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
- Engaging retro-inspired visuals and a memorable soundtrack that evoke nostalgia for classic 2D platformers.
- Fast-paced combat with a variety of weapons and abilities, allowing for different strategies and playstyles.
- Challenging gameplay that rewards skill and perseverance, with multiple difficulty levels and hidden secrets to discover.
- Clunky controls and inconsistent hit detection can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Repetitive combat mechanics, particularly with the throwing weapon system, diminish the overall challenge and excitement.
- Poor level design and a lack of clear progression can result in confusion and a feeling of aimlessness during play.
- story91 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 73 % 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 forces, 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 moments of character development, making it entertaining despite its flaws. Overall, the story serves its purpose within the game, providing a backdrop for the action, though it may not satisfy players seeking depth or originality.
“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.”
“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.”
“The story is boring and always annoying to watch; the scrolling is choppy like on an 8-bit computer, the graphics look nice in screenshots but very banal in motion.”
- gameplay71 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its engaging, retro-inspired mechanics and tight controls, while others criticize it for being repetitive, clunky, and lacking depth. Many reviews highlight the nostalgic feel and satisfying combat, but also point out issues like stiff controls, frustrating design choices, and a lack of variety that can lead to boredom. Overall, while the game offers enjoyable moments for fans of old-school arcade styles, it may not satisfy those seeking more polished and varied gameplay experiences.
“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.”
“The gameplay and controls feel really good, the soundtrack is great, and the overall game feel is really satisfying.”
“Level design is so-so, gameplay is repetitive and sometimes clunky.”
“The gameplay is simple but there's little to no variety in it, so it dulls very quickly.”
“Clumsy game, bad optimization, dull gameplay.”
- music51 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in "Insanity's Blade" is widely praised for its engaging chiptune-inspired soundtrack, which enhances the gameplay and evokes nostalgia for classic gaming. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, with options to toggle between 8-bit and 16-bit styles, although some note that it can be repetitive or not as polished as desired. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's retro atmosphere and is considered a key element of the experience.
“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.”
- graphics47 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Insanity's Blade" are widely praised for their retro-inspired aesthetic, effectively evoking nostalgia for classic 8-bit and 16-bit games. Many reviewers highlight the detailed sprite work and atmospheric design, which contribute to an engaging visual experience reminiscent of arcade classics. However, some criticisms note issues with choppy scrolling and occasional graphical bugs, suggesting that while the visuals are appealing, they may not always perform flawlessly in motion.
“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.”
“They chose to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“Numerous instances, especially in the monastery, where graphics overlapped and just looked buggy.”
- stability16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues, particularly in co-op mode. While some find enjoyment in the retro feel and gameplay, the persistent technical problems, such as hit registration errors and unresponsive controls, detract significantly from the overall experience. Overall, the game suffers from a lack of polish, leading to frustration among users.
“This one is buggy, has bad hit registration, and bizarre key mappings that you can't change. Developers like this make me wonder if they think customers are the enemy.”
“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.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its dark gothic fantasy elements, enhanced by chunky retro graphics, well-crafted sprite work, and a fittingly grim soundtrack. Reviewers appreciate the blend of nostalgic influences, such as "Ghosts 'n' Goblins" and "Altered Beast," alongside the extreme action and over-the-top gore, creating a captivating and immersive experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as spectacular and engaging, making it a standout feature.
“This is a great, dark and atmospheric game.”
“The sprite-work and music is wonderfully crafted into this darkly atmospheric action sidescroller (homage to the arcade and SNES games of yore).”
“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, which some players find genuinely hilarious amidst its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay.
“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.”
“You can track your progression and location through a menu-based world map, which I still find hilarious.”
- 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
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unpolished, with some suggesting that it feels excessive for the price point, especially when in-game currency is scarce. While the sprite work is appreciated, the overall experience is marred by the repetitive nature of grinding.
“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
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % 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.
“The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
“I love how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it run seamlessly without any noticeable lag.”
“The game runs beautifully, with optimized graphics that enhance the retro feel while maintaining high frame rates.”
“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.”
