Blades of Fire: Forging New Spanish Pride in Video Games

Blades of Fire takes you to a medieval fantasy world where the fearsome Queen Nerea has wiped out all resistance thanks to a mysterious spell. This spell turns all steel into stone, except, of course, that of her own army, rendering anyone who might stand in her way, well, clearly defenseless. Here, you take control of Aran de Lira, who has received a sacred hammer that allows the forging of steel itself with the help of a young man named Atso. Now, your mission is to seek out this queen with one goal: her head.

Well, the truth is that the game's premise isn't exactly revolutionary, but it does have something almost more important: its own character and imagination. And that's something we can also see in the game's world, which embraces a medieval fantasy, which, to be honest, is quite its own thing. Without being excessively dark, it has some macabre and bloody touches, but also a bit of an adventure movie flavor that really suits it perfectly thanks to the aesthetics it uses and the interactions between its protagonists.

As I've already mentioned, Aran is accompanied by Atso, a young man who will not only help him by giving him advice on combat and talking a bit about the world, but will also have some barbs and cutting comments with him to add a little more flavor to the adventure. I also had the opportunity to meet two other secondary characters whom I don't want to spoil, but they are very interesting both in terms of fantasy and their personalities. What's clear to me is that the game aims to have a diverse and interesting cast of characters that will bring a lot of life to our hero's adventure.

Forging System: Key to the Game

Well, so far, so good: a medieval fantasy world with an interesting story, its own flavor, cool characters... but in video games, you have to play, right? And even more so in action titles. How's that gameplay? I'll be completely honest, okay? When I saw the first trailer, it didn't really catch my attention, but with the controller in my hands, things have changed radically.

Gameplay-wise, Blades of Fire has two fundamental pillars: obviously, its combat, but also forging. And we're going to start a little bit from the roof by talking about the second, because it's the most interesting to explain and also because it's extremely relevant to discussing the first.

Thanks to his hammer, in the world of Blades of Fire, our protagonist is the only force opposing the queen that can forge steel, and he does so thanks to the aforementioned hammer with divine properties that transports him to a magical forge. Here, using the materials and blueprints you collect, you'll be able to create your own weapons. But this isn't just a fancy menu, so to speak. It's a creative process on which all your confrontations will depend.

The idea is this: throughout your adventure, as you defeat enemies, you'll find weapon blueprints, as well as the resources you'll need. And when you go to the forge, you first have to choose which weapon you want to craft, and that's where the process begins. Depending on the weapon type, you'll have to choose factors such as the blade type, the length of the weapon, the grip, the guard—in short, every part of the weapon you've chosen is your responsibility, including the types of steel and even the wood you use. And in the end, all these decisions impact how it will perform in battle.

Let's take a practical example: you choose a sword and want to maximize its damage. Obviously, a long, large blade, very heavy metals, and all the options that increase the damage it deals per hit. What do you get with all this? Well, a sword that's breathtaking, but also a weapon slower than the bad guy's horse, which will consume a lot of energy with just one hit and will also slow down your parries thanks to the fact that, well, it's very heavy after all.

Back to forging: we adjust some characteristics, perhaps a shorter or smaller blade. We can also use medium or light materials. Let's be more moderate, shall we? Now we have a weapon that's easier to use, but one that won't take out enemies in one fell swoop. By juggling these two weapons, we'll choose the power, speed, energy consumption, even the length of the parry window for each weapon we create. Apply this logic also to maces, axes, spears, daggers, and other types of weapons I didn't get to see. And what remains is a deep system.

But be careful, we're not done yet. Once you've got the theory down, it's time to put it into practice. It's time to shape the metal, and you'll have to do that yourself, hitting it with your hammer and choosing the strength, width, and angle of your blows. Doing it better or worse won't give you more damage, but it will earn you stars for your weapon.

Graphics and Technical Design

Well, as I said, it's clear that every fight is a spectacle. And this is where the graphics come in, delivering and creating a dense and detailed world. The technical attention to which MercurySteam has accustomed us is evident, both in its models and in the animations, environments, and visual effects. It's a title that's very visually appealing. It's very attractive and immerses us in its varied fantasy locations.

On a technical level, the version I was able to test was the PC version. And the truth is, it looks and performs really well. The Mercury Engine is not only still solid in 2025, but it doesn't suffer from the major drawbacks of Unreal Engine 5. In other words, it was a smooth, stutter-free experience, which is ultimately what all PC gamers want. I don't have any details on whether scaling methods like DLSS or FSR were used, but if so, there were no visual or response issues with the game. And this is incredibly important for a title that lets you measure parry windows in milliseconds.

Conclusion

It's exciting to see a Spanish studio launching its ambitious international market with a new IP and high production values. And Blades of Fire has proven that it has solid enough ideas to succeed.