Blade Chimera Review ([Alpha]-0mega-)
Finished all bosses, incl. side quests and any other 'optional bosses in about 8.1 hours. I'll try to avoid any specific spoilers.
If I'd have to give the game a grade I'd give it around a 7.9/10
I love Team Ladybug games for their gameplay, but I hate them for their amount (or lack thereof) of content, and the linearity. Blade Chimera is no exception.
Gameplay:
You get to shoot / slash / and 'magic' your way through the game. You'll unlock a skill tree which gives you some traversal options as well as new abilities. Although they can be fun to use, I felt like there's 1 that outshines the others so hard that there's no reason to ever get them. Weapon wise there's a steady progression although you will be able to find a few that will outshine the rest. Late-game this gets even worse as there are some clear 'winners' in the melee and ranged department.
In terms of accessories there are two types. Ones that confer a 'special effect' on the character and ones that are a 'stat block' boost. The 'stat blocks' tend to be divided in attack/defend/recovery/exp gain. Here too, I felt that plain offense was a big winner as avoiding hits is the name of the game.
The game itself plays like a regular metroidvania, but it is quite easy. Bosses do not pose much of a challenge, although there are 2 that stand above the rest, with 1 in particular having 2 fun mechanics. Otherwise, bosses don't tend to have a lot of moves.
Small spoiler: There are a few sections where you control a different character One of these is fun, the other of these is boring
Level design is fairly linear, there are some circular paths and some branches. New areas are usually just gated behind either an ability or a security gate. And there are quite a few 1-2 room areas hidden behind a wall or ability. That said, I definitely did not have the traditional 'MetroidVania' feeling of exploration and discovery while trying to map out the entire area, it does feel like quite a linear endeavour.
Story & Characters:
You're a demon hunter part of a demon hunting cult.
The story is serviceable, although a bit predictable.
The sidekicks have nice designs, but don't play a huge part in the story and so were pretty forgettable for me.
The big bad was not that imposing.
Graphics & Sound:
Music and VFX are nice, and make the game feel like a very slick modern Metroidvania. Team Ladybug knows what they're doing and most of their games have this feeling of 'crisp' pixelart and sound and good responsiveness.
Replayability:
0, once you're done, you're done. You can go for a 100% run but that's about it, like most of their games.
All in all, I'd say it's definitely worth the €17,55 I paid for a short-medium length Metroidvania of great quality, with some minor flaws.