Within the Blade

 Switch
Within the Blade Image
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: WTB has many distinguishing and unique features with its simplistic presentation offering detailed pixel art animations, ninjas galore fighting to their death, crafting of weapons and a whole lot more to present an ongoing challenge that will please and entice even the best of players.WTB has many distinguishing and unique features with its simplistic presentation offering detailed pixel art animations, ninjas galore fighting to their death, crafting of weapons and a whole lot more to present an ongoing challenge that will please and entice even the best of players. Importantly elements such as random level generation, crafting, skill trees are all part of a great mixture of ideas and interesting implementation. A Japanese Daime named Mamoru Imai summons demons to join his army, but darkness takes over his body and demons wreak havoc in the country. The player starts in the village “Black Lotus” and sensei sends him on the next mission. After each mission, the player returns to the village (Hub location) and here the player can take a break, craft, trade, inventory management, Sensei can learn new skills and get a new task.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. KeenGamer
    Jul 19, 2021
    75
    Combining sharp visuals, smooth animations and tight, responsive controls, Within The Blade is all-round a pleasure to play. The pleasing variety of weapons and tactics invites players to experiment and perfect their skills and execute levels as quickly and stealthily as possible. While it might be a bit thin in terms of story, it has a lot to offer for those who are looking for a challenging stealth platformer and have an appetite for destroying the hordes of evil.
  2. Screen Rant
    Jul 14, 2021
    70
    Unlike Wildfire, though, Within the Blade works marvelously on the Switch and seems perfectly optimized for the platform, although the speed of the game does make more sense when docked on a nice TV. Little control and camera niggles - inputs to activate skills are constantly stumbled on Joy-Cons, and orienting the camera during stealth attempts is a pitiful chore - don’t compromise what is a weirdly deep, potentially satisfying low-rez action ninja sim. Elaborate and overflowing with optional content and a snappy narrative, Within the Blade should be a hit with the Sengoku set.
  3. Noisy Pixel
    Jul 16, 2021
    70
    Within the Blade is an intricate blend of fast-paced stealth and action that we don’t see too often in this genre. While it falters in repetitive level design, it makes up for it in stylish and satisfying gameplay. There’s a high skill ceiling for players who’d like to challenge, and the experience of utilizing the stealth systems makes for interesting bouts of action gameplay.
  4. GameGrin
    Jul 26, 2021
    70
    Within the Blade is full of action and stealth, just like what you would expect a ninja to be good at. Unfortunately some of the levels become quite repetitive, but the game offers a unique weapon crafting feature that you don’t usually see in games like this.
  5. TouchArcade
    Jul 26, 2021
    70
    Even with its flaws, Within the Blade is a solid 2D stealth game that pays homage to classic ninja games while also doing a bit more towards the actual concept than most of those past hits ever attempted to. The pixel art looks slick, the mechanics are enjoyable to learn, and the overall game is a really good time. While the stages can get a little dull in their layouts and the story doesn’t really go anywhere interesting, the moment-to-moment action makes this one well-worth picking up for ninja fans looking for their next shadow dancing partner.
  6. Hey Poor Player
    Aug 4, 2021
    50
    No, it’s not perfect. With its clumsy dialog, touchy controls, and occasionally broken U.I., Within The Blade sometimes feels like a game that’s designed to work against the player. However, if you can overlook its faults, there’s an exciting and surprisingly deep experience beneath its many bumps and bruises. You just have to be willing to sift through the grime to uncover its finer parts. As for whether or not it’s worth doing so, that’s for you to decide.
  7. Starbit
    Sep 6, 2021
    50
    Within the Blade brings us an action platformer with stealth elements under the guise of a ninja-themed adventure. Beyond the good presentation, the game's appealing nature gets difficult to enjoy, as the implementation of movement and combat will often put the player at odds with the game. This is a pity, because there are ideas in Within the Blade that are worthy developing but as it is, the game's mechanics need to be reviewed and executed differently.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. NindieSpotlight
    Dec 17, 2021
    5
    The quality and ease-of-use of a game's controls is one of those things you tend to take for granted. That is, until they become an activeThe quality and ease-of-use of a game's controls is one of those things you tend to take for granted. That is, until they become an active problem. While the low-res platforming and ninja action of Within the Blade is reasonably good, and has a pretty satisfying old-school feel, unfortunately its needlessly cumbersome control scheme absolutely, and with great regularity, gets in the way. The thing is, this is pretty well-trodden territory, and the wall scaling and various attack and traversal mechanics aren't terribly revolutionary. Fumbling to execute critical moves becoming a headache then becomes all the more painful. When getting through the tutorial means struggling to do things that feel more like simply breathing in other games... it's a bit of a problem.

    https://www.nindiespotlight.com/2021/07/mini-reviews-july-16th-edition-nintendo.html    … Expand
  2. PoundShopOrwell
    Apr 16, 2022
    0
    Unplayable. The character will leap where you do not want to go. The control scheme is a joke. Shame, I like the concept.

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