BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

While there's certainly substance to Arc's 2D fighter, you have to dig through so many layers of loud music and flashy visuals that the whole experience becomes a bit exhausting.

Starting at $2.04Buy now

Get on Steam

"BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger" is a 2D fighting game with high-resolution graphics from the creators of Guilty Gear. The story revolves around a powerful council, the Library, whose control over a once-life-saving power is now causing dissent and destruction. Combos are formed by using weak, medium, and heavy attacks, and special moves, ultimately aiming to reduce the opponent's health to zero or have more health when the clock runs out. The game includes an Original Soundtrack as digital extra.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,215 reviews

story191 positive mentions

stability10 negative mentions

Engaging story with multiple character arcs and endings.
Great gameplay mechanics with a variety of unique characters.
Beautiful graphics and an amazing soundtrack.

No online multiplayer, limiting replayability.
PC port has performance issues, often locked at 30 FPS.
Lack of tutorials and guidance for new players.

story
607 mentions
31 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story of "BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger" is often described as engaging and intricate, featuring a rich narrative with multiple character perspectives and branching paths that enhance replayability. However, many players find the plot convoluted and challenging to follow, especially for newcomers, compounded by technical issues such as missing music in story mode. Despite these drawbacks, the game is recommended for those interested in the lore and character backstories, making it a unique entry in the fighting game genre.
- “Blazblue: Calamity Trigger isn’t just a game; it’s an experience that combines breathtaking visuals, intricate gameplay, and a story that captivates from start to finish.”
- “The narrative is rich with well-developed characters and intriguing plot twists.”
- “To fully grasp the story, one must explore multiple story options from the perspective of a diverse cast of characters - even losing a fight in certain areas will lead to a different and sometimes comical path.”
- “The story mode has incredibly poor, unending dialogue, bad acting, and it's just uninteresting.”
- “The 'story' (if you can call it that) in this game is absolutely awful. Practically nothing about the world, characters, or plot is ever explained.”
- “The story is a hot mess of convoluted nonsense and fails to explain itself at all.”
music
205 mentions
49 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its exceptional quality, with many reviewers highlighting the phenomenal soundtrack composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari, which enhances the gameplay experience. However, a significant issue noted is the absence of music during story mode, which detracts from the overall immersion and storytelling. Despite this bug, the soundtrack remains a major selling point, with many players recommending the game primarily for its music.
- “The soundtrack, composed by the legendary Daisuke Ishiwatari, is nothing short of phenomenal.”
- “The music perfectly complements the game’s fast-paced action and emotional moments, enhancing the overall experience.”
- “The soundtrack is pure rocktastic bliss provided by Guilty Gear creator Daisuke Ishiwatari.”
- “Note that there's a bug preventing music from playing in story mode which can really ruin the experience.”
- “The main reason I do not recommend this is because of the music or soundtrack bug.”
- “There is no music in the story mode!”
gameplay
171 mentions
42 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Blazblue: Calamity Trigger" is characterized by its intricate mechanics and diverse character abilities, offering a blend of accessibility for newcomers and depth for seasoned players. While some reviews note a lack of content and balance issues, many praise the engaging combat system, vibrant visuals, and the unique integration of a visual novel-style story. Overall, the game is seen as a solid entry in the fighting genre, particularly for those who appreciate character-driven gameplay and a compelling narrative.
- “Blazblue: Calamity Trigger isn’t just a game; it’s an experience that combines breathtaking visuals, intricate gameplay, and a story that captivates from start to finish.”
- “The tutorial mode is comprehensive, helping new players ease into the complex mechanics without feeling overwhelmed.”
- “The gameplay is amazing.”
- “The game itself can feel very shallow on content, even if the gameplay is solid.”
- “Incredibly high hitstop, arbitrary hitstun and damage values, terrible balance and broken system mechanics.”
- “However, the gameplay is abysmal.”
graphics
126 mentions
54 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of Blazblue: Calamity Trigger are widely praised for their stunning anime art style, vibrant colors, and detailed character sprites, which contribute to an immersive visual experience. Many players appreciate the game's aesthetic cohesion and the high-quality presentation, despite some noting performance issues on certain hardware. Overall, the visuals are considered a significant highlight, enhancing both the gameplay and storytelling elements of the game.
- “Blazblue: Calamity Trigger isn’t just a game; it’s an experience that combines breathtaking visuals, intricate gameplay, and a story that captivates from start to finish.”
- “The artwork is gorgeous, the soundtrack is super kickass, the sprite work and animation is smooth and visually pleasing, and it's just satisfying to watch and play.”
- “The graphics are crisp and fresh, especially if you're a fan of Japanese anime.”
- “Despite running an Intel iX processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 2070 graphics card, with all settings turned down to minimal, the game still lags into unplayability immediately upon opening.”
- “Only thumbs down, but a big one because of graphics - the frame rate is horrible and skips constantly, even on more-than-capable hardware.”
- “Although, as I said, the graphics are low-res and 'off' looking (guess it isn't properly optimized?).”
replayability
13 mentions
38 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
Replayability in this game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the multiple endings and character arcs that enhance replay value, others find it lacking due to a low character count and absence of online play. The game's choose-your-own-path feature offers some replayability, but overall, opinions vary widely, with some praising its competitive nature and others deeming it forgettable.
