Developer: Troglobytes Games
Publisher: 101XP
Genre: Action-Adventure, Souls-like,
Where to buy: Steam
Price: $19.99
Blind Fate: Edo no Yami or Blind Fate: Dark of Edo blends together the classic elements of playing a old school ninja cyber punk splash fest. Nodding into a few directions while doing its own thing. It uses several good ideas, and keeps the pace going. You start off like most tropes of revenge go, you find your parents, or loved ones killed in front of you. A baddie spares your life. You loathe the son of a gun, and you grow up stronger to go kill them. Tugs at the heart strings yet? You then run about with the likes of Yami. Who is less human, then now a cyborg demon slaying machine. Honestly, some of the better epics or stories told is always allows you to experience the journey of hardship. With the ending as not so much the reward as this games presentation describes. However with all of that said it really then asks: how does it play?
With the introduction of the game you are given a power trip of all of your powers. Showing you how brutally overpowered and insane you can be. With that, it is also taken away heartrendingly. Feeling around the walls with this one, one major critical element lacked there of, unless you run through the tutorials offered help like a coy super hero. Which sure it is there, but who wants to stop to smell the roses when the roses can smash our faces in right? With my case I am personally very seasoned with the classic ninja themed games like Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden, with decent skill at them(as well as rust). I found this game sung the classic tale of those when I seen the opening scene, or moved a bit. Like a familiar friend. However not everyone will know of the game style of those, and need some assistance of course. The game does show a few basics, which is a nice refresher. But I would have had to go to the dojo’s (main hud of the game you back track to recollect yourself during segments in between). Which the game itself more so handles in stages subtracted then a full blown map to explore. All of which the game could have used the senses system to really capitalized on that aspect to uncover more of the game overtime by this. You can collect several things in the game for lore by defeating and collecting enemy data. Which mostly is there to give book worms a nice read into the games background on every enemy and location. Main characters and antagonists are also displaced with a nice read tucked into the mixture. Weapons, or other elements also is explained down to the root, which is pretty nice to sit and go through between the levels.
Levels like souls fore-mentioned is a big underline with Blind Fate. You will be repeating a few checkpoints if you screw up, or a enemy does a cheap shot. Which is the learners curve. Using your senses helps out greatly with all of this at times. As enemies are invisible to you. The challenge comes to using your own senses to guess or toggle your sense to figure out your environment. Specially tackling big enemies using a bit of the inferred skill really plays a big role in detecting their armor weak point, which makes them shine like a Christmas tree.
In closing, Blind Fate: Edo no Yami shines in a handful of aspects, good ideas fill the games canvas while a unfortunate spread of the games level design is one thing negative against it. The game shines in creative sword play. With some lack of introduction to a few things. I managed to figure it all out with just playing, but for those gamers whom need a little hand holding might be lost in translation(the type who blame the game for their lack of knowledge). For seasoned veterans of Shinobi, and Ninja Gaiden, will find the difficulty fair, or not so bad. However some input delays creep into the final launched build of the game at points. Tip toeing on that janky elements, it still comes out as a pretty fun overall game. The story itself holding together to make a really interesting futuristic mixture of folk lore and cyberpunk excitement. All rolled together for a really kick ass verdict. If you can move past the few negatives you will find yourself a top notch game to run through for times to go with it clocking roughly 8-10 hours to complete.
Still a really fun game within a good budget. If you love Dark Souls, Ninja Gaiden, and are patient with a few dinks in the road, still worth the experience.
