Review for Blue Fire. Game for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam, the video game was released on 04/02/2021
Never as in recent years has the videogame panorama been enriched with indie titles and never as in recent years small masterpieces of this genre have been produced. It therefore seems logical that more and more developers are striving to capture a slice of this expanding market, offering their product on a limited budget in the hope that it will catapult them into the Olympus of independent titles. Today we are going to analyze one of these new games: let's talk about Blue Fire, an indie title that mixes platform, adventure, a pinch of RPG component that never hurts and of course lots of action. Created by Graffiti Games, published by ROBI Studios and released for Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Blue Fire lands on consoles and home PCs with its load of expectations in tow.
Will the development team hit the target? We just have to find out together.
Blue Fire is a title with noir shades that recalls different dynamics trying to combine them with harmony. We find roguelite components, a pinch of metroidvania, platform sessions, a barely mentioned RPG component and lots of action. Mixing such different elements enhancing every aspect is a difficult task and the final result unfortunately leaves us with a bad taste in the mouth. But first let's contextualize the story of Blue Fire. Our protagonist is basically a laboratory guinea pig and from the very beginning the information is too siphoned to quickly build a background to which to become attached. Once released from the case that contained us, he will immediately face a level with many blocked accesses and only one way to go - which will serve as a tutorial - in order to explore our place of detention.
During the adventure, thanks to NPCs and power ups, our story will be better explained and it will therefore finally be possible to become attached to the character. Unfortunately, the progression is slow and sipping information does not always create suspense: in Blue Fire it rather makes the process of involvement that the adventure deserves difficult.
Moving on to the gameplay, we find in the protagonist surprising qualities of agility that will improve as the adventure continues. Immediately we will have a dash, even an aerial one, and a jump, both of which can be measured by pressing more or less prolonged on the corresponding button. The precise controls and a bit of experience will allow the protagonist to move easily in the game world, rich in three-dimensionality and permeated by holds, floors and scalable walls, exactly as one would expect from a 3D platformer. As the adventure continues, a double jump, a double dash (extendable with screen elements) and the ability to run on the walls to the Prince of Persia will also be available.
These elements, if well mastered, allow long air travel as pleasant as frustrating when you make the slightest mistake. Yes, because Blue Fire doesn't allow mistakes.
Many of the elements on the screen are harmful if touched, just as many falls cause loss of energy and this translates - at least before having acquired a certain mastery - in frequent departures that lead us to the limit of frustration.
Moreover, the roguelite component sees us lose many consumables and currency, which we can only recover if we arrive at the place of death unharmed: Dark Souls teaches how this can be a source of blasphemy and irritation.
As for the combat, the protagonist of Blue Fire has two twin blades that, thanks to the press of a single button, ring immediately pleasant but in the long run boring combos. The RPG component is then limited only to power ups and weapon changes, consumables or protection, which soon tires. Don't get us wrong, the action component is nice, but still the same. It's all about dodging, parrying, hitting, walking away and repeating. We believe that giving more depth to this aspect could have improved the title.
As particular characteristics we find the shadow areas of the void and the poses. The first are areas to be accessed, scattered throughout the game world that catapult the protagonist into daring platform sections (almost always aerial) where you will have to collect all the lights in order to get the bonus or skill at the end of the path. It would also be a funny gimmick if the difficulty level weren't always so calibrated upwards: you can lower the threshold of your frustration only after the muscle memory of your hands acts in unison with your eyes; until then arm yourself with patience.
Poses, on the other hand, can be acquired by spending the game currency and, if done on the right pedestal, free up new game sections, bonuses and consumables. A nice idea but in our opinion that it had to be valued more maybe even giving it a function in battle.
As for graphics and sound, let's just say that Blue Fire reaches sufficiency. Of course managing a vast world that exploits three-dimensionality in this way is not easy but the textures are too sparse, the patterns too careless and varied and everything gets bored soon. On the other hand, the design of enemies and bosses is valuable, all very accurate and with different attack and movement patterns and well managed by the AI. The sound is pleasant without ever being too invasive.
Blue Fire, is an indie title that mixes platforms, adventure, roguelite elements, RPG and action, but unfortunately all this meat on the fire given by the combination of multiple engineers translates into a lot of missed and badly realized opportunities. Blue Fire therefore turns out to be a pleasant but unpretentious title, which takes time to master and then go from frustrating to fun. The only question that remains is: will you want to train enough to get this result?
► Blue Fire is a Platform-RPG-Adventure-Indie-Action game developed by Graffiti Games and published by ROBI Studios for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam, the video game was released on 04/02/2021
