Die by the Blade is not like other sword-fighting games. In this game, every fight is a tense, high-pressure battle where one mistake can make you lose. The game has a cool combat system, interesting characters, and some not-so-good design choices.
The game is like a usual fighting game when it comes to features, so everything you see in the trailer is all there is. Still, I’ll make sure to talk about the excitement of getting knocked out in one hit and the annoyance of awkward controls.
Fighting With Blades, As Deadly As That Is
Die By The Blade puts you in a world where every fight could be your last. The main combat is unlike anything else I’ve tried. Battles are a tense game of “hit or be hit” – one good hit can finish the fight for either player. Getting good at this system feels great at first. Reading your opponent’s moves, perfectly blocking their attacks, and then landing your deadly hit is exciting. But the fun is spoiled by the way the controls work. A controller makes it somewhat easy to use, with buttons that respond well and smooth movements. However, using a mouse and keyboard feels awkward. Stances, an important part of the fighting, wouldn’t always switch properly, which was really annoying.
In other words, this game isn’t for you if you use only a mouse and keyboard. It doesn’t feel properly optimized at all.
The fighting is exciting, but the game is not easy. Even in the easiest setting, the enemies are very good at avoiding your attacks and attacking first. This makes the game challenging. However, getting better at the game just requires work. Unfortunately, thanks to the long load times, this is a slog. When you die, you must wait a long time to play again, which can be frustrating. Waiting through loading screens for the game to start each new round is what stood out the most.
Customization Doesn’t Really Exist
Die By The Blade gives you a lot of options to change how the game looks and plays. You can play as different characters, each with their own way of fighting. Some are better up close, while others are great at attacking from a distance. This means you must think and change how you play depending on your chosen character. You can’t create your own character, but you can pick from a bunch of cool fighters, each with their own look.
The way you unlock new characters in the game could be better. Right now, you have to reach certain levels instead of being able to customize more. This means you’re stuck with the same character and weapon for a while. It can get boring fighting the same opponent with the same weapon many times, especially when the combat system has a lot more to offer. Getting new options in the game feels like a barrier instead of a fun way to progress.
Unlocks Aren’t Worth It
The game has different game modes that you can unlock. When I first heard about this, I was really interested. But then I found out that the best mode is only available after reaching level 7. This mode is just a simple survival challenge where enemies keep coming at you. It feels like the game missed a chance to offer more interesting options. It seems like the developer focused more on making the game longer by hiding important game types.
Imagine feeling really frustrated. The main way you play the game, even though it was super exciting in the beginning, starts to feel the same over and over again. When I reached level 7, the excitement of getting the “best” mode turned into feeling let down. It wasn’t a totally new thing; it was just a small change to how the game was already. This would have been a lot more fun if it had been there right from the start, so it could have broken up the boring parts early on. Making these basic changes to the game, something you have to reach a certain level to unlock, feels like a lazy choice by the game makers.
It makes you have to play longer without giving you a cool prize for the time you put in. Die By The Blade could have been a much more exciting game, but this choice detracts from how good it could be.
Combat Isn’t The Best Part
The two things that really caught my attention were the different game levels and the way the sounds are made. The places where the fights happen, whether it’s in a regular dojo or on a rough street, look very real, but they don’t make the game hard to play or slow. It seems like the people who made the game pay attention to the little things, making the whole experience much more awesome. A big thumbs up to whoever made these maps!
The sounds in Die By The Blade are awesome. It makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a cool samurai movie with each fight. Each swing and block feels super intense because of the sound effects. The background music is also great – not too loud or annoying, but it builds up this suspenseful atmosphere where you’re always on edge, waiting for your next move or your opponent’s. It all comes together to create a really fun and immersive fighting experience.
Killed By Its Own Blade
Die By The Blade is like a sword with two edges. It’s really exciting because you can defeat your opponent with just one hit, and it has lots of different fighters to choose from. But the controls are a bit hard to use. It takes a long time to make progress, and in the beginning, you have to do the same things repeatedly, which isn’t very fun. If you really like intense battles and are willing to keep trying even when it’s tough, Die By The Blade might give you the kind of sword-fighting experience you’re looking for. If you want a smoother and more complete game, you might want to look for something else.
Die By The Blade has a unique concept, but doesn't take it far enough that it warrants an entire game. If anything, it feels like a game mode that the developers tried to expand further.
The Good
- The graphical fidelity is amazing
- The AI doesn't feel unfair
- Tutorial is really helpful
The Bad
- Controls are awful on mouse and keyboard
- Unlockables don't feel worth it after all the time it takes
- Too much loading for a very basic game
- What you see is what you get, they don't take the idea very far
