Do you BlazBlue?
BlazBlue has always been one of those fighting games that I’ve never been able to get into. I don’t know why either, I have always enjoyed its anime style but the combat just never clicked or the characters never jelled with me. Which is why when BlazBlue Entropy Effect had come out I didn’t pay it much attention. Sure, I know of Ragna the Bloodedge (the only character I know by name from the series) but do I care? Well as it turns out, I did; BlazBlue Entropy Effect is quite the departure from the 1v1 fighting game, which of course means it’s a roguelike action platformer. Which seems a bit odd but I can confirm that it’s a lot of fun, and mostly works.
MSRP: $34.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
I’m not going to lie to you, but this game feels like they just added in the BlazBlue characters at the last minute because near as I can tell this game has nothing to do with the overall world of BlazBlue. Platers will take control of a robot and will have to take part in virtual reality simulations to find something… look this story doesn’t make any sense at all which makes it feel like a mobile game (which it was). It’s all just a reason for players to run around levels as BlazBlue characters and beat up stuff which thankfully turns out, is a lot more fun than trying to decipher the story.
Gameplay boils down to players choosing their character, each of them using a different weapon and combat style. The controls in Entropy Effect aren’t like the fighting game its characters comes from, instead performing more like a side-scrolling beat-em up. Light attacks chain into combos; special abilities can be thrown in for some razzle dazzle. Combat is fast-paced, fluid and full of Japanese yelling; due to the fact that the characters voiceovers are all pulled from the fighting game and wasn’t translated. So, players will hear the same line over and over and over again ad nauseum.
But as annoying as it got, the combat kept bringing me back. Players are able to perform air-juggles, dash attacks, special attacks, ground pounds and ultimate abilities. And no roguelite would be complete without the ability to earn new powers from playing and BlazBlue Entropy Effect is no different. These powers will often augment the characters current power set by adding a trail of fire to a dash. In addition to these powers players will also unlock new characters to try out as well, some of these seem original while others are no doubt more BlazBlue folks; but variety is the spice of life as they say, so I appreciate the options.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect isn’t a bad game at all; the story is confusing and has seemingly no connection at all to the BlazBlue games but its gameplay is what you come for. Overall presentation isn’t bad but like all games of the genre, it gets repetitive in the end. But I must say that I was hooked on its gameplay loop but I still don’t know anything about any of these BlazBlue characters but sometimes a great gameplay loop is all you really need anyway.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
