Blue Fire

Blue Fire is everything I didn’t know I wanted out of a 3D platformer. Instead of consisting of just platforming challenges, the combat kept me engaged. Secrets and collectibles aren’t there to block off parts of the map, but make exploring a joy due to how well they interact with Umbra’s abilities. 3D Mario feels good to play, but at the end of the day you are most likely still rescuing a princess and collecting meaningless stars. Blue Fire gives you a narrative thread but leaves it up to you to decide how you want to explore the Penumbra. This metroidvania-like approach really clicked for me and made this 3D platformer feel special, which few others have over the past decade. While performance on Switch is definitely not fantastic, with constant suffering through crashes, I still wanted to go back every time to discover what else was hidden in this world. I certainly cannot wait to see what these developers have in store next, because Blue Fire has definitely awoken a burning passion in me to see what lies ahead.

Blue Fire is a remarkable game that knows how to combine action and platforms very well to give us many hours of content and offer us an atmosphere that knows how to catch us. It is inspired by Zelda, Hollow Knight, and even Dark Souls.

Blue Fire does a grand job combining fun 3D platforming with a Metroidvania-esque adventure whilst injecting other elements we’ve seen in a number of other franchises before it. While it might not stick the landed with everything it tries – the combat for one – the amount it does get right is enough to make venturing through Penumbra worth your time.

A very pleasant and enjoyable surprise, Blue Fire is an auspicious debut from ROBI Studios. Only the performance issues, mildly sloppy combat and high difficulty are points of contention, and the latter will certainly depend on your point of view. Developed with passion and skill, this is a world you can lose yourself in that'll reward you the more you play and the better you get. It's uncompromising in its difficulty but doesn't resort to cheap tricks and "gotchas". The graphics are appealing and, crucially, clear as day. This is a fantastic experience overall, even if it isn't made up of the most original pieces. It's gameplay first and once you're traversing the infinite space of the Void stages, everything else basically just falls away.

Mastering all of the challenges within Blue Fire's intricate world is one satisfying endeavor and its eerie atmosphere is top-notch.

Blue Fire is an excellent adventure game with just enough flavour pinched from a variety of games across a plethora of genres and platforms.

A pleasant surprise in the form of a 3D platformer, clearly inspired by games like Hollow Knight and The Legend of Zelda. Taking so many ideas from other games make it feel a little uninspired, but that doesn't make Blue Fire any less recommended.

Blue Fire, albeit flawed, is a very enjoyable and satisfying platforming experience. It may not reach the heights of some of the games that inspired it, but that doesn’t stop it from being an incredibly enjoyable game that has plenty to offer.