Insanity's Blade
- December 5, 2014
- Causal Bit Games Inc.
- 5h median play time
A nice throwback to the classics of old, with gameplay good enough to keep a player engaged the entire way through.
Get on Steam"Insanity's Blade: The Chronicles of Thurstan" is an old-school action platformer with RPG elements, where you play as a father on a journey to hell to save his family's souls. Battle through 16 stages, climb walls, and collect powerful weapons, while upgrading abilities at the store. Play local co-op with friends and choose between story mode with cutscenes or arcade mode for non-stop action.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Insanity's Blade captures the nostalgic feel of classic arcade games with its engaging gameplay and retro-inspired visuals.
- The game features tight and responsive controls, allowing for satisfying combat and platforming mechanics.
- The vibrant pixel art and memorable chiptune soundtrack enhance the overall experience, making it a delight for fans of the genre.
- The game suffers from a frustrating difficulty curve, with some early levels being disproportionately harder than later ones.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with enemy spawning and hit detection.
- The story and character development are considered uninspired, with some players finding the narrative lacking depth.
- story77 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Insanity's Blade" follows Thurstan, a vengeful warrior on a quest to rescue his family from evil, accompanied by a dwarf named Finn. While the narrative is described as simple and at times uninspired, it is presented through engaging cutscenes and offers a mix of humor and action that some players find entertaining. However, criticisms include the inability to skip lengthy text and a portrayal of characters that some reviewers found problematic, leading to a mixed reception overall.
“The story of Insanity's Blade unfolds through beautifully illustrated cutscenes that further immerse players in Thurstan's dark and perilous journey.”
“The story is great and gives the main character motive throughout the game!”
“Insanity's Blade follows the journey of unfortunate protagonist Thurstan in a quest built purely on notions of revenge and a last-ditch effort to save his kingdom from utter destruction.”
“Aside from the start-of-level story text dump, most text in the game can't be skipped, and you have to wait like 10 seconds each time to get through it.”
“The story is pretty uninspired, and the main character is a massive tool—pretty much toxic masculinity incarnate.”
“It doesn’t help that the game seems overly concerned with its dull, unoriginal, and very poorly constructed story.”
- gameplay60 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Insanity's Blade" is a mixed bag, with many praising its engaging, retro-inspired mechanics and tight controls that evoke nostalgia for classic arcade games. However, several reviews highlight issues such as repetitive gameplay, clunky mechanics, and frustrating design choices that detract from the overall experience. While the soundtrack and visuals are often lauded, the gameplay's simplicity and lack of variety may leave some players wanting more depth and polish.
“With its engaging gameplay, retro-inspired visuals, and memorable soundtrack, Insanity's Blade delivers an adrenaline-pumping experience that will delight fans of the genre.”
“The gameplay difficulty strikes a perfect balance, offering a challenging experience that rewards skill and perseverance.”
“Gameplay-wise, it plays very well; controls are tight and responsive, and platforming is well done. If you miss a jump, it's your fault.”
“Level design is so-so, gameplay is repetitive and sometimes clunky.”
“I just couldn't get past the bad gameplay, which is why I am under an hour of playtime on this one.”
“The gameplay is simple but there's little to no variety in it, so it dulls very quickly.”
- music45 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in "Insanity's Blade" is widely praised for its nostalgic chiptune-inspired melodies that enhance the gameplay experience, evoking classic gaming soundtracks. While many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature that complements the game's retro visuals and atmosphere, some note that it can be repetitive or not as polished as desired. Overall, the music is considered a strong aspect of the game, with options to toggle between 8-bit and 16-bit styles, appealing to fans of retro gaming.
“The soundtrack of Insanity's Blade is a standout aspect that complements the gameplay and enhances the overall experience.”
“The chiptune-inspired melodies, reminiscent of classic gaming soundtracks, set the mood for each level and boss encounter.”
“The music is pretty great and taps into that nostalgia of old school side scrollers.”
“The graphics are huge squares, or 'pixels' or whatever (roll my eyes), the music is like a prehistoric Colecovision.”
“They only two negatives so far, are the dialogue which is corny to say the least, and the music, I just can't stand it.”
“The music is also a bit too repetitious, lacking any real energy or charm, in my opinion.”
- graphics37 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Insanity's Blade" are widely praised for their retro-inspired 8-bit and 16-bit aesthetic, evoking nostalgia among players while showcasing detailed sprite work and atmospheric art. Many reviewers highlight the game's vibrant visuals and impressive artwork, likening them to classic arcade and console games, although some note occasional technical issues like choppy scrolling and sprite glitches. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point of the game, contributing significantly to its appeal despite mixed opinions on gameplay.
