Blade Assault

About

Blade Assault is a single player hack and slash game with anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by TeamSuneat and was released on January 17, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Blade Assault is a 2D action rogue-lite platformer with beautiful pixel art set in a desolate sci-fi world. Fight against the corrupt military of Esperanza as part of the resistance force of the Undercity. Bring the corrupt to justice by becoming stronger and fighting alongside your trusty comrades.

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74%

Audience ScoreBased on 736 reviews

gameplay66 positive mentions

stability18 negative mentions

Fast-paced, fluid, and responsive combat that is satisfying and skill-based.
Distinctive pixel art style with a cyberpunk aesthetic and a fitting soundtrack.
Multiple playable characters with unique playstyles and a variety of build and upgrade options that offer decent replayability.

Game is repetitive with limited enemy and stage variety, leading to a monotonous experience after several runs.
Poor or missing controller support causing frustration and limiting accessibility.
The game feels unfinished and abandoned, missing promised content with ongoing issues like clunky UI, bugs, and poor localization.

gameplay
198 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
59%
8%
The gameplay in Blade Assault is generally described as fast-paced, slick, and skill-rewarding, combining elements from popular roguelikes like Dead Cells and Hades. While the combat mechanics and upgrade systems are satisfying and provide replayability, many users note the gameplay becomes repetitive and grindy over time, with some mechanics feeling unpolished or poorly explained. Controller support issues and frustrating difficulty spikes also detract from the overall experience, though fans of action platformers and roguelikes may still find it enjoyable.
- “It combines precise combat mechanics with roguelite progression, giving each run a sense of both familiarity and unpredictability.”
- “With its tight controls, challenging gameplay, and impressive artistry, Blade Assault proves to be a must-play title for fans of the genre.”
- “The gameplay is flashy and satisfying, and it has all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a roguelike in 2022—taking some of the features introduced by landmark roguelikes like Risk of Rain 2 and Hades and slapping them all into one tight package.”
- “It gets old real fast kind gameplay.”
- “The gameplay itself also lacks depth.”
- “Gets extremely repetitive fast, you'll repeat the same gameplay loop for the entirety of the game which is the case with the overwhelming majority of roguelikes but this one couldn't keep me engaged at all.”
story
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
65%
16%
The story in Blade Assault is generally viewed as minimal and underdeveloped, serving primarily as a basic framework for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While the cyberpunk setting and character perspectives add some interest, the dialogue is often criticized for poor writing, typos, and lack of depth, making the storyline feel rushed and incomplete. Overall, the story is considered secondary to the game's fast-paced combat and roguelite mechanics.
- “Characters and weapons are spot on as well with a unique pixel art style and cool story.”
- “Blade Assault is an action-packed side-scrolling platformer that will immerse players into a futuristic world filled with fast-paced combat, stunning visuals, and a captivating storyline.”
- “The story was good, had a nice dystopian feel to it with some creepy and sometimes funny moments, but what was really good is that you can get different perspectives of the same story; you can play up to four different characters and each has their own story, dialogue, and personality which I found really good as it changed the story a bit allowing you to see different perspectives.”
- “The issue is the game was pretty much released in the same state as early access had like one or two updates then just left incomplete. You have the main story but you can see so many things they wanted to implement in the game. I don't recommend because it was basically abandoned honestly, wish someone else would pick it up and finish it. It's a pretty fun game.”
- “The story attempts to provide a framework for the world and its characters, but it’s told mostly through brief dialogue segments that fail to develop beyond archetypal rebellion tropes.”
- “The story line of this roguelite I felt was very lackluster, with odd text/dialogue between characters that also had typos that need to be edited.”
graphics
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
35%
4%
Blade Assault features impressive pixel art graphics with a distinct cyberpunk aesthetic that many reviewers praised for their detailed character sprites, vibrant environments, and smooth animations. While the visuals are generally considered a strong point, creating an engaging and atmospheric backdrop, some players noted that crowded combat scenes can become visually cluttered, occasionally making it hard to track enemies. Overall, the art style and graphical presentation are well-executed and contribute positively to the game's appeal.
- “Presentation wise the visuals are fantastic with great pixel art for the characters and enemies and solid background art as well.”
- “The pixel graphics are really good, not just nice and colorful it also loads of detail and nice little touches that make the whole world feel alive and lived in, the levels in the game are good pretty diverse with some good locations to see while still being a bit randomly generated so you don't get bored looking at it.”
- “Blade assault's artwork is a visual feast for the eyes. The pixel art style combines detailed character sprites with vibrant environments creating a stunning backdrop for the game's robotic warfare.”
- “The combat is crisp and responsive, but eventually can suffer from cluttered visuals to the point you can’t really see what you are attacking or what is about to hit you.”
- “The graphics are 'small' and not super detailed for the size, but the pixel art looks very good, the animations are very good, and everyone's portrait has a terrible expression.”
- “Some of the graphics make reading the scene confusing; for example, a shocked enemy looks very similar to an enemy that's about to self-destruct (perk) and kind of similar to when the enemy is about to use their special move.”
music
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
36%
6%
The game's music is generally praised for complementing its aesthetic with a fitting mix of electronic, jazzy, and ambient tones that enhance the gameplay atmosphere. However, many reviewers note that the soundtrack becomes repetitive over time and sometimes lacks impact or variety, which can lessen the overall experience. Despite this, the music is often described as enjoyable and a strong point alongside the game's art and style.
- “The soundtrack complements this perfectly, alternating between energetic synth beats and somber ambient tones that reflect the duality of rebellion and despair.”
- “Great soundtrack, killer music in combat and smooth jazz in between.”
- “The soundtrack of Blade Assault perfectly complements the futuristic aesthetic of the game.”
- “On the downsides so far, the music is already getting fairly repetitive and while not bad is certainly not good enough for how many times you will be hearing those same tracks.”