- “With multiple endings and character arcs, the replay value is exceptionally high.”
- “I’ll give it this though, the choose-your-own-path approach through each character's mode does have more replayability.”
- “Fantastic package with intense replay value.”
- “Just found 0 replay value, 0 interest in mastering it because it was as forgettable as all the other 2D fighters in recent years.”
- “Replayability: with a low character count and no online play!”
- “Awesome game, rich story and catchy OST... but no replayability due to lack of multiplayer.”
humor
12 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it hilariously bad while others appreciate its intentional silliness and clever gags. Many reviews highlight the presence of humorous characters and storylines that add levity, particularly in alternate endings and side stories. Overall, the game successfully injects humor throughout, making it an enjoyable experience for those who appreciate its quirky charm.
- “I mean totally awesome story, great graphics, and I really like the humor.”
- “These gag reels often lead to funny and unique interactions with the cast and are worth checking out.”
- “The game is fun to play and the story is interesting and funny as hell if you do the alternate endings.”
stability
10 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashing issues that significantly hinder gameplay. Many users have experienced audio problems, frame rate locks, and disappearing sprites, leading to a consensus that the port is poorly optimized and not worth the investment compared to the console versions. Overall, players recommend avoiding this version due to its instability and lack of essential features.
- “It's riddled with bugs and glitches that won't ever be patched, and there aren't many workarounds for some.”
- “Do be aware that this port is pretty buggy; there's no music during story mode dialogues, and the game can randomly boot with a 30-fps lock that renders it barely playable and can require multiple restarts to (temporarily) fix.”
- “It has very common crashing issues; many people (like me) can't get it to run even after trying every troubleshooting method.”
optimization
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, frame drops, and unresponsiveness, particularly on lower-end hardware. While some players experienced smoother gameplay, the overall consensus indicates that the game is poorly optimized, requiring adjustments like disabling fullscreen optimization to improve performance.
- “The quality of the game is outstanding and the gameplay performances went pretty smoothly.”
- “And hopefully the game should run smoothly.”
- “Performance-wise in terms of FPS and lag, there was no delay, and any slowdowns the game might’ve experienced were due to the fact that I’m playing it on a two-year-old laptop.”
- “This is a really poorly-optimized game.”
- “While that's bad enough, it gets to the point that the game is unresponsive with some moves, and can be completely miserable from being a stuttering mess.”
- “Personally, I've generally liked the BlazBlue games, even this one, but trying to get into this PC version is hard with the non-fluid play. The game seems to be poorly optimized, and I get frames dropping quite low. I can't seem to do anything about it; even cutscenes tend to lag behind the audio, and my computer is well above the recommended settings.”
character development
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Character development in this game is praised for its depth and the richness of individual character stories, which enhance the overall narrative experience. While the character designs are noted for their distinctiveness and aesthetic appeal, opinions vary significantly, with some finding them strong and others deeming them unattractive. Overall, the game offers a dignified story that rewards players who engage with the character arcs and arcade endings.
- “I thought I'd check out Guilty Gear's brother/sister franchise, and was pleasantly rewarded with yet another fighting game with fun gameplay, great music, cool character designs, and a surprisingly dignified story to uncover.”
- “The story is a gorgeous incomprehensible fractal, the character design is full of strong aesthetic personas that push all my buttons, and the mechanics are so good that lesser games such as the Street Fighter series are now unplayable to me.”
- “Cs Extend may include the 'redux' abridged version of this game's main plot, but that cuts out a ton of the additional character development and insights you get from the character stories and arcade endings that are only present in this version.”
- “The 'redux' version of this game's main plot cuts out a ton of the additional character development and insights you get from the character stories and arcade endings that are only present in this version.”
- “The character designs in this game are atrocious.”
- “However, the bold stylistic choice results in a very diverse group of character designs; they look distinct, in both clear and subtle ways.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, noting that while the mechanics are strong, the story mode's structure requires excessive farming and grinding, making it feel like a long wait to reach the more enjoyable parts of the game.
- “This game has really strong mechanics, but the story mode structure is really tedious.”
- “I've been playing it since it came out; new games are all about farming and grinding, and it takes ages to get to the good part.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stylish presentation and immersive character interactions, with voice clips during battles enhancing the overall experience and deepening the emotional context between characters.
- “I say this a lot, but this game is dripping in style and atmosphere.”
- “Characters will offer voice clips when they fight each other, relating to the situation and how they view the other person; this is amazing for building atmosphere.”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is characterized by a lack of advertising and announcements, leading some users to speculate that it may be a quick cash grab by a third-party publisher or a test for future releases from Arc Systems. Overall, there is a sense of uncertainty regarding the game's financial strategy.
- “No advertising... no real announcements or anything.”
- “To me, it doesn't matter if this is just a quick cash grab by some third-party publisher because of the imminent fall of Windows Live, or if it is the water testing for future Arc System releases.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's music significantly enhances both the fast-paced action and emotional moments, contributing to a more immersive overall experience.
- “The music perfectly complements the game’s fast-paced action and emotional moments, enhancing the overall experience.”