Blade of Darkness

Released in 2001 for PC, with keyboard + mouse in mind (Controller support was added later). Delivers a complex combat system, from which other games should have learned a lot. The atmosphere is outstanding, and the story keeps you engaged. (Good music and voice acting). Secrets, labyrinths, traps, fog, blood... nothing is missing here. You can play with four characters (Very different play-style from each other). Wide variety of combos and weapons. You can decapitate your opponents and throw their heads :) Absolutely loved it backed in the day, and it aged very well.

Excellent game and worthy addition to the catalogue. The retail version was difficult to maintain on modern OSs for a while, but we should not forget that the game has now been community patched to work without problems, and the software released free of charge for several years now. Gameplay holds up. Soundtrack is atmospheric with a set of motifs that come in at the right time. Graphics are sharp. Controls are tight. The people who say that it has aged badly are of course out of their minds.

This was one of my favorite games when I was a kid! And I couldn't get a working version of it to try to bring back those memories for all these years. They should've made this re-release a long time ago :) So here are my thoughts on the game itself: - A mysterious and a bit cryptic story which is (surprisingly) based on Persian and Indian mythology. - A very satisfying and gory, yet somewhat punishing for the player combat system which was quite advanced for its time. First, you have to learn your moves, timings, and the reach of your weapon, and then you hack and slash the heck out of your enemies. Watching orc's limbs falling apart after your lightning counterattack with a two-handed sword is very satisfying! - The technical aspects of the game were also quite advanced. The dynamic shadows (seeing on the wall a moving shadow of a goblin that holds a torch is really immersive), the animations made using motion capture technology, etc, etc. - And, most importantly, the game feels like a real adventure. The setting, the narrator's voice, the map of your travels from one level to another. Everything is so well designed! Now, here's what I think about this GOG re-release: - First, the good things. The widescreen mode, improved graphics, support of a joystick, and achievements are amazing. - The negatives. The very first time I launched this version of the game and played it, the controls felt really weird and unresponsive, and the camera was also acting weird. The game was really unplayable to me. I was really pissed. I launched the old version of the game through the GOG Galaxy and everything worked fine, but there was no widescreen mode, achievements, and other improvements. I had to tinker with the options of the new version to make it work (the new camera mode in the graphics options had to be disabled). I think a player that pays for the new release of an old game shouldn't have such an unpleasant experience. The game should work fine when you launch it.

I remember playing it when it was released and blown away by the graphics and the bloody combat. For me it was the spititual successor of Golden Axe, even though the "Grand Daddy of Dark Souls" title fits it as well. I hope SNEG will continue to show the care and love for this game like the original developers and add more enhancments. 10/10 - a must play for any Hack and Slash gamer. Who knows, maybe this will be the kickstart of Blade of Darkness 2.

Played it originally when it came out, it blew my mind. Now? To be honest I was surprised just at how well it holds up. Game play is still solid enough and I enjoyed the hell out of it once more. Set up is a little akward on modern computers, but they're guides on how to get it done. If the story was a little more stronger, it would've been even better.