BLADE CHIMERA
When the past catches up to you in various forms, desolation becomes strength.
You play as Shin, a Demon Hunter who has lost his memories and is now exploring the world together with his sword—the transformed Lumina demon Lux—recollecting memories about yourself, your missing wife, and skills you’ve forgotten.
Each time you recollect a lost skill, Lux changes form according to the will of her wielder, making Shin stronger and granting access to more areas of the world.
The Story
The game takes place in the near future, where warped monsters and ghouls have appeared from nowhere, swarming cities and forcing humans to battle against these creatures they’ve termed “demons” in an all-out Demon War. After 30 merciless years of war, the surviving humans have banded together under the Missa Association, a religious group formed by a leader who knows the secret to fighting the demons. Cities and civilizations continue to thrive despite the now regular sightings of bizarre monsters.
Three years ago, a man known as Shin was rescued from among the rubble in a cryopreserved state. With no recollection of his past, he quickly becomes one of the association’s best warriors and protectors.
However, when Shin comes across the brilliantly beautiful demon named Lux, she feels strangely familiar. This sensation of deja vu leads him to take her in, even if it means going against the creeds of the association.
From that very instant, the past begins to slowly unfold, revealing the events that caused the city to take on its current form…
What’s special about this game
In this exploration-heavy 2D action game, you will use your demon blade to interfere with the past, create new platforms, and shield yourself from danger to explore a desolate world.
Other than the Lumina Sword, you will also have access to other weapons such as swift daggers and long-range guns. Find the perfect weapons to suit your fighting style.
The whole game is depicted in Team Ladybug’s critically acclaimed gorgeously animated pixel art, in which each and every frame is painstakingly detailed. Feast your eyes on the harsh yet beautiful dystopian cyberpunk world.
Game Discussion
Steam User 32
Finished all bosses, incl. side quests and any other 'optional bosses in about 8.1 hours. I'll try to avoid any specific spoilers.
If I'd have to give the game a grade I'd give it around a 7.9/10
I love Team Ladybug games for their gameplay, but I hate them for their amount (or lack thereof) of content, and the linearity. Blade Chimera is no exception.
Gameplay:
You get to shoot / slash / and 'magic' your way through the game. You'll unlock a skill tree which gives you some traversal options as well as new abilities. Although they can be fun to use, I felt like there's 1 that outshines the others so hard that there's no reason to ever get them. Weapon wise there's a steady progression although you will be able to find a few that will outshine the rest. Late-game this gets even worse as there are some clear 'winners' in the melee and ranged department.
In terms of accessories there are two types. Ones that confer a 'special effect' on the character and ones that are a 'stat block' boost. The 'stat blocks' tend to be divided in attack/defend/recovery/exp gain. Here too, I felt that plain offense was a big winner as avoiding hits is the name of the game.
The game itself plays like a regular metroidvania, but it is quite easy. Bosses do not pose much of a challenge, although there are 2 that stand above the rest, with 1 in particular having 2 fun mechanics. Otherwise, bosses don't tend to have a lot of moves.
Small spoiler: There are a few sections where you control a different character One of these is fun, the other of these is boring
Level design is fairly linear, there are some circular paths and some branches. New areas are usually just gated behind either an ability or a security gate. And there are quite a few 1-2 room areas hidden behind a wall or ability. That said, I definitely did not have the traditional 'MetroidVania' feeling of exploration and discovery while trying to map out the entire area, it does feel like quite a linear endeavour.
Story & Characters:
You're a demon hunter part of a demon hunting cult.
The story is serviceable, although a bit predictable.
The sidekicks have nice designs, but don't play a huge part in the story and so were pretty forgettable for me.
The big bad was not that imposing.
Graphics & Sound:
Music and VFX are nice, and make the game feel like a very slick modern Metroidvania. Team Ladybug knows what they're doing and most of their games have this feeling of 'crisp' pixelart and sound and good responsiveness.
Replayability:
0, once you're done, you're done. You can go for a 100% run but that's about it, like most of their games.
All in all, I'd say it's definitely worth the €17,55 I paid for a short-medium length Metroidvania of great quality, with some minor flaws.
Steam User 29
This feels more like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night than most things. Soundtrack is bangin'. Absurdly good pixel art with impressively detailed sprite animations, especially the boss fights which are an absolute spectacle - the art might be the game's biggest selling point. The backgrounds are equally impressive and ridiculously detailed. I can't stress it enough, the game is beautiful to look at.
2D platforming controls and mechanics are what they should be - tight and responsive. There's a small learning curve in using Lux, your sword companion, effectively. But it feels rewarding, and the wall jumping that it lets you perform is malleable enough to go off the beaten path for some light sequence breaking, skipping some puzzles and setting up speedrun tech without making it too obvious or necessary. There is a slight issue with the direction that you roll when you cancel out of a melee attack - I hope this gets fixed.