- “I understand from other reviews and from the fact this game has not received updates in years that it was left unfinished and that is a shame as it is largely quite good so far, but the lack of a decent translation and poor music do bring it down.”
- “In addition, some music is very redundant including one in particular that reminds me of the Macarena. If necessary you can cut the music and put your own, but it's always a shame not to have a good playlist of epic music!”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
Replayability is generally enhanced by multiple playable characters, varied builds, and intricately designed levels with secret areas, offering strategic diversity and exploration. However, opinions vary, with some finding the game solidly replayable for short sessions, while others feel it lacks depth and endgame systems to sustain long-term engagement. Overall, it provides decent replay value, especially for fans of beat-em-up and roguelike hybrids, though it may become repetitive for some over time.
- “The inclusion of multiple playable characters adds another layer of replayability, as each one handles differently and opens new strategic approaches.”
- “Each level is intricately designed with multiple paths and secret areas encouraging exploration and replayability.”
- “New characters and weapon class types add a lot of replayability.”
- “Decent as a beat-em-up, kinda bad as a roguelike so you won't get much replayability.”
- “Super difficult and tedious game with little replay value.”
- “While incredibly replayable as a system, the current state of the game only makes you want to play it if you want to play 30-40 mins of wiping the floor for a quick power trip.”
stability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game's stability is mixed, with many users encountering bugs such as soft locks, missing power-ups, and controller/keyboard issues that can impact gameplay and progression. While some find these glitches frustrating and game-breaking, others report a mostly smooth experience with minor bugs, acknowledging the game's early access status and ongoing potential for improvement.
- “Other than a few bugs that affect when portals open or are usable, the game runs great.”
- “It was an incredibly buggy mess that still showed a lot of potential, so I held on with my purchase and decided to wait until it was finished.”
- “Still buggy as hell, multiple situations where I've had to literally give up because the power-up I need to pick up to get the teleporter doesn't spawn or something stupid like that.”
- “There weren't many glitches/bugs I noticed that were game breaking, except one bug towards the end where you needed an assault level of at least level 1 to progress to certain end-game boss fights; otherwise, the game only generated two weak minions and was basically soft locked before a major boss fight.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in this game is often seen as tedious and repetitive, with uneven pacing where early rewards come quickly but later progression requires long, monotonous farming sessions. While the core gameplay loop and upgrade systems are appreciated, many players find the repetitive enemies, limited build impact, and prolonged grind detract from engagement and fun. Overall, grinding is a significant drawback that contributes to a sense of stale and frustrating progression.
- “These upgrades give each subsequent attempt a sense of progression, but the pacing can feel uneven—early-game rewards come quickly, while later upgrades demand much longer grinding sessions.”
- “It will get easier while grinding but I can't stay engaged whenever I am fighting the same enemy type, with limited attack patterns, in the same area with the same weapon builds and buffs - the characters and weapons can change but there are very few builds which feel like they actually have impact.”
- “These issues, coupled with the fact that metaprogression is incredibly grindy and entirely uninteresting, leaves a game that I just can't recommend.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game generally runs smoothly with minimal performance issues and responsive combat, but it suffers from notable optimization problems, including stuttering, poor controller support, and limited character skill visibility. Many users feel that with targeted optimization patches, especially for startup and input customization, the overall experience could be significantly improved.
- “The combat is satisfying and responsive, music is fine, there's almost no performance issue.”
- “The game runs smoothly most of the time as a retro-2D game.”
- “Lots of build optimization and variety.”
- “It is not even optimized to let you see the chosen character's skills unless you play as them. This could have been a great game if some issues were fixed.”
- “My only major complaint so far is that the game does not feel optimized for controllers at all.”
- “The performance is also in need of some serious improvement.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a mix of creepy and genuinely funny moments, with humorous dialogue and entertaining character interactions enhancing the experience. Players appreciate the witty references, amusing item descriptions, and comedic contrasts in gameplay elements. However, some randomness in enemy behavior occasionally leads to unintentionally frustrating situations, impacting the overall humor.
- “While one of the main antagonists was monologuing, Kil hits him with a 'shut up and fight.' One boss in this game, who was on the verge of dying, started laughing maniacally, to which Kil says 'you don't have something as cringe as a self-destruct button, right?' Then the boss blew up.”
- “There's plenty of funny references to go around.”
- “Some item descriptions and upgrades have funny wordings that make it hard to understand the benefit.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game features impressive and visually appealing character designs with distinct personalities and excellent pixel art. While the aesthetics and character visuals are praised, some users feel the story and dialogue lack depth, which slightly diminishes the overall character development experience.
- “Has lots of personality in it and has really cool character design.”
- “Character designs are interesting, and the art and effects are pleasing enough to look at despite the limited move pool variety.”
- “Excellent pixel art, distinguishable environments, and cool character designs.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's emotional impact is limited by a storyline that serves more as a backdrop than a deeply evolving narrative, despite the promising premise. However, the soundtrack effectively enhances the emotional experience, with energetic tunes boosting action scenes and melodic tracks highlighting key narrative moments.
- “The energetic and adrenaline-pumping tunes enhance the action-packed gameplay while the more melodic tracks capture the emotional moments and narrative beats.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users praise the game's pixelated graphics and overall atmosphere, highlighting it as engaging and immersive despite some rough edges typical of early access. The combination of visuals and gameplay creates a compelling and enjoyable environment.
- “The pixelated graphics are awesome as well as the atmosphere.”
- “Although a little rough around the edges (it is in early access so makes sense), the gameplay loop and atmosphere are both amazing.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel the monetization integrates with gameplay by requiring strategic timing of actions and dodging ads, adding a thoughtful layer to the button-mashing mechanics they appreciate.