Blade Chimera Reviews
Blade Chimera is an ode to a very specific kind of Metroidvania - the sort that eschews cryptic puzzles and an open-ended structure and revels in the simple joys of ultra-fluid movement and blasting through enemies with an ever-growing arsenal of powerful weapons and equipment. It may not particularly impress with its explorative or narrative aspects, but its striking, stylish identity and endlessly entertaining shoot-and-slash combat loop elevate this to the heights of the classics it's so clearly inspired by.
Blade Chimera does little that feels new, but delivers a slice of comfortable, familiar and, dare I say it, safe side-scrolling adventure.
Blade Chimera is short, sweet, and simple. It’s also visually enthralling and just… really dang cool. It’s the perfect kind of game to run into in January 2025, especially after so much of my time up until now has been eaten by multiple dozen-hour RPGs.
Blade Chimera is a very beautiful and colorful metroidvania with colorful bosses that suffers from serious control and balance issues.
Review in Russian | Read full review
While it follows familiar traits, innovative mechanics involving Lux give the game its own identity, allowing the developers to introduce fresh and engaging ideas.
A traditional metroidvania with a fascinating setting that mixes Japanese folklore and cyberpunk, brought to life by excellent pixel-art. The classic gameplay is enhanced by a mechanic that allows you to manipulate time and matter. A couple of bugs and a few minor technical stumbles, as well as an imperfect difficulty balance, however, prevent Blade Chimera from aspiring to the Olympus of the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Blade Chimera is one of the most good-looking and engaging platformer titles out there. It easily taps into its classical influences while still maintaining its own identity. At worst, it can sometimes be an annoying game that hides crucial information. If you can overlook some of its flaws, Blade Chimera will be well worth your time.
Blade Chimera is one of the best Metroidvanias that you can play thanks to its jam-packed gameplay, stellar presentation, and rewarding supplementary content. It may not be the longest or most challenging game in the genre but it's definitely unforgettable. 🗡️
Having played other titles from Team Ladybug, I had a feeling that Blade Chimera was going to be good, but I wasn’t expecting it to forcibly inject its way into being one of my favorite Metroidvania titles of all time. A good (albeit rather clichéd) story perfectly carried by a bloody trio of fantastic combat, smooth and responsive controls, and some of the smoothest sprite work I’ve ever seen in my life creates an almost perfect storm for fans of the genre and those tempted to dip their toes in.
Blade Chimera will grab your attention with its captivating style while keeping you engaged with its experience.
Fans of the genre should absolutely dive into Blade Chimera. Tight, brutal and engaging, I could spend another two thousand words singing the praises of the combat, the items and the overall world building. But I think seeing is believing, and you won’t believe what you see. PCor Switch, you should go ahead and gear up: Blade Chimera is ready for you, even if you’re not remotely prepared.
Blade Chimera feels like a breath of fresh air for the Metroidvania genre, standing out with its gameplay and design choices—though keyboard players may want to grab a controller for this one.
While not the lengthiest of search action titles, Blade Chimera makes it up with everything else.
Team Ladybug’s latest release is a grand one—the slower-paced nature of the action feels good to play especially as you get a better grasp of Shin and his companion’s move sets. The downtrodden Osaka city landscape has plenty of exploration potential and baddies to encounter, meaning that I can wholeheartedly recommend Blade Chimera to the 2D Metroidvania aficionado and novice alike. ∎
If a cyberpunk Metroidvania with a cool magical sword and an intriguing yokai-infested world sounds good to you, you need to play it. Has some occasional missteps but overall remains a great experience.
Blade Chimera is more successful than not and kept me hooked from start to finish. After finishing the campaign, I ran after the side missions and the missing puzzle pieces. Since I play very slowly, it took me about 18 hours to complete it, but it's definitely possible to do everything in less than 10 hours. There are also some surprises, like two minigames that we can try out. The visuals are very beautiful and the game is a lot of fun. It's a rare and good thing to see a title with almost no technical problems at its launch — point for the developers. Anyway, Blade Chimera is a great choice for the metroidvania fans, with a cool story and fun gameplay.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despite its intriguing setting and some promising ideas, Blade Chimera fails to stand out as a memorable experience. The fusion of cyberpunk and Japanese mythology creates a visually rich universe, but the repetitive combat, uninspired level design, and linear progression limit the game's potential. With a short campaign and a limited interpretation of the metroidvania genre, Blade Chimera is a reasonable platformer, but far from achieving the brilliance needed to stand out among other games of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mixing a fantastical cyberpunk narrative with fast-paced back and forth Metroidvania action, all displayed in a fantastically crisp pixel art style, Blade Chimera had me hooked start to finish.
Blade Chimera proves that Team Ladybug is a sure thing in metroidvania action videogames. It is an agile, entertaining game, with mechanics that surprise, especially for the use of Lumina, the demonic sword. The setting is cool and, although the story is predictable, it's hard to find any buts to a job well done. If you are a fan of these titles, I recommend it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review