I was pretty shocked to find an interestingly crafted story, characters and lore that brought me in, which is something that games like this tend to gloss over. I generally prefer the visual storytelling of something like Super Metroid for 2D exploration games, but Blade Chimera manages its dialog and characters tastefully and it doesn't feel like it bogs down the game much (except not being able to teleport out of town).
The map is fairly well designed. It's not very complex and is rather easy to keep track of with the minimap, markers, generally clearly delineated areas, and of course the striking visuals. I find myself constantly looking at the backgrounds spotting easter eggs and crazy details all over the place. This probably enhances the worldbuilding that's laid out with the lore and characters that I mentioned before - which probably heightened my expectations, leading to my only real criticism.
The game isn't long enough. Don't get me wrong, the length alone here is fine for your average metroidvania. But it should be twice as long to do justice for everything that it sets up. Blade Chimera has interesting systems, decent lore and characters, amazingly detailed sprites and animations, and it just doesn't capitalize on it enough. The game's smooth as butter and is not lacking polish at all, but it still feels incomplete. I wish there was an inverted castle like in SotN, or a New Game+ with cranked up enemies and more items. It feels like the devs bit off more than they could chew, hastily wrapping everything up in the back third of the game.
Still worth it for metroidvania fans, it oozes with that quality SotN aesthetic.
Steam User 19
Review After 100% Achievements
The combat and story are my two favorite things about this awesome metroidvania! This one is a little more on the easier side in my opinion but it still makes for a fun time. Love the art style and had a blast uncovering the story. You take the role of a demon hunter named Shin who strikes a partnership with Lux, a demon with the ability to shapeshift into a sword. Boss designs are cool and the map was easy to keep track of with the ability to place markers. There is enemy collision, and you’ll want to save often at checkpoints to make sure you do not lose progress. Loved the variety of weapons and all of the abilities that you can utilize in combat. After mastering the controls and leveling up a few times to unlock abilities, the game really shines. I’m a fan of collectables in games, and the puzzle pieces were extremely fun to hunt down as well!
Achievement Count: 25
Time to 100%: ~15hrs
Difficulty: ★★✩✩✩
Genre of Game: Metroidvani, 2D, Exploration
Fun Rating: 8/10
Checkout my YT video review or my Steam Curator Page!
Steam User 17
It's a "Drainus" Metroidvania. You should play Drainus, then play this. Or both. They're both awesome games. Recommend.
As a bonus, this engine is pretty tight. You could play this game on a potato.
Steam User 14
Great metroidvania for beginners, for a huge reason: the "teleport anywhere on the map" ability. Unlock that first, then you can conquer the game screen by screen, without backtracking, while exploring at your own pace. Combat is awesome, platforming is fine, aerial acrobatics are accessible, the story is interesting.... Even if you don't usually play metroidvanias, try this one.
Steam User 10
A real palate-cleanser of a Metroidvania. If you love the genre but you're burnt out by the super-hard (but also amazing) ones like Hollow Knight and Nine Sols, you'll adore this much easier and stress-free one. Great convenience features too - you can warp from (almost) anywhere to (almost) anywhere, just by clicking on the map! I don't know why almost every other game makes us suffer to travel! So if you remember there's somewhere you needed to explore when you got a certain key or ability, click on the map and boom, you're there! <3
Steam User 18
Alchemetic Formula For Excellence
1. A dab of Shin Megami Tensei
2. A sprinkling of Shadowrun/Cyber-Punk
3. Two table spoons of Symphony Of The Night
4. A pinch of Metal Gear Revengeance
5. A flickering of Devil May Cry (Enchanted sentient sword with an assortment of guns!)
6. Crank up the rizz soundtrack that could be mistaken as a Yuzo Koshiro tribute compilation to harmonize the fusion process
7. Wear safety gloves to remove the perfect gemrald from its' crystalline encasement!
For you if.
+You like metroidvanias of the classic variety (Such as the ones showcased in Konami's recent Castlevania DS collection or the Gal Guardian games by Inti Creates.)
+You have enjoyed Lady Bug's previous works. (Lunar nights,Wonder Labyrinth,etc.)
+You are more fond of the journey than rushing to the finish line.
+You are appreciative of a few new ideas while being equally appreciative of established fundamentals that just work.
Not for you if
-You speed-run metroidvanias without taking your time to uncover all the nooks and crannies off the beaten path.
-You prefer metroidvanias with newer design philosophies and unique aesthetics behind them. (More Akin to Hollow Knight or Sundered.)
-You want a metroidvania on a truly grandiose scale. (Something more like After Image or Frontier Hunter Ezra's Wheel Of Fortune)
-You prefer romanticized gothic horror/gothic fantasy overtones over a cyber-punk futuristic setting. (Vigil The Longest Night,Ender Lilies,Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night,etc.)