Posted on: July 27, 2020
OdanUrr
Games: 359 Reviews: 15
Expectations positively subverted
I expected this game to be a chore to play through so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a fun ride with a pleasant, sometimes beautiful, aesthetic that holds up quite well for a game released in 2012. Unfortunately, the story is pretty bare bones, an excuse to prompt you to complete your quest, getting somewhat interesting towards the final two or three levels. The English voice acting is, sadly, dreadful, so much so I immediately switched to the better Japanese track. The meat of this game however, is its gameplay, particularly Ayumi's singular ability to rewind time, a mechanic I hadn't seen in a game since 2007's TimeShift. Time Rewind allows Ayumi to create duplicates of herself, what is key to solving certain puzzles and defeating specific enemies or bosses and may take some time getting used to (I don't remember much in the way of a tutorial). Beyond this unique skill, our female treasure hunter (the Lara Croft parallels are obvious) is given the standard treatment: she gets to equip different melee and ranged weapons, use three different magical abilities and upgrade them, and change her skimpy outfit into something less revealing but all the same alluring (there are three costumes in total that you unlock naturally as you play). Ayumi's combat animations are quite impressive, reminding me at times of Platinum's work on Nier: Automata. If all you're looking for is a short (takes about 10 hours to complete) but enjoyable and challenging (that last boss is a nightmare) hack-and-slash with some interesting puzzles, then I have no qualms recommending Blades of Time, even at its current full price.
Is this helpful to you?
