Bladesong
Review
A blade for every occasion...
by Dan Lenois
reviewed on PC
New forge, who's this...
Bladesong is very clearly not a narrative-driven game, and doesn't overtly try to be. It is, first and foremost, a blacksmith simulator. In that area, it definitely has potential. However, instead of going all-in on mechanics along, the game does unfortunately place a fair amount of emphasis on story progression. Similar to games like Papers Please, you experience life through the POV of an ordinary man, accomplishing the same kinds of tasks, day in and day out, with one of the only key differences in each day being the people you interact with. The problem is, these people aren't very interesting.
Your interactions with your customers are limited to a simple one or two paragraph description of what they need, and then you set about fulfilling their order. Once you finish forging to their satisfaction, they will thank you and go about their day. While there are factions you can build reputation with and do special missions for, none of them feel meaningfully distinct from one another, and many of the main story missions feel empty and unsatisfying.
The only upside here is the generous amount of XP awarded for completing story missions, compared with the far lower amount you get for completing the other randomized daily tasks. XP can be spent unlocking new items on the skill tree. Learning how to forge curved swords, as opposed to only traditional blades before, was quite fun, as was learning engraving. Nothing like adding a bit of decoration on an already finely-honed blade.
Help Wanted...
Similar to mobile games, your character has a very limited stamina meter, reducing the number of smithing jobs you can complete per day to a mere handful. What's worse is that, if you accept a task, but find that you're not enjoying it, you cannot refund any of the stamina. It is withdrawn from you upon acceptance of the quest, not upon completion, feeling very arbitrary. It's a pity, for in a game that is otherwise quite laid back and casually-oriented, this mechanic goes entirely against this tone.
A sword for every occasion...
If you got this far, you must think that clearly this game isn't worth buying, given the aforementioned drawbacks, right? Well, let's not be too hasty. There's one thing this game absolutely exceeds at in almost every way, and that is in customization. If you're extremely detailed oriented, the process of carefully crafting a blade exactly to your customer's specifications can be both frustrating at times, and also absolutely delightful when you finally get it just right.
While it is a little disappointing to not have full first-person immersion, there is something very refreshing in the simplistic UI design here in Bladesong. The music and sound effects do not overly intrude, and there's a comforting repetition in your tasks that you can often find yourself getting lost in. The game also does a decent job of rewarding your consistent effort with various Steam achievements, effectively praising you for gradually opening yourself up to new types of weapon forging.
Overall:
Despite its flaws, or perhaps in part because of them, Bladesong is a remarkably charming game. Having put in over a dozen hours, there's still more to discover, more to unlock. Bladesong is definitely not a game that will appeal to everyone, but for those that enjoy a bit of challenge in an otherwise cozy sim game, it definitely has its appeal.
8.0
fun score
Pros
Extensive blade customization options, enjoyable gameplay loop.
Cons
Weak story elements, gameplay mechanics are often not well-communicated.
