Back in the ’90s fighting games were among the most popular around. They were simple to learn, hard to master, and allowed for a challenge whether it was against AI, friends, or whomever walked into the arcade. Since then the genre has evolved a lot, though there is still plenty of fanfare for the classics. With the passion still there, RareBreed Makes Games wanted to offer their own take with Blazing Strike. Building on the beloved foundation of classics like Street Fighter, is it enough to be the next big fighting game, or does it fall short?
When players first load Blazing Strike they’re offered a couple modes. These include story, arcade, versus, online, and training. Unsurprisingly, story acts as a quasi-tutorial for the adventure by offering a short how to play video, along with asking players to experience various different fighters. Between this is a variety of cutscenes that introduce the larger world.
What is this, One Piece?
Almost immediately story starts in a terrible place. Players are shown two silhouettes talking about the state of the world. This section is not voiced, nor does it allow players to read dialogue faster.
It’s a shame because the apocalyptic event they describe could absolutely be a hook if there was more to it than two outlines talking about it. After a couple minutes a far more interesting comic book-esque scene shows some of these events taking place. Here players see this godly creature that acts as a much more interesting hook.
Now We’re Talking
After the initial scene Blazing Strike cycles between similar dialogue sections, this time with the characters actually shown, along with other scenes in the comic book, or a cutscene that looks like it was taken from the in-game world.
In all it doesn’t leave a strong impression. Worst still is the lack of quality of life features, such as saving, so anyone interested in the narrative needs to beat it in one sitting. Admittedly that isn’t too bad. Reading all of the dialogue makes for a roughly hour long adventure, with someone skipping sections can complete it in approximately 15 minutes.
Still, it’s extremely annoying for any interruption forcing players to go through previous sections to finish the narrative. A choice that feels a little more punishing given two characters are seemingly unlocked for completing the mode.
Outside of story is a rather basic arcade mode. It doesn’t add more story, instead relying on a series of fights. Said fights are also somewhat different from the previous story mode. Instead of a traditional 1v1 format it adds some fun mechanics to each stage. Prisoners might grab you, there is a hook that falls on one stage, and most other stages have some kind of quirk. It’s a fun twist, though I can see players also hating them.
The remaining mode, training, is incredibly barebones. Players are given rudimentary controls, such as hitboxes, show damage, input display, though there isn’t an actual tutorial. Instead, players need to experiment with the moves mentioned in the command list. This is a massive step back from most modern fighters, and really unfortunate to see given this makes learning even harder for a newcomer.
I also tried to experience the online mode, but could not find a match. I am not the biggest fan of relying on Steam Chart numbers, especially since this review is based off the PlayStation 5 version, but even there the all-time peak is 10. There simply isn’t a larger player base, something that will likely persist until something significant changes.
All of this is really a shame, as the core gameplay loop has potential. Being designed around older fighters makes it a lot slower, and easier to get into the groove. At the same time I’ve seen multiple reports of infinite combos existing, so there is a good chance online will devolve into such tactics in the event you can find someone.
Blazing Strike Review Verdict
Blazing Strike: All things considered, it's hard to recommend Blazing Strike. Story is short, underwhelming, and lacks even the most basic quality of life features. Arcade is slightly better, though beyond that there is a training mode that relies on players fighting it out, and an online that is essentially dead. Ideally this will improve long term, either through a substantial change, or by patches, but in its current form there really isn't much going for Blazing Strike. – Grant
Editor’s Note: Blazing Strike was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.
