14 DAY TRIAL // Bloodforge is the second game in Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade Next promotion, arriving after RedLynx’s stunning Trials Evolution from last week.
The game, developed by Climax Group and published by Microsoft, delivers a hack and slash experience with a sharp visual style and extremely violent combat.
Are its gory feel and the gratuitous violence enough to warrant an investment? Let’s have a quick look.
The hack and slash genre is a pretty competitive one, where games either go ultra-violent, like God of War, or ultra-stylish, like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta.
Climax’s Bloodforge, as you can tell by its name, goes into the first category, putting players in the boots of Crom, a hulking warrior with a skull on his head and a sword in his hand who needs to fight against legions of demonic soldiers.
In terms of story, the game tries to tell a pretty interesting one but, at least from the trial, you can’t really get a good grasp of the conflict.
Things start falling into place once you gain control of Crom, as he is quickly challenged by a group of enemies, so you must help him hack his way through the unlucky foes.
In terms of combat, Bloodforge feels tight and responsive, with Crom being able to do simple or heavy attacks against his enemies. If you stun them and go in for a heavy kill, then you’re treated with an impressive and quite violent execution.
It’s not all about hacking and slashing, as the hero, despite being quite bulky, can also pull off some agile moves, rolling out of harm’s ways when possible. This doesn’t feel quite right, as rolling can prevent you from landing that crucial final blow in a combo move, but it can get you out of problematic situations.
The visual style in Bloodforge also stands out, with a start, high-contrast look, but it can get a bit tiring after a while, as you’re mainly treated to shades of white, black, and red, thanks to the blood flowing from your opponents.
What’s more, some textures are extremely blurry or low-res and stand out during cinematic moments.
Overall, while Bloodforge may look pretty interesting, it doesn’t impress, even if its price tag is quite low.
You can check out Bloodforge in action in the video above.