Pour yourself a large glass of Primitivo and take a gentle sip as Britt delves into the Games Freezer games locker and digs for some Class A Indie Gold in his ‘Britt’s Brief Bulletin’ March Round-up!
Blades of Fire
(Available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5)
A game that unfortunately passed me by upon its original release window back in the Summer of 2025, developed by Spanish team MercurySteam (who I’m most familiar with through their Castlevania: Lords of Shadow back in 2010) and published via 505 Games, Blades of Fire casts the player in the role of blacksmith Aran, who is taken from his rural reclusery (definitely a word, don’t look it up) and back into civilisation when he saves a young boy from an attack. Instantly drawn into the shenanigans of this fantasy world, Aran makes it his mission to fight his way to the palace in a bid to assassinate the queen. Whilst this isn’t a flawless game by any means, it’s an accessible entry in the soul-like genre that has some lighter moments and big pluses, such as the weighty, satisfying combat, fluid animation, variety in locations, and offbeat characters. Admittedly this is offset by some parts of the game that feel a bit shoe-horned in, and the weapon crafting mini-game can get a bit laborious – although you can ‘save’ the weapons that you’ve created so that they can be auto-built when you have the right crafting items, thankfully – and the in-game quest markers may as well not exist, there’s a definite satisfaction in making your way through the world and battering all in Aran’s way.
