Blade Assault (XSX) Review

From development studio, Team Suneat, comes Blade Assault, a side-scrolling rogue-like platformer, set in a seedy cyberpunk world. Having launched on January 17 on Steam, the game already has a thriving fan base and we’re excited to see that it’s coming to Xbox on March 31.

The Wonderful World of Blade Assault

Reminiscent of the highly praised Neon Abyss, the world in which Blade Assault transpires is awash with bright, neon hues, giving a pleasing aesthetic to the game, while perfectly encapsulating the sordid underbelly of the world. Retro-style games, which we have recently seen in abundance, are usually restricted by what they can do graphically, so the use of highly contrasting colors is a clever and effective way of giving the game some graphical bells and whistles without deterring from its nostalgic theme.

Blade Assault Story

The Red Stone War has torn the world apart, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake; the world as we know it is no more. Instead, planet Earth has been divided into three distinct regions: the ‘Outside Grounds’, once likely green pastures, are now nothing but barren lands and have become home to bloodthirsty mutants; the ‘Under City’ is a cyberpunk cityscape, inhabited by those that have been lucky enough to escape the monstrosities that dwell beyond their borders, while Esperanza is a sky city, populated by the rich and the powerful, where they rule the lands with an iron fist of corruption.

Playing as three members of the resistance, it’s your mission to fight the powers that be and defeat the corrupt military once and for all.

Blade Assault Gameplay

Starting with nothing but a dash attack, your first half an hour in the world of Blade Assault plays out at a relatively relaxed pace. This beginning part serves well as a tutorial as you get to grips with the controls and how the game plays. However, things soon pick up as you level your character up and progress to the more difficult stages. Enemies quickly get tougher and appear in larger numbers, it’s at this point that leveling up is absolutely essential to survival.

Collect new weapons from a vast collection and procure power-ups to give you the edge as you battle through the seven stages. Blade Assault boasts an impressive 200+ items, with each offering different buffers or new attacks. The variety of gears and cores that can be found in Blade Assault keep things interesting as you find your perfect loadout and hack, slash, and shoot your way to a fair world for all.

If this isn’t enough to keep you on your toes, completing the game will unlock ‘Assault Mode’ an unrelenting mode where horde after horde of progressively harder enemies will be vying for your blood. Have you got what it takes?

Blade Assault and its Deadly Bosses

Blade Assault is split up into seven stages, each with its own end-of-level boss. Each boss has his (or her) set of devastating attacks to study, counteract and overcome. With every boss being harder than the last, you’re going to have to level your character and weapons with careful thought if you wish to stand any chance of making it to the dying end and bringing peace to all.

Blade Assault Summary

Blade Assault not only brings you into a seedy, corrupt but colorfully vibrant cyberpunk world but does so in perfect style. The combat is slick, smooth, and fast; while the story does a surprisingly excellent job of keeping the player engaged and interested in what’s to come. In fact, there’s very little of Blade Assault that we didn’t enjoy immensely.