[Review] Of Blades & Tails

Humanity has disappeared and magic has turned animals into anthropomorphic beings that now inhabit Earth. Of Blades & Tails is the latest example of a refreshing and new take on Strategy RPGs.

RPGs are one of the most important video game genres for developing a narrative, having featured plenty of examples with amazing storylines to tell. There are also those which focus more on exploration and gameplay itself while leaving the story as another disconnected element, one that feels like it just happens to be part of the bigger mix. They can also be a very varied genre, I would dare to say it’s the one of the most variable in formula.

Of Blades & Tails provides an interesting premise that slowly unravels by using narrative elements that are not often seen in 2D games, such as environmental storytelling, a tactic used in the old days where games told you their story mainly with graphics, along with some text, or even none at all.

Our protagonist Reik, a young student of the fox clan, has been tasked with finding his master Aro, who was sent to explore a previously unseen cave, located on the outskirts of the village.

After completing his quest, events take place that cause his world to open up, taking us on a narrative journey that leads through diverse locations like swamps, woodlands, and caves, each hosting its own clan of native animal peoples, with their own deep and engaging quests and stories. This adds a lot of diversity and variety to the game’s world-building, crafting a landscape that is wide, interesting, and also intriguing.

This is apparent even at the beginning of the game, where in the fox clan village, bugs are treated as livestock. The sheer amount of insect enemies I encountered along my journey, along with narrative beats as early as the first quest, easily allowed me to infer that something was not right between the fox and insect clans.

This is confirmed by the end of the first quest, Aro tells Reik that the bug clan has acquired the power to use magic, and that this poses a great risk for the whole world.

Reik, tasked with finding an explanation why the bug clan can harness such power, explores a vast world alone, finding other characters along the way with their own troubles to solve and that in some cases who might even give leads to solve the mystery.

Little details, such as the bugs being used as livestock, are things I enjoy seeing used as storytelling mechanisms. Many video games often rely heavily on big narrative monologues, missing out the opportunity of being subtle and finding alternate ways of telling their story. Of Blades & Tails has plenty of moments where text or cutscenes aren’t the only element used for narrative implications, it uses its graphics too.

While there are things to be enjoyed about the plot, one issue is its pacing. It takes a while for it to get going, which was a turnoff to begin with, especially if you are the type who wishes to be fully immersed in a world from the get go.

The world-building and story itself feel solid, even if they tend to fall into some typical RPG tropes, like a side character being heavily wounded or dying near the beginning of the game. Effort has been put into world-building more than organising the plot in a way that quickly engages the player with it, while not necessarily bad, it can be a drag on pacing.

Of Blades & Tails is mostly about strategizing since every encounter can be dangerous if not approached in the right way, much like the bulk of strategy titles your movement is grid-based. You have your usual RPG mechanics like HP, MP, and the like, however there are tons of possibilities when building your character. With a bunch of skill trees and weapons for you to tinker around with, which feel quite extensive for a game of this calibre, you are able to customise the way you want to approach each situation with depth.

I am a big fan of dexterity-based builds in RPGs, this is because I like the risk, having multiple skill trees dealing with abilities related to dexterity was neat. That’s not to say the rest of the classes didn’t also have their moment to shine, since all played well, and can tackle the game’s challenges. Spell casting builds are also good, and when combined with certain ability trees they can become a powerful threat. Warriors too, being the main tanky build, and one I recommend beginners to try out, can feel like they make the early game easier.

In case you don’t like a certain build mid-game, there is a mechanic that allows you to redistribute your stats in any way you like, provided you have the item to allow you to do so.

There are multiple weapons and armour pieces to use, each one of them with a randomised set of perks and different rarities. You find them by fighting, completing quests, or simply just exploring the world. Another great mechanic that can give powerful weapons and items is Treasure Hunting.

NPCs are able to assemble map fragments that you collect as you fight, explore and loot things all over the world. Depending on the number of fragments you have, you can craft maps that hold a chance of finding the very rare items you need. Provided you have enough gold to pay for it. With this map, you can go to specific locations to try and dig for treasure. It can take a while to find these locations since you only have a sketch of the area, so you will have to be observant, but that really adds some sense of actually scavenging for something.

Enemies are unique, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. Giving you multiple ways for you to go up against them, failing to do so with the correct planning will often end up badly for you. If you are the type who is too hasty, and run in feeling invincible, you might want to stop in your tracks and think for a while. Thinking your turns out is something you will have to do to progress well, and a lot of my deaths were due to me not being careful enough early game.

This was in part to me expecting it to play just like another classic RPG, where everything is either just a walking menace or a knock over weakling. This really took me by surprise, but I feel like the game nailed its balance in just the right way, with every enemy you fight having their own way of fighting. The range of adversaries is diverse, be it ranged attackers, mages buffing during a certain period of time, or warriors rushing at you when you least expect it. Travelling is often dangerous, and you should be wary of your surroundings at all times, if possible, and as a recommendation, I suggest you always fight one enemy at a time and avoid unnecessary battles.

There are still a bunch more things to do during your play through, there are guilds where you can learn more skills, equipment customization where you can add more perks to your items, quests which are the main progression system of the game and the best way to earn experience, and also exploration which is heavily encouraged through the game, be it for the loot or the fact that it also rewards you with a ton of experience.

If battling isn’t your forte perhaps there’s even other ways to approach the game and earn some levels before getting yourself into completing the main quest, I found myself exploring more than actually doing the main quest progression which gave me enough levels to tackle it with more ease, but I also found fighting quite satisfactory, and I always try to do so whenever I spot an enemy, who knows if they will drop something useful or worthy of being pawned at the armoury.

Visuals are crisp and vivid, with sprite work that looks colourful and full of detail, despite the lack of proper in depth animations. The environments are also varied and lively, filled with a plethora of both items you can pick up or interact with and background elements that make the world feel full and lively.

Enemies are also varied in design and coherent with the world-building of the game, providing an unique and plentiful roster of visually distinct creatures that add more life to the already extensive and deep world you inhabit. This makes battles feel more meaningful due to not always finding repetition on the enemies that you will face.

Some consumable objects can remain a bit hidden due to the visual details on screen at any time. Even if there’s this handy feature to make them more transparent as you hover your cursor over them, it’s still on the opaque side. There are plenty of those consumable objects littered around the map, and they aren’t that crucial for overall completion.

The soundtrack features a wide selection of tracks, each fitting to every situation, be it strolling through the woods, engaging in combat with an enemy, or resting at the bonfire in town, an activity I find quite cosy and reminiscent to a certain game about souls. Mimicking high fantasy, it fits seamlessly with the game’s mediaeval aesthetic.

If anything is wrong with music, it would be the fact that depending on the situation, mostly during battles, transitioning to another map holds the chance of the soundtrack getting stuck in the battle tune. It’s really nothing that hinders the experience in any way and eliminating an enemy fixes that bug.

Since much of your time is spent in battle, the attack sound might be the one thing that you hear the most, while not being irritating, there could have been more work done to improve the variety of the game’s soundscape, even if it is serviceable and does the job, it can get boring fast.

It’s impressive that this was mostly coded by a single person, it is quite the long game and there’s even secrets too. There is a day and night cycle that affects quest availability, another aspect that helps the world feel more alive, there are optional dungeons to explore, and a lot of landmarks to visit.  Of Blades and Tails is a world I am interested in visiting again. I love the idea of having the chance to come back to it and challenge myself with the different available builds, and experience more of its unique and vibrant scenery.