Blue Fire

Regardless of how tough the platforming can be, I savored every moment in this world. Even after dying dozens of times, I was still motivated to progress to see what new kinds of wonders awaited me if I could just make it to the next platform. The amount of mystery, content, and challenge ROBI Studios packs into a $20 package is quite impressive and left me hungry for more even after the game’s conclusion. Blue Fire emulates the successes of definitive 2D and 3D games and is perfect for anyone with an appetite for a stimulating platformer or action-adventure complete with a gorgeous and enthralling world to explore.

Accurate, funny and with a classical scent that will remind us of the best 3D platform moments from this early century. Blue Fire is a serious candidate to be one of the best indies of the year.

If you’re seeking a more challenge experience, Blue Fire is worth a look, but it is a game which will test your patience. It’s only truly let down by the Void trials, and while there’s nothing wrong with a tougher experience, they stop being fun after just missing that platform for a fifth time in a row. Those willing to put that aside will find a game with plenty of depth, offering a solid visual presentation, enjoyable dungeons, and intriguing story which comes recommended.

Blue Fire provides an impeccable platforming experience with the just right balance of abilities to master and challenges to test you, making its bleak and corrupted world a joy to explore. Its Zelda-like dungeon experiences may end a bit too soon before it begins relying on overly familiar backtracking, but it doesn’t dull the fun of dashing around obstacles and fighting enemies alike. And even when the pacing of its main path falters slightly, the irresistible lure of its inventive challenge rooms kept me coming back for more.

At its core, Blue Fire is a title that boasts magnificent exploration and platforming majesty. It demands strict attention and skillful maneuvers from players to get the most out of this experience as possible. While combat can become vexatious alongside the present technical issues, this is still an extraordinary title that any adventure genre aficionado should check out.

Blue Fire is a fun and surprisingly engaging game, and fans of the 3D platforming genre will enjoy the challenges it provides. Adventure and open-world exploration fans, on the other hand, might not find the repetition that endearing. If all you want is to hop and dash around, smash objects, and swing your ridiculously oversized swords, Blue Fire is worth a try.

This challenging battle platformer feels like a three-dimensional Hollow Knight spiced up with Zelda and Souls. That may sound great, but the lackluster art-design, some frustrating deficits as well as bugs hold Blue Fire back.

My first impression was great and early on I was sure this pretty action adventure game will score higher. Then the difficulty level rose drastically and allied itself with frustratingly imprecise controls to murder all the fun. [04/2021, p.62]

Blue Fire is a game that does its best to tie together the best parts of other games, but doesn’t quite make it work. Its platforming is great and offers a great challenge, but combat and level design needs work. What’s there is good, but it could be much better.

The presentation of Blue Fire is clean and elegant. It’s clear a lot of care and love has gone into the lore, writing, music, and overall design of the game. But sadly, the actual mechanical parts don’t quite hang together. There are a lot of interesting ideas at work, but they just can't elevate Blue Fire above a curiosity. Coupled with the bugs, I’m hesitant to recommend it to anyone but the most ardent of platforming fans.

Blue Fire‘s influences and inspirations are plain to see; Dark Souls, Super Meat Boy, classic 3D platformers. If a single one of those was its sole focus, I would be recommending Blue Fire highly. As it stands, though, I don’t really know who I would recommend it to: the jumpers or the fighters?

Blue Fire is not a bad game, but it is heavily penalized by the willingness of the developers to mix as many genres as possible, without knowing how to dose them as they should.

It's disappointing that Blue Fire is unquestionably fun to move around in but is hampered by design decisions that hold back its free-form platforming. It's difficult to experiment with the reaches of your agility when it's so easy to lose large swathes of progress due to a misstep, a punishment that permeates not only exploration but the otherwise expertly designed platforming side challenges. Its economy relies too heavily on one in-game currency and unnecessarily blocks progression, making it feel like Blue Fire isn't respectful of your time. You'd have to really fall in love with Blue Fire's one well-tuned mechanic to make its entire adventure feel worthwhile.