Blades & Battles
Critic Reviews for Blades & Battles
Old-school-inspired 2.5D beat 'em up set in the fantasy world of Camelot
On the ROG Xbox Ally X, the controller-first layout and compact stages make it an easy fit for short handheld sessions. That is probably the best way to play it, one or two stages at a time, before the repetition settles in. Blades & Battles understands the arcade game it wants to honor, but it recreates the limitations along with the charm. It is functional, mildly enjoyable, and better with a friend, yet too shallow to leave much of an impression.
Blades & Battles' biggest weaknesses are its limited content, the lack of real character progression, and a handful of moments where hit detection doesn't work as it should. It captures the spirit of the games that inspired it, but it never pushes beyond them, so what you get is a pleasant throwback rather than a reinvention that reshapes the genre.
Managing to channel the old-school sensibilities of Golden Axe and some other arcade classics, it may be lacking in length and overall depth, but is fun while it lasts
Blades & Battles isn't going to reinvent the beat 'em up genre—far from it. Its goal is to revive a formula that worked decades ago and adapt it for today's players without making it unnecessarily complicated.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
We’re already dealing with minotaurs and rolling bone wheels, might as well tear open the heavens in the process. It’s a bit dumb, but it’s such an enjoyable dumb that you can get drawn in fairly quickly. With a decent fantasy soundtrack that doesn’t feel cookie cutter and an inarguably unique art direction, Blades and Battles stands proudly to represent what I can only classify as Arthurian fanfiction.
Blades & Battles wears its inspirations on its sleeves. It is nicely pixelated with a clean backdrop. Each location has a pleasant layer of details, and there is a moderate roster of monsters to overcome. I experienced no performance issues, and it runs at a consistent and smooth frame rate. The audio has a chiptune edge and many uncomfortable moments. There are dramatic elements and sombre tracks. Additionally, the sound effects are OTT and a little repetitive. The controls are a little clunky but simple to understand. The layout is refined, and the helpful tutorial gets you up and running in no time. Unfortunately, this is a short title. I completed everything in around 3 hours. My gaming partner made it considerably easier, but I wanted much more. Yes, there is a difficulty scale, but this wasn’t enough to push me all the way. Blades & Battles is a good indie experience. I loved every moment with Blades & Battles, but it was too short. I wanted so much more, but it wasn’t to be. A new set of characters would have been interesting, or some secrets to discover. Despite this, I enjoyed it, and I recommend grabbing a copy from the Xbox Store!
Blades & Battles is a straightforward game that knows its audience. If you miss the days of walking through fantasy stages, beating up groups of monsters, learning boss patterns, and playing alongside a friend on the same screen, this captures much of that feeling without simply copying the games that inspired it.
