Blade Strangers Launch Edition - Nintendo Switch

I was expecting a second rate, forgettable fighter with niche characters, but what I got is pretty legit. Not a whole lot of people are playing it unfortunately, but if you like any of the series represented, or want a more "traditional" fighter, Blade Strangers is worth a look, especially at its price. Some of the rock tracks are pretty good beats too. It still feels a bit bare bones in modes and some sprites are suspect, but I like it lots.

"Blade Strangers" is a 2D, one-on-one fighting game which features characters from Nicalis games. Notable inclusions are Solange from "Code Of Princess", Shovel Night, Isaac, and Quote/Curly from "Cave Story." Simplistic compared to other 2D fighters, "Blade Strangers" ousts the traditional complicated special move commands in favor of single direction inputs plus a special attack button (think Smash Bros.). This is a good thing for the Switch, since the standard Joy-Cons are not fighting game friendly. Don't assume it's a complete cake walk, though...there are definitely combos that require creativity and finesse that'll give veterans of the genre a bit to chew on. The standard array of modes are present (story, arcade, survival, online), but "Blade Strangers" falls short in the story and graphics department. The hand-drawn profile pics of the characters look great, but during play the animations are pixelated and appear as they were upscaled from a PS2 game. With around 14 characters and a lower price tag, "Blade Strangers" is a respectable entry-level fighting game. While it can't compete with the likes of "Samurai Showdown", "KOF 14", or "Street Fighter 5", it makes for a decent casual fighter on the go. NOTE: This launch edition comes with a manual and a keychain bonus. Very nice!

Nice to have these mostly indie game characters featured in their own fighting game. The controls are generally streamlined to make it easier for casual fighting game fans to pull off special moves, but there's still enough nuance and technicality for general fighting game fans to enjoy themselves. A recent update to the game has improved the character art, so the strangely intentional pixelization of the initial version of the game is much sharper. I do wish there was more content to the game, and the appeal of the characters will largely depend on your familiarity with the different game franchises represented in this title. Overall it's a decent fighting game if you know what you are buying into. It didn't resonate much with me, but I'm happy to have it in my collection to play with my kids.

This game gives a portable fighter that has controls that are fairly simple. Almost anyone can pick up and play it even without knowing who the characters are. The charm here is the art style and some niche characters.

A decent fighting genre game. The game has shovel knight and Isaac a nice perk. But, the graphics is subpar from other fighters in the market. The game is fun and enjoyable.

I pre-ordered this game based solely on some of the characters appearing and I was not disappointed. It's one of the most fun and accessible fighting games I've played in a long while. The character art is great and the animation is smooth. There's a lot of stuff to do here from Arcade to Story to Challenges and lots of new colored outfits and some extra characters to unlock. The story sucks, but I kind of expect that in fighting games. Veteran fighters may find this one too simple and shallow, but I really enjoyed it. I would recommend cranking the difficulty up a notch. I'm not really an ace at fighting games and I still found it a bit too easy.

Fun, but with smash Bros and street fighter out, kinda pointless. Only cool part are shovel Knight and Isaac

This is a fun but kind of generic fighter. If you like the characters, you will enjoy it.