Blue Fire

First of all, this is a good game. The controls are great, the art style is fantastic and it gives you a sense of exploration that's all too rare in games these days. It's also difficult in a good way, where you know you can do better as long as you keep trying. The thing is I was deep in a dungeon and had to turn it off to go do something. So I saved and quit. When I turned the game back on I was at the last save point I rested at, outside the dungeon. Ocarina of Time (1998) at least started you at the beginning of a dungeon if you saved and quit whilst inside (although I will grant that saving outside of dungeons was a pain in that game.) A certain game that came out in 2011 has bonfire checkpoints but also allows you to restart in exactly the same place you quit in. Anyway, you'll know yourself if this sort of thing bothers you.

Just finished my 25 hours walkthrough of this game, and i can only say that I'm full of praise. To me, everything felt in the right spot, the a bit creepy, melancholic atmosphere, the beautiful art style, the controls, the level design. I bought this game when it became available on gog without knowing too much about, just watched a short movie of it before. One thing you should know when you are interested in this game is that yes, it is challenging. But, and that's the important thing: it is fair. Let me start from the beginning. The game starts off quite easily, it gives you time to get used to the basic movements and how to fight. Fighting - as a side note - is not the main focus of the game. In fact, most fights can be avoided (of course that does not count for the boss fights). The main focus is platforming, and you'll get an idea about what's in store for you when you find the first Void Entrance. You can see Voids as parcour levels where you need to jump and wall run and time and dash your way from start to finish, getting a health crystal as a reward. These Voids have difficulties from 1 to 5: 1 and 2 generally quite easy, 3 giving you a bit more of a challenge and 4 and 5 can be extremely difficult. Good news is, they are mostly optional, though you're strongly encouraged to beat some of them, it might prove useful during boss fights. The good news is that everything is fair, if you figure out how to get from A to B failing several times and being patient, you'll finally master it (side note: if you find things that let you dash farther or jump higher, get them. And explore. Things will become easier then, trust me here). Yes, i could add minor things that i found could have been a bit better. Save points, for example, could have been more frequent. But that's maybe just my personal taste. In the end, this was an extremely fun and rewarding experience, a fantastic job from the developers!

Blue Fire is a platformer/metroidvania with combat. The location design is mostly fine for a platformer - it is expressive and provides the space and challenges for traversal, but it does not quite make sense in terms of realism, with the Void (challenge rooms) having floating platforms with spikes, though in many cases it was hard to tell whether it was the right path. The penalty for falling is very merciful - 1/4 of a heart and returning to the nearest safe platform, except for the Voids, which return to the last checkpoint within the room. The controls are partially rebindable and comfortable, the movement is very fluid and enjoyable. The traversal abilities, such as double jump or wall-running, are obtained during the course of the main story. The character development system includes the health (for completing the platforming challenges), mana (for XP from combat), damage (the swords found, no difference in the movesets, only a flat damage increase), and passive abilities (e.g. higher movement speed or negating the falling damage). On the other hand, the robes are somehow amusing, though they do not provide any gameplay advantages. As for the story, it is certainly present, but somehow as generic as it can be - the protagonist is the Chosen One to save the World and the flying Castle in particular, from the Darkness by visiting several Temples, collecting or activating several magical seals, and defeating the Corrupted Beings within the Temples. There are side quests on the same level. Similar issue with the combat - it is there, but poorly made. Bosses are diverse, though the early ones are not quite engaging due to the combat system, which itself is serviceable, but neither deep nor satisfying, despite having several attack and defence options. No major bugs have been encountered during the game. In conclusion, despite the level design and story, the action/platforming-focused gameplay is quite enjoyable, even if simplistic.

Starts out seeming shallow but becomes quite a well developed 3D platformer, sort of Metroid-vania.