Bladed Fury Review

Bladed Fury is set at the beginning of the Warring States Period after Tian, Duke Kang of Qi’s officer, killed the Duke while putting Shu, the elder princess, and Ji, the younger one, under house arrest. This was all to make the Tian family ruler of Qi. The younger princess, Ji, has taken upon herself to jump into a revenge mission.

Bladed Fury is a 2D action platformer with an emphasis on intuitive combat. Our little protagonist has quite an arsenal up her sleeve. Ji has a quick dagger attack that is fast, nimble and does a bit of damage. She ca attack mid-air, do attacks from the air and throw downed enemies in the air for a bit combo additional damage. And then she also has a stronger attack with her Cicada Wings, a wide sword that requires a bit of ramping up but cause a decent chunk of damage and will chuck away at enemies’ protective auras.

Both attacks can be mixed up and combined to create efficient combos. She can also double jump and dash, on the ground and mid-air. It’s useful not only to go fast, but also dodge enemy attacks. But that’s not all. Killing bosses rewards Ji with Soul Sliver. This allows you to summon defeated bosses for temporary support in battle. For example, one will rain arrows from the sky while another one is a spider-like creature that will throw its web and temporarily stop/slow down enemies you can get a few licks in. Ji also has a shield she can use.

Enemies defeated drop both yellow and green souls. The former will allow you to unlock new skills at save points whereas the latter will regenerate a bit of health. Otherwise, at any time, you can use vials to regain health. While you start with you, as you progress you’ll be able to unlock additional ones. Keen players might want to explore as well because some areas are hiding unique characters that will increase your health permanently. Once you’re done with the story, you can attempt Challenge mode where you’ll need to go through all bosses as quickly as possible.

The game looks great; it has a unique style based on Chinese mythology that gives a different flair to the game’s levels and enemies. Bosses are highly detailed and other particularly creepy. While the diversity of enemies is minimal, each chapter has its own enemy designs. Given its Chinese mythology theme, the soundtrack is also inspired by Chinese score and music.

I’ll be honest, it was tough trying to finding issues and faults with Bladed Fury. The biggest complaint I have is the game’s length. While I didn’t expect this game to be a 20 hour juggernaut, I managed to finish it under two hours (!); there’s even an Achievement for that. Once I put the controller down, I felt like I could’ve easily enjoyed at least two more hours.

Bladed Fury is one of the best games I’ve played in the last five years. Easy. The combat is addictive, boss battles are challenging, but fair, each level is uniquely designed in terms of challenge and length. Some will be shorter because they revolve around a puzzle; others longer because they are more linear. While the game is short, there are a few difficulty settings to keep players busy for a while. If you’re looking for a fun, challenging albeit simplistic action platformer, you can’t go wrong with Bladed Fury.