Based on first impressions, BlazBlue Entropy Effect is a unique action game that’s a mix between two genres into one. You can choose a variety of fighters from the BlazBlue franchise in this roguelite adventure. If you’ve played Hades and Dead Cells, you know what you’re getting yourself into but with BlazBlue characters.
Humanity is plunged into chaos and enters a cyberspace called ACE to help resolve the crisis. You’ll pick up memory pieces to unlock the history and scenarios that’s occurring. The plot itself is pretty confusing as you hover around as a floating monitor with robotic arms. As you dive further in the game, more plot pieces begin to connect and how it affects humanity.
Outside of the mysterious plot, the game is more about the action. As mentioned before, you can choose a BlazBlue character before adventuring into the 2D platformer levels. Each character has their own unique abilities and styles. For example, Taokaka is quick and can dodge enemies, Ace is slow but has power with close combat, and Noel utilizes guns for long-range attacks. You can choose whichever you want but you can also transfer skills from one character to the other to start off adventuring with a skilled fighter.
Each stage is short and before completing them, you are tasked to defeat all enemies in order to advance. Additionally, your path won’t always be the same when you revisit multiple times. The first level remains the same but afterwards you’ll battle in stages you haven’t before. It’s a way to change things up and make the game feel fresher.
Clearing a stage gives players an ability to learn new skills and give players the option to choose a path. For example, learn a new ability type, rest, take a gamble of stat changes, and more. It’s a good way to keep players entertained and choose options that best suit them.
Like roguelike games, you keep playing till you perish. You’ll have the chance to heal yourself a small handful of times and also respawn once to keep fighting. After you deplete your health gauge for good, your adventure ends and you are warped back to the cyber world of your robotic avatar. You’ll earn points and some skills are brought back with you where you can utilize your character again or transfer to a new one.
Outside fighting, you can use your currency, known as “Mind Crystals”, to increase your fighter’s max health points (HP) and add special effects to increase their stats such as increasing damage. You’ll need to save up a lot of Mind Crystals so expect frequent trips back and take down enemies.
Aside from the vague storyline, the action and playthrough in BlazBlue Entropy Effect is fun and entertaining. First impressions, if you’re looking for a roguelike challenge, this game is a valid option.
A review code provided for this article. BlazBlue Entropy Effect available on Steam and playable on the Steam Deck.