Blades of Time reviews

Blades of Time is primarily a hack-and-slash game (attack, block, slide out of the way, jump for different attacks), but there are many interesting mechanics which add tons of variety to the game: * Once you get enough "rage" by hitting enemies, you can unleash a variety of spell-like abilities (fire spells, freezing spells, heavy strikes, sliding attacks); all of these are satisfying to unleash and the interface with the controller is well thought out and easy to remember. * There is a "Time Rewind" skill. This can be used to solve a few light puzzles, but, more importantly, it can be used in combat as well. This makes for some exciting fights, where multiples copies of you are casting, shooting and hacking at an enemy (and some enemies must be attacked from multiple angles at the same time); * Yes, shooting, because the game also has a few rifles, and their mechanics is surprisingly smooth and satisfying, meshing well with the other game systems, even with a controller. * And there is a little bit of other stuff which is better left to be discovered (use of light and shadows in a particularly interesting level, a few uses of an "order" spell, some other cool movement options). The plot is not groundbreaking, but it is interesting enough, and it adds to the gameplay -- in the second half of the game, there are rivaling factions, and you often see your enemies fighting each other, which adds more chaos and action to the scenes. The dialogues aren't Shakespearean, but are well written enough, and the voice acting is also good enough. Also, the graphics aren't exactly technically groundbreaking, even for a 2012 game -- models are blocky, textures aren't too sharp... But artistically, I found them very appealing; the surroundings evoke mysterious and alien architectures and are very pleasant to look at. The bigger spell effects feel particularly "punchy"; when many of your copies perform a big spell simultaneously, it is even hard to see what is going on... but it still looks super cool. And the animations are well done, the whole game feels very responsive and smooth as a consequence. Finally, there is this "Outbreak" mode, which is a very light MOBA mode (think "simplified League of Legends") but with the mechanics of the single player game (except Time Rewind). I played a few single-player rounds with it and had fun, but did not really dabble in any MP with it. All in all, this is an awesome underrated gem. Score: 86/100.