# Blades of Fire

Blades of Fire is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed by MercurySteam and published by 505 Games. The game is scheduled to be released on May 22, 2025 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S.

## Plot

An ancient race named the Forgers created mankind and provided them with the knowledge of using steel to create weapons. Queen Nerea, after coming into power, casts a curse turning her enemies' steel into stone, rendering the weapons of all her opponents useless against her forces. The game follows a warrior named Aran de Lira, who is gifted with a sacred hammer enabling him to craft his own steel weapons. He attempt find his way to the Royal Palace to assassinate Queen Nerea alongside his companion, a young scholar named Adso de Zelk who document his journey to reach the queen.

## Gameplay

Blades of Fire is a third-person action-adventure video game. Players assume control of a warrior named Aran de Lira, who wields an ancient hammer allowing him to forge various weapons. The game is set in an interconnected world with various alternate paths and hidden locations. When fighting enemies, players can choose how to place and position their weapons from two directions (the right and the left). They can also target an enemy's head or torso, and use slashing, stabbing, and blunt techniques to deal damage. Blocking incoming attacks regenerates stamina, while parrying can break an enemy's defense, providing a window for players to deal large amount of damage. Each weapon will eventually degrade, and they can be repaired at anvil checkpoints, or be broken down into crafting materials. Throughout the game, Aran will be accompanied by Adso, a young scholar who will provide players with useful combat tips and assist in solving puzzles.
As players progress, they will collect "Forge Scrolls", which are essential for crafting weapons. In the Forge, players can modify their weapons extensively and alter their physical properties such as weapon length, shape of the blade, and the materials used for crafting. This, in turn, will alter their performance such as durability, penetration and edge quality. Players also have to physically control how Aran hammer the weapon into shape through a minigame. Different enemies have different weaknesses. If an enemy is highlighted in green, it means that the weapon Aran is carrying can deal maximum damage towards them. If an enemy is highlighted in red, the weapon will deal no damage, and players have to switch to another weapon. If Aran is defeated in battle, players will respawn at the nearest anvil checkpoint. All enemies in the area will also respawn. The weapon Aran is last using, however, will be dropped at the location of his most-recent death.

## Development

The game is currently being developed by MercurySteam, the studio behind Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Metroid Dread. Some of the founding members also worked on Severance: Blade of Darkness, largely considered to be the predecessor to modern Soulsborne games. Enric Alvarez, the game's director, described the game as an opportunity for the team revisit the dark fantasy genre. The team adopted an expressive art direction for the game, as opposed to using realistic visuals commonly seen in modern fantasy games. Comics created by Frank Frazetta and Gustave Doré inspired the game's visuals, with the team using "vivid colors" and "dramatic compositions" while creating the game's overall aesthestics. Alvarez described the story of Blades of Fire as a "dark fairytale", one that was inspired by fantasy movies such as Excalibur and Ladyhawke. A major theme of the story was "reunion", and the team was influnced by Count of Monte Cristo, a revenge story, when creating the backstory for Aran. Adso was created in an attempt to further humanize the game's cast of characters, and his youthful energy was used to contrast with Aran's "blunt" personality.
Joan Amat, the game's lead weapon designer, added that the team watched YouTubers who produced videos on historical weapons to better understand how they function in real life. Initially, the game required players to consider the technical properties of materials, such as their hardness, flexibility, and tenacity, and the interactions of blade types and armor during combat. However, the team subsequently decided to significantly streamline these systems as they felt that they became unnecessarily complex for players to understand. The team wanted players to feel attached to their weapons. As a result, each individual weapon can be named, and using a weapon increased its reputation. While players cannot upgrade their weapons in the game, a weapon with a high reputation can be traded for better resources. Amat added that the combat system was designed to be slow and deliberate, and he compared enemy encounter to a "duel in a Kurosawa movie".
In December 2021, 505 Games and its parent company, Digital Bros, announced that they will be partnering with MercurySteam on a project codenamed Project Iron. The game was officially announced in February 2025. It is scheduled to be released on May 22, 2025 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S.