{"id":95749,"date":"2019-06-26T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/blade_ii_-_the_return_of_evil"},"modified":"2019-06-26T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T19:00:00","slug":"review-blade-ii-the-return-of-evil-a-diablo-style-action-rpg-that-might-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/06\/26\/review-blade-ii-the-return-of-evil-a-diablo-style-action-rpg-that-might-surprise-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Blade II &#8211; The Return Of Evil &#8211; A Diablo-Style Action RPG That Might Surprise You"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/blade_ii_-_the_return_of_evil\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/blade_ii_-_the_return_of_evil\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97457\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97457\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The words \u2018mobile game\u2019 almost always come with unwelcome connotations when they\u2019re ported over to another platform. For us Nintendo Switch owners, we\u2019ve seen plenty of poorly executed optimisations pop up on the eShop, so we\u2019re naturally a little hesitant whenever another free-to-play \u2018hit\u2019 gets the console treatment. We\u2019ve experienced the highs of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/arena_of_valor\"><strong>Arena of Valor<\/strong><\/a>, but we\u2019ve also endured the lows of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/modern_combat_blackout\"><strong>Modern Combat Blackout<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/bullet_battle_evolution\"><strong>Bullet Battle: Evolution<\/strong><\/a>. So which camp does the Korean-made <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/blade_ii_-_the_return_of_evil\"><strong>Blade II &#8211; The Return of Evil<\/strong><\/a> fall into?<\/p>\n<p>For a start, hats off to the developer for bringing a top-down action RPG to a platform that already hosts the best example the dungeon crawler genre has ever witnessed. Long in the tooth <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/diablo_iii_eternal_collection\"><strong>Diablo III: Eternal Collection<\/strong><\/a> may be, but it\u2019s still a slick and engrossing effort that brings monster slaying and gluttonous loot drops to Ninty\u2019s hybrid hardware. So, of course, it&#8217;s almost a given that Blade II isn\u2019t going to be as good as Blizzard\u2019s seminal classic. But is it good enough to justify a silver medal? And does the microtransaction-driven nature of its previous form cast an even longer shadow?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97458\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97458\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Well, for a start, developer ActionSquare has opted to remove <em>all<\/em> microtransactions \u2013 which is a welcome change considering Blade II comes with a \u00a320 asking price. Too many games these days opt to charge an asking price <em>and<\/em> slot in microtransactions, but in an attempt to give the game a much better chance of success both on console and in the West, the studio clearly wants to avoid the negative backlash that often comes with such a decision (*cough* <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/nba_2k19\"><strong><em>NBA 2K19<\/em><\/strong><\/a> *cough*).<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s left is a highly polished action RPG that does its best to marry cinematic cutscenes with over-the-top combos and myriad, trope-filled fantasy settings. Rather than offering you access to a larger and more open dungeon, each level is instead presented as a linear path that leads to a final battle with a boss battle. Sometimes you\u2019ll be fighting across the cobblestone streets and wooden rooftops of a <strong><a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/games\/ps4\/bloodborne\">Bloodborne<\/a><\/strong>-aping town, or battling through lava-filled canyons, but you\u2019re always along a predetermined corridor like a blade-swinging rat in a maze. This is, after all, a title with mobile ancestry, but it\u2019s odd that a game that\u2019s aiming for triple-A production values is often more restrictive than, say, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/victor_vran_overkill_edition\"><strong>Victor Vran: Overkill Edition<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97456\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97456\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Combat manages to walk the line between button-bashing and actual tactical inputs, which makes it palatable to both less experienced players looking to smash a werewolf in the face with your fists, and those hoping to exact well-timed combos. There are four heroes to choose from \u2013 the Gladiator, Assassin, Wizard and Fighter \u2013 with each one possessing three unique special moves and a slew of unique moves to combo together. The Assassin, for instance, can call up a crowd-clearing sea of chain blades, which can make all the difference when you\u2019re facing off against a super-tough stage boss in the latter acts.<\/p>\n<p>As you level up, you\u2019ll unlock new moves in the skill tree, which you can purchase with gold dropped by fallen enemies. With no transactions in this version of the game, the drop rates for gold are a lot higher, as is the rarity of gear you\u2019ll earn for completing missions. As a nice touch, you\u2019ll keep the XP earned in a level when you die and have to return to the start. It\u2019s a consolation prize for sure, but one that won&#8217;t punish less combo savvy players.<\/p>\n<p>Most levels last for around two-to-three minutes each, which is considerably less than we\u2019re used to with the likes of Diablo III. However, load times are very fast so even if you\u2019re not looking for a quick dose of action on a commute, it doesn\u2019t take long to string missions together. The problem is, stages are reused a little too often, so even though there are seven acts (each with 10 missions per act), you\u2019ll fight through the same street and end up in the same town square, even if the final boss you\u2019re fighting is a little different. Considering how strong the character animations are \u2013 and how strong the overall presentation is \u2013 something had to give on a mobile budget, and this was clearly it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97459\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/97459\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Blade II - The Return Of Evil Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Performance-wise, Blade II runs really well. There\u2019s very little blurring, screen-tearing or general slowdown, mainly because the game was designed with less powerful chipsets in mind. There are some low-res textures here and there, and they\u2019re more obvious when playing in docked mode, but even then they\u2019re never enough to detract from the smoothness of the overall, combo-chaining experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>While there are a fair few top-down dungeon crawlers and action RPGs on Switch today, there\u2019s always room for more \u2013 especially when they fly in the face of mobile gaming\u2019s unpredictable quality levels. And while Blade II&#8217;s aesthetic is nothing new \u2013 in fact, we\u2019d say Bloodborne and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/witcher_3_wild_hunt_-_complete_edition\"><strong>The Witcher III<\/strong><\/a> are really having their style cramped \u2013 the quality of its presentation and performance on Switch really makes up for it. Its slick and fast combat has plenty of depth to offer, but it\u2019s let down by samey and uncreative level designs that repeat themselves far too often.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The words \u2018mobile game\u2019 almost always come with unwelcome connotations when they\u2019re ported over to another platform. For us Nintendo Switch owners, we\u2019ve seen plenty of poorly executed optimisations pop up on the eShop, so we\u2019re naturally a little hesitant whenever another free-to-play \u2018hit\u2019 gets the console treatment. We\u2019ve experienced the highs of Arena of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}