Blade Strangers

It’s not going to keep you entertained for as long as a Street Fighter or BlazBlue game, but those familiar with its characters will have fun pitting the likes of Shovel Knight against Issac. Those unfamiliar with its characters will just enjoy it for the fact that there are no barriers to enjoying its gameplay. Blade Strangers is simple, and all the better for it.

I’m not sure I can confidently say the game will do waves in the fighting game community, but I think it’ll be enjoyable for all players of all different skill types. It’s a testament to the Switch’s ever-growing library of great titles from a whole bunch of different genres and if there’s one thing I can say with confidence; Blade Strangers is worth checking out.

For example, if you unlock a new title (for use in multiplayer) or a character (in Story mode), you get no notice about it. Obviously, there are places within the game you can look and see the unlockables – but a little in-game pop-up would be appreciated. For the most part, I was happy with this fighter and I really hope we see some additional post-release content added, such as more characters from Nicalis published titles.

Not every one of its crossover fighters gels as well as the others, but it’s still an empowering experience for beginners and intermediate fight fans. However, if you’re looking for a purposefully nuanced combat system with a bit more bite, you’re probably best sticking with BlazBlue’s mechanical purity.

Overall, Blade Strangers felt like a game with so much potential which just fell short of the mark. By failing to appropriately pay homage to their original games, and copy and pasting the vast majority of story and dialogue across all characters, they have failed to appeal to those who purchased this game as fans of the characters.

If Super Smash Bros. and Marvel Vs. Capcom made sweet love, Blade Strangers would be their beautiful baby. Fighting game veterans might find the gameplay a little too user-friendly and ultimately shallow. Still, it’s hard not to get addicted to the elegant combo system, and playing as all your favorite indie legends.

Blade Strangers is fun retro fighting game, wrapped in anime packaging. It's held back somewhat by a couple of dull modes and uneven presentation, but is buoyed by its intuitive control scheme and assortment of crossover characters. Most importantly, it delivers interesting, balanced, rewarding 1v1 fighting. Eschewing the Byzantine systems of many modern anime fighters, Blade Strangers invites fans weaned on early 90s arcade fighters back into the fold.

Decent. That's the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about Blade Strangers. Besides the novelty of being able to choose amongst indie game characters from Studio Sanzensen and Nicalis, there's nothing special about this fighter, other than the fact that it's built in such a way that it makes it a perfect entry for genre greenhorns.

If the title can find a community, there's a base game that can thrive in their hands. On the Switch specifically, where fighters are lacking currently, Blade Strangers could make some waves. That is until Smash Ultimate enters the arena.

Blade Strangers é interessante como conceito inicial, com personagens menos conhecidas no meio, mas com potencial para se tornar em algo maior e com mais qualidade. Um jogo de luta interessante com uma barreira de entrada ligeira mas com variedade de habilidades e personagens quanto baste para entreter com amigos durante alguns instantes.