Bold Blade Review

It’s you, a giant sword, and waves of baddies in Ultra Runaway Games’ new action RPG Bold Blade. Offering hack-and-slash action in a bite-sized setup, should you cut your foes down to size?

Bold Blade Review

Bold Blade takes a number of design cues from Sega Genesis JRPGs of the 90s, right down to the distinct FM Synth soundtrack. As the hero of this journey, you set out to find the ultimate sword. In order to do so, you must set out on a quest to defeat throngs of enemies that are out to take your down. It’s standard JRPG fare, and there’s no exposition except for the opening and closing cutscene, but it frames the game quite well.

Battles have the player swinging their sword in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion, taking down enemies and collecting gold from their fallen corpses. It’s standard role-playing fare, but a few wrinkles make this game stand out. For one, a stamina meter affects the swing of your sword. When fully charged, you do additional damage, but when depleted, you barely leave a mark as your sword bounces off your foes. It’s nothing too out of the ordinary, but it stops players from mindlessly holding the swing button down.

In addition, the way you attack is weird. Though you may look like a complete and utter goofball in the process, you can rotate around while attacking, hitting multiple slimes, beetles, and other foes in the process. This doesn’t always work – trying to hold down the clockwise attack trigger will have your hero continue to swing in a counter-clockwise fashion, for instance. Still, it’s a unique hook that stands out.

This mechanic really goes over the top when it comes to its upgrade system. Players can upgrade the length and width of their sword to take up half the screen. This leads to outrageous scenarios where a mere swing hits multiple enemies in one go. The game can be downright broken in this regard, but it is easy to upgrade and it can be fun to see how far you can take things.

It’s just a shame that the whole shebang is as long as an episode of Seinfeld. Though we did not rush things, we were able to reach the end credits in around 30 minutes. Though there are additional upgrades to be had, a Psi-power system that can be upgraded, a “Bug Boshers” minigame, and a new game plus mode, this is one title that is over before it even begins.

Bold Blade unique sword-swinging mechanic has merit, but there’s not much game here to speak of. Those looking to feel unstoppable for a brief moment should check out this unique action RPG, but most should wait for a sale before taking the plunge.