Blue Fire (2021)

There's a slow burn to this fire, but it's certainly worth waiting for it to catch and see the sparks. Blue Fire offers up a challenging, and dynamic 3D platforming experience that is sure to make it a cult hit with those brave enough to persevere through the frustrating opening - but 'cult' it will remain, with little chance of garnering attention from wider audiences, sadly, as there are just too many issues to elevate this to something more. The recycling of areas in that second half combined with the flimsy fundamentals stops this from becoming a classic.

Blue Fire is a strange experience, easy to love and hate simultaneously. Sometimes you find it amazing, other times terrible, it all depends on your patience. With references from several classics such as Zelda and Dark Souls, the title from Robi Studios even has an interesting world story, varied three-dimensional environments and platforming levels that cry out to be explored through creative mechanics and fun movement combinations. However, those same features that make it enjoyable to a certain extent are soon overshadowed by physics issues, demanding jumps, necessary backtracking, extremely monotonous combat, and confusing level design. What remains is a dubious game that becomes good one second and bad in the next.

Blue Fire does not punish players for exploring their environment and that is further reinforced with the addition of side quests you can pick up along the way. Despite the difficult platforming the game does not feel overwhelming to complete, and there is always a benefit to revisiting old areas. There is always a missed breakable object or an emoting statue that was forgotten; one should not underestimate the power of emoting.

Blue Fire is a successful mix of established games. It is highly recommended for any fan of 3D platform, adventure and exploration games. The combat, however, could be more interesting.

One of the best surprises of the year. A great platformer that takes us into a world where Dark Souls, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 64 co-exist.