“The art style pays homage to the golden age of 8-bit and 16-bit gaming, evoking a sense of nostalgia for players who grew up with these iconic visuals.”
“The chunky retro style graphics are nicely drawn and authentically animated, the gratuitous violence of the grapple moves is entertaining, and the music adds nicely to the grim atmosphere.”
“Love the horror-inspired bit artwork put into this game; it's a real feast for the eyes if you're into that style of art.”
“The graphics are huge squares, or 'pixels' or whatever (roll my eyes), the music is like a prehistoric Colecovision.”
“Do not be cheated by 8-bit graphics, it has nothing to do with retro games!”
“Numerous instances, especially in the monastery, where graphics overlapped and just looked buggy.”
- stability15 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in co-op mode. While single-player experiences are generally more stable, players report frustrating problems such as clipping, low frame rates, and unfair deaths. Despite these issues, some users appreciate the retro feel and overall enjoyment of the game, though many wish for more polish and refinement.
“The game has a lot of glitches, some amusing and others annoying; for example, I, as player one, died but player two was still alive.”
“Unfortunately, the performance is just such an annoyance, and I really don't feel like troubleshooting yet another game that doesn't work well for no conceivable reason.”
“Single player mode is more or less stable, but co-op mode is a buggy hell.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its dark gothic fantasy aesthetic, enhanced by chunky retro graphics, well-crafted sprite work, and a fittingly grim soundtrack. The combination of exaggerated violence, nostalgic animations, and immersive level design creates a captivating and intense experience reminiscent of classic titles like "Ghosts 'n' Goblins" and "Altered Beast." Overall, the atmosphere is both engaging and evocative, successfully blending nostalgia with a relentless action vibe.
“The sprite-work and music is wonderfully crafted into this darkly atmospheric action sidescroller (homage to the arcade and SNES games of yore).”
“The chunky retro style graphics are nicely drawn and authentically animated, the gratuitous violence of the grapple moves is entertaining, and the music adds nicely to the grim atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere ranges somewhere in the ballpark of 'Ghosts 'n' Goblins' while the animations oddly remind me of 'Altered Beast.'”
“The atmosphere is pure dark gothic fantasy.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its clumsy yet amusing text crawls that connect levels, featuring unintentionally funny references reminiscent of 'Poochy.' Additionally, it incorporates juvenile, tongue-in-cheek humor that resonates with players, enhancing the overall comedic experience in the 2D side-scrolling platformer.
“Each level begins and ends with a lengthy text crawl, the only purpose of which is to clumsily link the different themes of each stage, with unintentionally hilarious references to the player 2 character that bring to mind 'Poochy' and the unceremonious return to his home planet.”
“The game is a 2D side-scrolling platformer with hack and slash combat, quests, upgradable weapons, an inventory, unlockable abilities, and at least one instance of juvenile tongue-in-cheek humor.”
“(which I still find hilarious) you can track your progression and location through a menu-based world map.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
"Insanity's Blade" offers solid replayability through various difficulty levels, hidden secrets, and unlockable extras, appealing particularly to fans of classic arcade games. While it provides enough content for multiple playthroughs, it may not sustain long-term engagement for all players.
“Insanity's Blade also offers replayability through multiple difficulty levels, hidden secrets, and unlockable extras.”
“The replayability is definitely there, but this isn't a title that you can look forward to sinking hundreds of hours into... I don't know though, perhaps someone will.”
“With local co-op and multiple difficulties, aside from just being easy to pick up and play, I could see a decent amount of replay value here for people really into those old arcade games.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is perceived as tedious and unpolished, making it feel less enjoyable, especially at its full price. While some players find it acceptable during sales, the necessity of grinding in a game with limited resources is a common point of frustration.
“Tedious and sloppy.”
“It's okay for when it goes on sale, but $6 seems a little much for an arcade game where money isn't in abundance and grinding is kind of necessary.”
“The problem, however, is that while the sprite work is good, the game is woefully unpolished and... a bit tedious, honestly.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant performance issues that frustrate players, leading to a reluctance to troubleshoot the problems. While it captures the essence of retro pixel side-scrolling beat 'em ups, the optimization concerns detract from the overall experience.
“Unfortunately, the performance is just such an annoyance, and I really don't feel like troubleshooting yet another game that doesn't work well for no conceivable reason.”
“If you dig the retro pixel side-scrolling beat 'em up, this seems to have it, but apparently may have some performance troubles.”
