Action · October 7, 2021

Blade of Darkness (2021)

trophy56 achievementslocal_offer-60% current discountgroup100k–1M ownersrecommend2.2k recommendations
A grim new threat looms over The Central Kingdoms. The borders protected by the fierce King’s Knights are no longer secure. The fearsome orc clans, more numerous than ever, lurk on all roads. The proud nomadic peoples of the steppes are on the alert, for strange beasts prowl the darkness. Not even the stout dwarves, hidden in their underground palaces, seem safe from threat - from the unknown tunnels of its mines, a foul army of hideous creatures advances inexorably. Chaos seizes the World. Only the memory of the oldest recalls the exploits of a hero and a few warriors, who in other times fought against the forces of Chaos. Ianna, the mother of all living beings, gave the hero a powerful sword to enter the abyss and defeat evil. But that happened a long time ago. A new hero is needed, a chosen one who is worthy to wield the Sword and destroy the enemy... this time forever. FOUR PLAYABLE CHARACTERS Pick your Champion of Ianna — Tukaram, the Barbarian; Naglfar, the Dwarf; Sargon, the Knight; or Zoe, the Amazon — each with unique strengths, weaknesses, and fighting skills, as you hack ‘n slash your way through a blood-drenched quest to save the world from the forces of Chaos. BLOODY & GORY COMBAT Learn devastating combo attacks and use them to slice your opponents into pieces. Hack off your foes’ limbs, then use them as weapons! A DETAILED & DARK FANTASY WORLD Battle orcs, trolls, golems, demons, skeletons, and scores of malevolent enemy creatures as you explore treacherous tombs, frozen fortresses, demon spires, deserts, temples, and palaces. INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS Destroy in-game objects with fire or your fists as you solve puzzles and disarm traps that combine physics, hydraulic systems, and lethal traps! NEW HD GRAPHICS FOR A GENRE-DEFINING GAME We are happy to bring Blade of Darkness back to life, now in full HD. It's an enduring classic that, at the time of its release, inspired many games in the action-adventure genre through its approach to combat. With this edition we've re-engineered the game to work on modern PC hardware, upscaled the textures, added widescreen support up to 4K resolution, improved anti-aliasing, HDR, bloom, motion blur, reworked camera, added gamepad support and improved its overall stability. At the same time, the gameplay, content, and the story are untouched — featuring all the game’s quirks and charm.

Action releases from 2021

198 Action titles launched in 2021 — top 6 by review volume.

Peer Action titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Violent · 257
  • Dark Fantasy · 256
  • Difficult · 252
  • Souls-like · 248
  • Action · 234
  • Combat · 229
  • RPG · 218
  • Gore · 214
  • Dark · 198
  • Atmospheric · 189
  • Third Person · 166
  • Action RPG · 150
  • Action-Adventure · 145
  • Hack and Slash · 136
  • Fantasy · 133

Position in Action

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume2.3k Steam reviewsTop 92% in Action
Positive rating91% positiveGenre average: 83% — this title sits in top 32%
Metacritic75/100Genre average 77 — top 65% of Action titles
Engagement hours4 h averageTop 80% for session depth among Action

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (7)

  • English volume_up
  • French volume_up
  • Italian volume_up
  • German volume_up
  • Spanish - Spain volume_up
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Russian volume_up

Full audio (6)

  • English
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Russian

Reception Metrics

Steam community

91%Very Positive · 2.3k reviews

2.1k positive · 205 negative

Metacritic

75/100 critic aggregate

Open Metacritic page

Metacritic user score

8.6/10

Curator recommendations

2.2k

Press Quotes

“WELL WORTH A LOOK IF YOU'RE AFTER SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE” 9/10 – EUROGAMER “PRETTY DARN SATISFYING EXPERIENCE” 8.8 – IGN “GREAT EXAMPLE OF ITS GENRE” 82% – PC GAMER

Release & Availability

Release dateOct 7, 2021
DeveloperRebel Act Studios, Fire Falcom, General Arcade
PublisherSNEG
Base price$5.99 -60%
PlatformsWindows
Estimated owners100k–1M
External linksMetacritic page · [email protected]

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

4h

brief (under 5 hours)

Median

4h

Typical completion time

Achievements

56

Steam unlocks available

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud

Input & Comfort

  • Full controller support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Family Sharing

Content Notes

Blade of Darkness is a game developed in 2001. According to official ratings from that time, It contains animated violence, blood, and gore. Might not be appropriate for all audiences.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Blade of Darkness