Blades of Fire Demo: A Forged RPG Gem Awaits Refinement

Blades of Fire Demo Breakdown

A Surprisingly Memorable Craft

Ever ditched a plan you were set on, only to find it was the right move? For someone as spontaneous as I am, that’s just another day—though the “right move” part isn’t always guaranteed. This time, it paid off. My first encounter with Blades of Fire nearly had me writing it off entirely, but skipping it would’ve meant missing a single-player RPG that surprised me with its depth and charm. What began as a lackluster demo transformed into a distinctive experience the genre sorely needs.

Yes, I’m raving about a demo—but bear with me, and I’ll show you how I went from skeptical to eager for the full release. Let’s spark the forge and dive into this review!

No Chosen Heroes—Just a Skilled Blacksmith

The demo’s opening is, frankly, its weakest link. I’d love to sugarcoat it—especially given how much I grew to enjoy the game—but the introduction feels raw and unpolished. Starting on a low note isn’t ideal.

The story kicks off with Aran de Lira, a blacksmith toiling in a forest, interrupted by a distant cry for help. Armed with an iron axe, he races to rescue a young Apprentice, though the Abbot traveling with them doesn’t make it. Aran escorts the survivor to safety, and… that’s the extent of the opening.

It feels abrupt, and I’m not leaving anything out. There’s no grand cinematic, just a brief establishing shot and fading text. It’s a demo, so some roughness is expected, but even The First Berserker: Khazan wove dialogue and cutscenes into its tutorial. Here, you’re dropped in with minimal guidance.

The combat tutorial follows, and I expected something straightforward, perhaps Dark Souls-inspired with simple light and heavy attacks. Instead, Blades of Fire opts for a directional combat system akin to For Honor, featuring overhead, body, or lateral strikes, each with a heavy variant by holding the button.

Initially, I wasn’t sold. Like For Honor, it felt awkward and overly complex. Since enemies don’t block directionally, the system seemed more stylistic than essential. But as the game unfolded, my perspective shifted.

Post-tutorial, the game introduces damage types—blunt, pierce, and slash—each interacting uniquely with enemy armor. Some foes resist certain weapons, while others are immune, but a smart color-coded targeting system guides you. Switching weapons becomes crucial for strategy and survival as enemy variety increases.

With robust parry, block, and dodge mechanics, the combat evolves into something refreshingly engaging. It’s not about flashy moves but the satisfying synergy of simple systems. It’s grounded, too—unarmored foes take any damage, mail-clad enemies resist slashing and piercing, and plate-armored ones only fall to blunt force. Thick-skinned beasts like trolls laugh off blunt attacks. As a medieval weapon enthusiast, I appreciated this realism.

Apply basic medieval armor knowledge, and you’ll excel. This isn’t a generic fantasy title—it’s a thoughtful twist. And the weapon crafting? That’s where Blades of Fire truly shines.

Craft Your Arsenal, No Loot Drops

Blades of Fire’s weapon crafting system isn’t like Monster Hunter’s beast-slaying gear grind. Instead, you gather realistic materials to forge detailed, authentic melee weapons—some of the most lifelike I’ve seen in gaming.

Real-world forging is too complex for direct gameplay, but Blades of Fire gets remarkably close.

It starts at the divine forge, your hub introduced mid-tutorial. Before forging, you design your weapon. Take a spear: most games would demand materials and churn out a finished product. Here, you select the spearhead’s shape, cross-section, haft length, and materials for each part. Crafting a sword? You’ll also choose the cross-guard, pommel, and materials, even mixing custom alloys for precise performance tweaks.

These choices aren’t cosmetic—they shape your weapon’s stats and combat effectiveness, letting you tailor tools to your style and enemies.

The forging minigame, though, starts rough. It’s confusing, poorly explained, and relies on trial and error. You use sliders to shape heated metal, aiming for a specific form—broad for hammerheads, pointed for spearheads. Each strike’s angle and strength shifts the sliders. Misjudge, and you ruin the weapon; nail it, and quality soars. It’s frustrating at first but rewarding once mastered, with templates saving your best designs.

Beyond crafting, the game’s unique mechanics keep pushing boundaries, making it stand out in the RPG space.

Blueprints, Weapon Checkpoints, and Altars

With no traditional loot, “rewards” come as blueprints, materials, and parts for forging. Blades of Fire handles this creatively.

Defeating enough of an enemy type unlocks their weapon for crafting—footsoldiers yield swords, captains grant warhammers, and assassins offer dual knives. This hitlist system pairs well with respawning enemies, tied to resting at your anvil, a Dark Souls-style checkpoint.

The anvil is your respawn point, repair station, and forge access hub—central to everything. Weapon Altars, wooden sculptures of warriors, unlock new components like blade shapes if you wield the matching weapon. It rewards experimentation.

Instead of currency, you lose your equipped weapon on death, needing to retrieve it or risk permanent loss. Run out of weapons, and you’re back at the forge. This cycle—forge, fight, fall, repeat—is intuitive yet innovative.

While I adore this loop, some elements reveal the demo’s rough edges.

Weak Voice Acting and Thin World-Building

Not every flaw improves over the demo’s 3-hour runtime. The voice acting is consistently poor—shaky recording quality, muffled lines, and unconvincing delivery, especially for the Abbot’s apprentice.

World-building also falters, with heavy exposition but no meaningful payoff. The story feels disconnected, and while it’s a demo, the lack of narrative follow-through is concerning. Without improvement, it could drag down the full game.

A Slow Burn, Not a Quick Spark

Blades of Fire’s demo isn’t built for instant appeal—it’s a raw concept forged into something promising through patience. Like shaping metal, it takes time to reveal its potential.

The demo blends innovative mechanics with uneven execution, leaving room for growth. It’s not fully polished, but the foundation for a standout RPG is clear. It may not steal the spotlight in 2025, but it’s a title worth watching.

Game8 Reviews