A surprisingly amazing game. First off if you are buying this game know that this is more of a 3D platformer than anything else. The combat is extremely simple and the exploration is there but you won't find any secret areas or bosses. Its all about the platforming.

There are no spoilers in this review except gameplay spoilers.

Content

This game consists of 6 areas with npcs, quests and collectibles, 6 unique and interesting bosses, 3-5(depending on what you count as) dungeons with very few puzzles and more platforming challenges. Many collectibles in the form of swords, outfits, emotes and spirits that work like charms in hollow knight giving you buffs or altering something. Quest that flesh out the word and give you an excuse to explore and many hidden and/or optional platforming challenges in the form of voids.
Depending on how good you are and how much of the side content you are willing to do this game will take you anywhere between 8 to 12 hours to complete.

Combat
As I said it's not this game's strong suit nor is it it's focus. The combat is serviceable. You have one attack string for the entire game and only one weapon. You get other swords but those are mostly for stats rather than gameplay. You have a parry but it doesn't work on most airborne enemies and bosses (you can "parry" every single attack but all ranged and boss attacks don't let you capitalize on it with a counter because they are too far away). The combat is at its best when it is used with the platforming. Many enemies are either airborne or fight on uncomfortable terrain meaning that a lot of the fight is spacing yourself which is good for a game that focuses on movement. This gets turned up to 11 with the bosses. The bosses are challenging mostly because they ask you to find moments to attack while also doing a platforming challenge. The enemy variety could be improved upon as you basically have roughly 5 enemy types that are scattered as different iterations of each other throughout the world.

Platforming
This is where the game gets real. From the start you have a really nice and long jump and a dash. Its fast and intuitive. The controls are a bit iffy but you can change them to your liking, after I did it was easy to get used to. Your character feels fast and fluid and that feeling gets even stronger the more abilities you unlock. You won't get any creative moves like in Ori where you could bounce of bullets or hook-shot yourself to surfaces however the abilities you do get give a surprising amount of freedom. Your wall jump for instance doubles as a wall run with a breath of the wild style stamina system that always goes down. However unlike most games you can stop in the middle of a wall run into a wall jump or continue running without momentum loss. The game is also made in such a way that if you are skilled enough you can get to some places faster be exploiting your moves. All in all moving through this game is a joy that could rival any other 3D platformer.
To Test your platforming skills there are also platforming challenge's called voids. These range from "Haha wow this is a fun stroll through the void" to "Am I even supposed to be able to do that?". The 5 star voids honest to god feel like you are jumping around a place where you are not supposed to be in and its GREAT. These are the hardest challenges in the game but in my honest opinion also the most fun as they push the platforming in this game to its breaking point.



TL;DR and Score

Blue fire a really good 3D platformer. The combat is shallow but it’s all about the platforming anyways. Has a good balance of main content and side content. The game can give you a decent challenge ESPECIALLY the extra content. All in all highly recommend.


-4/5

A surprisingly amazing game. First off if you are buying this game know that this is more of a 3D platformer than anything else. The combat is extremely simple and the exploration is there but you won't find any secret areas or bosses. Its all about the platforming. There are no spoilers in this review except gameplay spoilers. Content This game consists of 6 areas with npcs, quests and collectibles, 6 unique and interesting bosses, 3-5(depending on what you count as) dungeons with very few puzzles and more platforming challenges. Many collectibles in the form of swords, outfits, emotes and spirits that work like charms in hollow knight giving you buffs or altering something. Quest that flesh out the word and give you an excuse to explore and many hidden and/or optional platforming challenges in the form of voids. Depending on how good you are and how much of the side content you are willing to do this game will take you anywhere between 8 to 12 hours to complete. Combat As I said it's not this game's strong suit nor is it it's focus. The combat is serviceable. You have one attack string for the entire game and only one weapon. You get other swords but those are mostly for stats rather than gameplay. You have a parry but it doesn't work on most airborne enemies and bosses (you can "parry" every single attack but all ranged and boss attacks don't let you capitalize on it with a counter because they are too far away). The combat is at its best when it is used with the platforming. Many enemies are either airborne or fight on uncomfortable terrain meaning that a lot of the fight is spacing yourself which is good for a game that focuses on movement. This gets turned up to 11 with the bosses. The bosses are challenging mostly because they ask you to find moments to attack while also doing a platforming challenge. The enemy variety could be improved upon as you basically have roughly 5 enemy types that are scattered as different iterations of each other throughout the world. Platforming This is where the game gets real. From the start you have a really nice and long jump and a dash. Its fast and intuitive. The controls are a bit iffy but you can change them to your liking, after I did it was easy to get used to. Your character feels fast and fluid and that feeling gets even stronger the more abilities you unlock. You won't get any creative moves like in Ori where you could bounce of bullets or hook-shot yourself to surfaces however the abilities you do get give a surprising amount of freedom. Your wall jump for instance doubles as a wall run with a breath of the wild style stamina system that always goes down. However unlike most games you can stop in the middle of a wall run into a wall jump or continue running without momentum loss. The game is also made in such a way that if you are skilled enough you can get to some places faster be exploiting your moves. All in all moving through this game is a joy that could rival any other 3D platformer. To Test your platforming skills there are also platforming challenge's called voids. These range from "Haha wow this is a fun stroll through the void" to "Am I even supposed to be able to do that?". The 5 star voids honest to god feel like you are jumping around a place where you are not supposed to be in and its GREAT. These are the hardest challenges in the game but in my honest opinion also the most fun as they push the platforming in this game to its breaking point. TL;DR and Score Blue fire a really good 3D platformer. The combat is shallow but it’s all about the platforming anyways. Has a good balance of main content and side content. The game can give you a decent challenge ESPECIALLY the extra content. All in all highly recommend. -4/5