Blade Assault Review by JP from Gabbing About

Written by JP (Gabbing About)

This may not the atypical review you were expecting, and here is why.

Blade Assault is a buggy mess. From talents not working correctly, to systems you unlock not providing the correct benefit, Blade Assault has issues. I say this to you, after 24 hours and 5 minutes of playtime. It is also one of the most accessible Rogue-lite titles I’ve played, yet it also has so much depth I can’t possibly fit it in under 1000 words!

It took me going to Insomnia Gaming Festival, where I didn’t have the time to play anything, to stop playing Blade Assault. It had its claws in me, deep.

If the above 94 words don’t encourage you to explore Blade Assault, then let me go into further details below.

So, what is Blade Assault?

Blade Assault is 2D Rogue-Lite platformer game developed by TeamSuneat and published by PM Studios. The game combines fast-paced combat with rogue-lite elements such as some randomised elements on stage layouts and (genre defining) permadeath, giving players an exciting and challenging gameplay experience.

You play (at first) as a member of a rebellion called Kil. Kil isn’t the only character you get to play as, as throughout your time with the game you’ll unlock 3 additional characters: Darcy, Zett, and Jenny. Each of the characters has a unique playstyle, with Kil’s being the most fleshed out, as he has 3 weapons to pick from – a chainsaw, an axe, and finally a gun. Each of these can be upgraded, via 3 different paths per weapon. These upgrades can adjust your playstyle quite a lot, from increasing stats such as attack and movement speed, to an overall damage increase.

This is all before you step foot into the teleporter to seek your revenge on the people who cast you out!

Gameplay

Once you hit the stages, you’ll see the familiar random upgrade paths, called Cores. Blade Assault has Health/Mana upgrades cores, plus Cyro, Ignition and Electric variants. These will drastically change the way you can play.

You aren’t limited to just one set of Cores; so, you could take passives such as increased Critical Chance/Damage from Electric, as well as having increased Damage against enemies affected by the Chill debuff. However, you can only have one Weapon Core at a time, and this changes how your weapon performs – want to freeze or chill enemies? Cyro it is. Want to chain lightning attacks? Electric has you covered. Want to see the world burn? Ignition has your back.

There is so many combinations, I can’t possibly cover them all in this review. They, however, are part of the reason why I spent so long with the title. An absolute win here by TeamSuneat.

Along with Cores, Weapon upgrades from the Armoury, you can also adjust how your attacks behave via Enhancements. Let’s take Jenny as an example – you can change your Skill ability from a single grapple to a Grappling Hook that latches on to 5 enemies, dragging them to your position. This can be upgraded in various (linear) ways; increase the number of enemies grabbed, add a Damage-over-Time, etc

Then you die.

Back at the Bar

When you die, or complete a run, you’ll end up back at the main Hub of the game. Here is where you can continue to level your weapons, purchase pre-game Gear – which can allow you start building your favourite build right away – my favourite is the Razor, which has the chance to cause Bleed on a target, and can be levelled up so it deals massive damage per tick. These items can also be found during each stage of the game, via vending machines, or via NPCs.

There are different types of Gear; These fall under 3 categories – Risk, which gives a benefit and a hinderance effect. Passive, which are items that apply a general improvement or effect, such as the Champion Belt, which increases your max HP. Then, finally, there are Active Gears, which can create Barriers based on MP, or heal you. Some of these have limited uses, so use them wisely!

You can also pre-purchase a Core from downstairs at the Bar. This is one of the biggest bugs I’ve encountered. No matter what Core I pick, it will always select a Cryo Core. I get the animation of the Core I’ve selected, but I still start with a Cyro Core.

The second game changing/breaking bug is the Resurrection talent. You’re supposed to return to life with a certain % of HP, however this doesn’t happen. I return with 1 HP, and I am unable to attack.

Thankfully, the talents can be swapped around. You can pick from 1 of 3 talents across 3 sections, and several tiers. Want to be more tanky? Not a problem. Want to move quicker? Talent for that.

There are lots of NPCs to unlock and level up via the Bar, these can provide a bonus during your runs. They’re all worth exploring, and feed into the loop that Blade Assault does well.

Wrapping Up

Blade Assault is not the most in-depth or story rich Rogue-lite title out there, but it has solid foundations. The characters, both friendly and villainous, are largely forgettable after the fact, but get some chuckles during the moment.

Bosses can be difficult, depending on your Assault level, but the general level enemies are where you can have a run destroyed, depending on the make-up of the stage + your build. This is not a negative, as it’s what you sign-up for with this genre of game.

Sound and music are also really well done, feel free to lower volumes and just chill to the soundtrack. Huge recommendation.

Where Blade Assault does shine, is the loop it produces from the Bar to the gameplay stages to the Nautilus, and the other places in between.

Pros

Addictive

Sound & Music

Decent Gameplay loop

One of the most accessible Roguelites

Cons

Lack of a meaningful story

Got a few bugs

General enemies can sometimes feel overpowered