Magic, monsters, and… metalwork? Epic action-adventure comes in many fantastical forms, but MercurySteam’s forthcoming voyage into an all-new world of fantasy-based peril has a particularly unique approach. Yes, there’s the mysterious and slightly brooding protagonist – Aran de Lira – on a quest to defeat a brutal, army-wielding queen hell-bent on destruction.
And yes, there’s a plucky squire – Adso – acting as Aran’s studious companion, documenting your journey to the Royal Palace, while helping solve puzzles and offering enemy-defeating strategies and quips. But also, shining within this rich quest promising anything between 60 to 80 hours of gameplay is something that gives Blades of Fire its edge: blacksmithing.
“We’ve been waiting for the opportunity to come back to the kind of fantasy [we explored in Blade of Darkness], a brutal, physical, tactical combat,” explains Enric Álvarez, CEO of MercurySteam, and Director of Blades of Fire. “When we created the premise where an evil witch queen is turning steel into stone, the hero has a problem. So you need to forge your own weapons. That simple thing is how we came up with the idea of the Forge.”
The Forge of the Gods Enric refers to is a dark, brooding realm where Aran is given a chance to design and craft the weapons he needs to fight his way through over 50 enemy types, from Queen Nerea’s orcish-looking armored soldiers and deadly water elementals to terrifying trolls. Nerea’s curse on steel has no effect in the Forge, so by picking between seven different weapon families, including claymores and polearms, you can craft a dizzying array of variations.
For example, a blade’s length can affect the damage it inflicts, while the type of steel changes the weapon’s laceration, defense, and durability. What type of cross-section will you choose for cutting power and resistance? A convex shape might give you more durability but less slashing damage, but a concave fuller might give you more penetration and speed. And what about the pommel, which affects the weapon’s balance?
During my time with the game, the Forge already required a range of decisions, with a clear number of locked options—but what prevented it from becoming overwhelming was the handy stats-driven sidebar, which told me what was c