14 DAY TRIAL // 
The Doomblade might be thirsty for revenge but, unlike other video game artifacts with the same desires, it’s extremely useful. I target one mechanical turret that’s shooting bright yellow plasma at me and the sword takes me right to it and slashes up the enemy, while also protecting my character from incoming damage. Two more attacks and the turret’s barrel is gone, leaving only a moving core that will help me with future platforming challenges.
This industrial section of the underground is filled with danger, including some big floating opponents covered in weapons that I cannot target. It’s important to constantly watch for their purplish homing projectiles and move constantly to avoid losing my precious health hearts. But these big enemies are also the only way to reach some areas of this big room.
After some frantic attack moves, my Gloom Girl has managed to get a ton of bones and eliminated most of the turrets. The only shop I know the location of is pretty far away. So I decide to move on the left side of the cave, which is a good decision because it gets me to a save point. I read a terminal message and then decide to explore a branching path. It leads to a big boss fight against two shielded enemies, with an electrified floor. I die in about three minutes but I have a clear idea of what I have to do to defeat them.
Doomblade is developed by Muro Studios and published by Iceberg Interactive. I played using Steam on the PC. This is a modern take on a Metroidvania with a very cool unique idea that links weapon use and movement.
The hero of this adventure is Gloom Girl, one of the last of the Gloomfolk. She starts hearing a faint voice calling her to a specific place in the caverns where she lives and she quickly discovers the titular Doomblade and releases it from its poorly designed prison. The sentient and dark red weapon says they can only be free if they slay the Dread Lords and then it is time for adventure.
There’s not much writing in the game, which is more interested in a player’s ability to navigate space and kill enemies, but from time to time, Gloom Girl will interact with other inhabitants of this dark world of caves. To get a fuller picture of the truly horrible things the Dread Lords have done, she can also get atlas pages from vendors, getting more lore about the areas she explores.
Most of Doomblade’s core ideas will be familiar to any player who likes 2D exploration and combat in the Metroidvania genre. Gamers control Gloom Girl as she explores a variety of areas, fights normal enemies, engages with powerful bosses, and gains new abilities that open up even more exploration avenues.
How the protagonist does all of that is new and cool. Once she has the Doomblade, players will control a cursor that targets the weapon. Click on an enemy and the sword will launch toward it and our heroine will move straight to and then strike it. Basically, attacks are movement, and chaining them is the best way to explore spaces, avoid damage, complete puzzles, and destroy even the toughest opponents.
Doomblade isn’t afraid to enhance the system along the way. There’s an upgrade that allows the weapon and its wielder to go through walls if they can target an opponent on the other side. Another allows Gloom Girl to use an item to create flowers that can be targeted, opening up new areas. The game still features plenty of difficult navigational puzzles but it also creates a sense of freedom that other Metroidvania experiences cannot offer.
Attack-movement also means all significant threats are ranged ones. So players have to constantly use their attack and movement options to avoid incoming projectiles. Sometimes their source can be eliminated but not everything can be targeted. Boss battles ramp up the difficulty even more, by crowding the screen and then asking players to constantly switch from enemy to enemy to stay airborne and reach their targets.
The game’s world also features a currency called bones, which can be spent at shops. Make sure to get the health upgrades, as it helps with navigating the more difficult sections. Gloom Girl can also access the void and then use it to travel between distant locations.
Doomblade is the rare Metroidvania that takes all the right lessons from the genre’s classics and finds one innovative element that makes them all feel fresh again. Take time to explore, find secrets, learn how to chain attack and movement in different ways, and enjoy the feeling of discovery
Doomblade’s presentation is good and, more importantly, meshes well with the fast and sometimes chaotic gameplay. Gloom Girl is mostly a shape, constantly in motion, guided by her massive sword. So it doesn’t matter that the character isn’t too detailed. The biomes our heroine will visit are varied and all opponents are easy to spot and target, which is crucial given how quickly players will have to make decisions. This is a grim universe often depicted in bright, vibrant colors but it could have supported some weirder design choices.
The sound design is even better. The slashing sounds associated with attacks are a highlight, suggesting the terrible anger of the Doomblade, and there are audio cues for enemy activity. The soundtrack is metal driven and really comes into its own during the boss fights when it often delivers the adrenaline boost required to stay in the air just a little longer and deliver the killing blow.
The Good
- Attack-as-movement mechanic
- Upgrade design
- Boss fights
The Bad
- - Some difficulty spikes
- - Not enough weirdness in the world
- - Li9mited use for bones
Conclusion
The game is also demanding. It takes some time to learn how to properly use the attack move and then how to master it and other abilities to deal with capable bosses. Doomblade’s universe is not as interesting as its core mechanic but mixing combat and movement into one action is special enough to keep players trying to find and end the Dread Lords.
A review key was provided by the publisher
