldiers armored by the queen's orcish. Nerea's curse on steel has no effect in the forge, so picking between seven families of different weapons, including Claymores and controversies, you can make a dizzying range of variations.
For example, the length of a blade can affect the damage it inflicts, while the type of steel changes the laceration, defense and sustainability of the weapon. What type of transverse section will you choose to cut power and resistance? A convex form can give you more sustainability but less reduction damage, but a larger one can give you more penetration and speed. And what about the pommel, which affects the balance of the weapon?
During my stay with the game, the forge already required a range of decisions, with a clear number of looped options – but what prevented it from becoming crushing was the practical side bar focused on statistics, which told me what changed my choices. About 14 different statistics display the efficiency of my weapon to block and parry, with its endurance, weight and typing and drilling damage also visible.
Of course, this is not the end of the process. Once I have done my selections, the real forging begins, which posed a gameplay challenge for Mercurysteam. “I'm almost sure that there is no other game that has a system like this,” says Enric. “So we had to create it without references. We wanted the player to feel the strength, heat and intensity of the forge, so when you hit the metal with your hammer, you move the metal in one direction or another and shape it. “”
The result of this consideration is a visualization that resembles graphic equalizer bars which trace along the hot divine metal of your potential blade. You must match the bars closely to the profile of the weapon before hitting the metal with the sacred hammer. But the more steel you hit, the more properties it will lose, so balance is essential.
At the end of the process, your new weapon will get a star note, representing the number of times you can repair it before it is damaged forever and practically unusable – because the weapons deteriorate in combat and will eventually break. “It is easy to get a viable weapon, but it is very difficult to get a perfect one,” explains Enric. “And in combat, you will feel the consequences of your decisions, because it will determine your combat style.”
Enric does not exaggerate either. My game immediately sees me realize that the Blades of Fire do not require a small amount of timing and reflection. Each front button is mapped to an attack for the left and right sides and the head and body. Not only are these important considerations depending on the type of enemy that you fight, but you must also choose between striking techniques, stabs and border to bypass certain armor.
Combined with the endurance bar to ensure that you cannot count on the button button or overuse, the Dodge d'Aran roll made for complex and exciting battles. The fight is smooth, fast, responsive and satisfactory, especially once I discovered that well -lived and well -timed attacks can lead to members and heads flying everywhere, which can also be done if you catch your enemy towards.
Over time, weapons benefit from reputation to win an epic or legendary status, so taking good care of it is essential, but dying means having to recover your armament where you fell – which did not cause me any problems when I was surprised by a troll that quickly turned Aran into a paste. The return to the region, now repopulated with other enemies, caused an interesting dilemma by recovering my sword … until I realize that leading the troll angry in the unfortunate enemy soldiers was an entirely valid tactic. Soon there was fresh dough for everyone.
The blades of fire promise to be another well -designed adventure of Mercurysteam. And don't be fooled – while Aran is practical with a hammer, he does not approach all the problems as if it were a nail. There is a lot of exploration and a suspicion of puzzle resolution to also appreciate, as well as a detailed account inspired by the comics of John Boorman, the name of the rose and the comics of Frank Frazetta. “It is a story about people cruelly separated by time and fate, to meet years later, irrevocably changed,” explains Enric.
Prepare your hands for the blacksmith to discover everything for yourself when Blades of Fire is launched on PlayStation 5 on May 22.
