Blades of Fire isn’t a Dark Souls clone, it’s the spiritual successor of the game that inspired the souls genre.

MercuryStream, the studio behind bangers such as Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow, has finally lifted the veil from Blades Of Fire via a fantastic gameplay reveal. I've seen enough to say I want to play it, but I understand how others have immediately drawn comparisons to the newer God Of War games and the Souls series. I believe a better look into the context of the studio behind the game will likely leave you assured that there's no lack of originality at play and perhaps even blow your minds. https://youtu.be/RwiH9lTibGI Regarding the allegations that Blades Of Fire looks too much like God Of War, I gotta say that the biggest similarity is how Kratos' favorite weapon is, well, a pair of flaming blades. Aside from the similarities that will inevitably come in a game about cutting down monsters in a fantasy setting, Blades Of Fire seems like it is trying to be its own thing. It's when it comes to the comparisons with the Souls series that I think things get really interesting. It's true that the combat looks "Soulslike" — or GOWlike — because that reboot definitely took a page from the Souls book. Still, MercuryStream is composed of veterans from Rebel Act Studios, a defunct studio responsible for one of the most slept-on titles of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQnHRmovog Blade Of Darkness, originally known as Severance: Blade Of Darkness is a dark medieval fantasy title from 2001 that received excellent feedback from players and critics but that failed to sell enough to even keep the studio afloat. In case you don't know, I’m quite fond of the Souls series. That’s in large part due to how FromSoft's games immediately reminded me of Severance, the magnificent game that laid out many of the elements that made Dark Souls resonate with players. Massive areas inspired by a nightmarishly corrupted European medieval setting? Check. Wide variety of weapons and specific move sets? Check. The possibility of complementing your melee combat with long-ranged options? Check. But, more importantly, the need to keep your stamina in check to avoid getting killed by the measliest of enemies? Definitely Check. Severance didn't invent stamina in games, but it's the first title where smarts will have to accompany even the strongest of fighters at all times if they're to prevent dying in ridiculous ways. If you look at their gameplay videos, you'll see how BOF seems to be playing exactly like a modernized and more complex version of Severance would, and that's just fantastic. Another thing you'll see that Blades Of Fire has that you don't see in either Elden Ring or GOW are combos that work more or less like they do on Tekken, yet another awesome staple of Severance. Also, Blades Of Fire also puts a lot of emphasis on severing the various limbs of your opponents. I don't need to tell you where that's coming from, but I will, because it's glorious. Image via GOG I'd be abusing the power of my nostalgia goggles if I were to claim that Severance was as far ahead of everything else as Dark Souls was upon release. Still, Dark Souls might not have even existed without Severance. It's only fair that Mercury Stream now gets to make use of everything all other studios built upon Severance's foundation to help them create the spiritual successor imaginable. Interestingly, Sony's bigwig Shuhei Yoshida infamously also thought Demon's Souls was crap when he first got to play it, resulting in Sony scrapping plans to publish the game in the West. Had Demon's Souls not grown immensely in this part of the world through organic word of mouth, Dark Souls simply might've never come to be. With a deserved extra push, who knows how far Severance could've gone? Here's hoping Blades Of Fire gets luckier than its predecessor when it releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on May 22. The post Blades of Fire isn’t a Dark Souls clone, it’s the spiritual successor of the game that inspired the souls genre. appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 19, 2025 - 14:24

Blades of Fire isn’t a Dark Souls clone, it’s the spiritual successor of the game that inspired the souls genre.

MercuryStream, the studio behind bangers such as Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow, has finally lifted the veil from Blades Of Fire via a fantastic gameplay reveal.

I've seen enough to say I want to play it, but I understand how others have immediately drawn comparisons to the newer God Of War games and the Souls series. I believe a better look into the context of the studio behind the game will likely leave you assured that there's no lack of originality at play and perhaps even blow your minds.

https://youtu.be/RwiH9lTibGI

Regarding the allegations that Blades Of Fire looks too much like God Of War, I gotta say that the biggest similarity is how Kratos' favorite weapon is, well, a pair of flaming blades. Aside from the similarities that will inevitably come in a game about cutting down monsters in a fantasy setting, Blades Of Fire seems like it is trying to be its own thing.

It's when it comes to the comparisons with the Souls series that I think things get really interesting. It's true that the combat looks "Soulslike" — or GOWlike — because that reboot definitely took a page from the Souls book. Still, MercuryStream is composed of veterans from Rebel Act Studios, a defunct studio responsible for one of the most slept-on titles of all time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQnHRmovog

Blade Of Darkness, originally known as Severance: Blade Of Darkness is a dark medieval fantasy title from 2001 that received excellent feedback from players and critics but that failed to sell enough to even keep the studio afloat.

In case you don't know, I’m quite fond of the Souls series. That’s in large part due to how FromSoft's games immediately reminded me of Severance, the magnificent game that laid out many of the elements that made Dark Souls resonate with players. Massive areas inspired by a nightmarishly corrupted European medieval setting? Check. Wide variety of weapons and specific move sets? Check. The possibility of complementing your melee combat with long-ranged options? Check. But, more importantly, the need to keep your stamina in check to avoid getting killed by the measliest of enemies? Definitely Check. Severance didn't invent stamina in games, but it's the first title where smarts will have to accompany even the strongest of fighters at all times if they're to prevent dying in ridiculous ways.

If you look at their gameplay videos, you'll see how BOF seems to be playing exactly like a modernized and more complex version of Severance would, and that's just fantastic. Another thing you'll see that Blades Of Fire has that you don't see in either Elden Ring or GOW are combos that work more or less like they do on Tekken, yet another awesome staple of Severance. Also, Blades Of Fire also puts a lot of emphasis on severing the various limbs of your opponents. I don't need to tell you where that's coming from, but I will, because it's glorious.

The Barbarian cuts off an enemy's arm. — Image via GOG

I'd be abusing the power of my nostalgia goggles if I were to claim that Severance was as far ahead of everything else as Dark Souls was upon release. Still, Dark Souls might not have even existed without Severance. It's only fair that Mercury Stream now gets to make use of everything all other studios built upon Severance's foundation to help them create the spiritual successor imaginable.

Interestingly, Sony's bigwig Shuhei Yoshida infamously also thought Demon's Souls was crap when he first got to play it, resulting in Sony scrapping plans to publish the game in the West. Had Demon's Souls not grown immensely in this part of the world through organic word of mouth, Dark Souls simply might've never come to be. With a deserved extra push, who knows how far Severance could've gone?

Here's hoping Blades Of Fire gets luckier than its predecessor when it releases for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on May 22.

The post Blades of Fire isn’t a Dark Souls clone, it’s the spiritual successor of the game that inspired the souls genre. appeared first on Destructoid.