Review of “Blades of Fire” for PlayStation 5

Okay, so let’s see… I just came across this game called “Blades of Fire.” It’s an action-adventure deal by 505 Games and MercurySteam, and, oh boy, it’s set in this mythical place. And yeah, I’ve reviewed some of their stuff before, like Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 ages ago on the good ol’ PS3. Loved their gig on Metroid Dread for the Switch too, so I was like, why not dive into this one, right?

Alright, picture this: long, long ago, a world ruled by massive giants, the Forgers. Everything was peachy until, bam, the apocalypse hit. These giant fellas, realizing their days were numbered, decided to leave humans in charge. The secret of The Steel—or something like that—was handed down. Fast forward thousands of years and here we are.

Enter Aran de Lira, the King’s Ward Commander’s firstborn. This newly crowned Queen Nerea, yeah, she messes things up by turning all steel into stone. Did she think this through? Now her creepy army’s the only one with working steel. Freaky, right? And don’t you dare go hammering away on the attack buttons; you’ll wind up toast.

Thankfully, Aran’s not flying solo. Adso de Zelk, a student at the Abbey of Egion, tags along. This kid’s a whiz at figuring out baddies and dropping hints. He’s your go-to guy for puzzles, texts, and—get this—magic spells. Like, who even thinks of this stuff?

Now, the crafting—it’s a thing. You can build and upgrade weapons. Steel? Yup, even that. But it takes some serious skill level-ups, and you’ll stumble upon these Forge Scrolls to get better. Each weapon’s got its own stats—weight, length, and, yeah, edge quality starts to matter big time. Apparently, there are seven weapon families and over 30 Scrolls. Go ahead, mix ‘em up, find the best fit for whatever mess you’ve managed to get into.

When you jump in, there’s Bronze, Iron, and Steel difficulty settings. Bronze is for newbies, kinda. Iron ups the ante, and Steel? That’s for the brave. And remember, you can always switch it up if it gets too hairy.

Gameplay’s a mix of button presses and analog stick maneuvers. Defense here, attack there—you know the drill. And your weapons, oh, they’ll get dull. The edge quality drops with every hit, and repairing them is a pain since resources are scarce. Yeah, don’t waste the big guns on easy targets.

Enemies? Over 50 different ones with unique attacks and gear. Color-coded even. Attack green for max pain, yellow, a bit less so, and stay away from red unless you like bouncing off armor. And, hey, if a skeleton’s in front of you, maybe don’t spear it? Bash it with something heavy; trust me on this one.

Trophies and all that jazz—complete a bunch of tasks, from weapon forging to enemy smashing, for that glorious Platinum.

It hits shelves on May 22 for PS5 at $59.99. Catch the pre-order for a 10% off deal!

Legal stuff—review copy courtesy of 505 Games on PS5.