Blazing Strike (PS5)

Back in the 90s/00s, when the fighting game genre had the first big boom, you had the obvious names doing the rounds like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but for every one of them, there were 10 challengers for the throne. While we are in the second resurgence of the genre, it seems history has taught us about oversaturation, so when alternatives come along, they need a little something; Blazing Strike has more than a little something; stack some quarters and join me for a few bouts, it’s about to go down.

So before we go anything allow me to expose you to the term “Poverty Fighter/Game”. As I understand the term, a poverty fighter is something that lacks the budget or polish of the bigger named titles such as Street Fighter or Tekken, think titles such as Tuff E Nuff, Fighters History or Breakers, a whole lot of heart there but not quite there, the “budget” alternative as it were.

Now when I describe Blazing Strike as a “Poverty Fighter” it is meant with the utmost respect, some of my favourite titles are from that defined sub-genre and while it may have been absorbed by the more inclusive title of “Indie Fighter” in my honest opinion Blazing Strike has more in common with titles like Breakers than it does say Them’s Fightin’ Herds or Pocket Bravery.

My initial feelings upon booting Blazing Strike were that it feels like it comes from a different timeline, one where Street Fighter: 3rd Strike performed better and an avid developer with a love of that and the Guilty Gear franchise said “I could do that” and produced an absolute banger of a Dreamcast title, again if you know me and my taste, none of that is a poor reflection on the game.

You have a fantastic initial roster of 14 characters, 2 unlockables for going through the game Story and Arcade mode, and more coming via DLC. Believe me, this is one eclectic character roster; while each character has some familiar traits, they all have that little something to make them unique in their delicious late 90s-inspired way.

Some examples are Graffi, who’s a mix between a Ninja and a street artist, something I’m well aware Street Fighter 6 has also done, but Blazing Strike leans further into Marc Echo vibes for you noughties kids. You have the cyber Ninja Zero, the almost Asura’s Wrath-looking Oro, Egyptian goddess-looking Hana and even Pink Samurai, who looks like she came straight from the world of Mad Max in her post-apocalyptic desert punk attire. The roster doesn’t look like it’s from the same game, and this is written up well by the fact every character comes from a different dimension in the story mode, allowing this one-man Dev team to run wild with the ideas.

So far the only real issue I have with the roster is there is a distinct lack of a “boss” character, we have no equivalent to Dictator, Geese, Shao Khan you get the idea but even if you run through the arcade mode you’re not met with a “boss” at the end nor is there any character-specific endings, just a generic congratulations screen which severely diminishes single player incentive, something the developer was keen on pushing.

Visually, Blazing Strike is a little hodgepodge boiling pot of some great-looking sprites, iffy and great backgrounds and some animations and frames, which just scream out that this needed just a little more time to brew. A classic sprite-based fighting game was always going to be a large investment which is why other games used to reuse assets over and over but Blazing Strike leans into the Dreamcast CPS3 era art direction with it for both a great look but also to its detriment where the ambition wasn’t quite enough to power the engine so to speak.

The combat on offer here in Blazing Strike feels fantastic, weighty enough to have an impact but not too much that you feel like you’re piloting a human mech. Inputs are the usual Japanese style quarter circles and the like with no “modern” inputs, and attack buttons are just a light and heavy option of punch and kick, giving this title some real SNK vibes, heck the special move input window felt like playing a classic KoF title.

Every character only has around three to four special moves and access to the game’s standout mechanic the “Rush” bar, by holding down the Rush button you have access to EX versions of moves, a better jump and even a nice simple BnB combo, this can deplete quite quickly though so it’s all about that precious meter management.

Other mechanics in the game include a parry mechanic that negates damage at the risk of pressing towards your opponent’s attack with strict frame timing and exclusive to the arcade mode is the inclusion of stage hazards, while they would be an absolute nightmare in serious competitive play, I would have loved casual matches to have that added hilarity of a giant hook knocking you out or the prisoners in the prison stage catching someone unawares.

In regards to modes on offer, Blazing Strike has a basic arcade ladder, a visual novel-styled story mode, training mode and online multiplayer made up of quick play and private, there is a spectator mode on the way in the form of free DLC but the offerings here really do not reflect the asking price, especially with the old school method of discovering the game mechanics rather than a tutorial giving you the basic idea of how to play or some BnB combo strings to get you started.

As previously mentioned, the arcade mode, while having exclusive stage hazards, lacks any kind of character-specific ending or grand event for reaching the top of the mountain. The Story Mode, while presenting an interesting narrative about a godlike being and multiple universes, seems a little too long in the teeth and overwritten to the point I became good friends with the skip button just to reach the end reward.

Online mode exists, but on PlayStation 5 currently isn’t working; it’s impossible to get into matches as tested by an independent party, and as such, I was unable to test the current net code, crossplay rollback netcode is to be introduced in a patch later on.

The main hang-up with Blazing Strike is its almost premium price tag with few modes and some glaring balancing issues. I fully appreciate this is a single developer, but several of the characters have infinite combos simply from correctly timing jabs, some animations are just completely off, and some moves are just a nightmare to pull off. It’s a shame as the game is an absolutely fantastic starting point but releasing it as a finished product for £30.99 on Steam and similar for physical and other platforms seems a little misguided when it comes to something that feels distinctly early access.

Blazing Strike as it stands is a fantastic piece of Poverty Fighting Game but with a high price tag, if you think of it as an investment in the game’s future it doesn’t feel too bad with 2 DLC characters on the way and a push to improve the online net code but it could seem a little too much to ask for some.