| This article is based on the exclusive licensing agreement between Campfire and Game Informer in China, and please repost with your consent.
In 2016, RareBreed Makes Games announced under the Steam Green Light program that Blazing Strike would be released early in 2017. Later, the Green Lantern project was in vain, and the players thought that the game had died. But after years of honing the gameplay, finding ways to raise development costs, and completely refurbishing the graphics, Blazing Strike is finally coming out in 2022. I felt a lot of emotion after playing its beta version because it was a sincere tribute to the 2D fighting game that I spent with me in the 90s.
In late 2016, developer RareBreed Makes Games indefinitely postponed a demo version that was meant to hit Steam. In 2019, the development team abandoned fundraising on Kickstarter, and then they launched a crowdfunding campaign on Patreon and decided to change the custom-colored 3D screen to a full 2D pixel screen. In May 2021, RareBreed Makes Games announced that it had signed a publishing agreement with Aksys Games, a well-known fighting game publisher that has worked on games such as Guilty Gear, Apocalypse of the Wings, and Nightfall.
The survival of 2D fighting games may have been thanks to Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and the aforementioned Guilty Gear, and RareBreed Makes Games pays homage to these classic games. The system of this game has the shadow of "Marvel Heroes VS Capcom", "Street Fighter" and "King of Fighters", which can easily evoke good memories for players. However, it is by no means a stir-fry, because the developers have incorporated a mechanism and invigorating gameplay that meets the tastes of contemporary players in its nostalgic 2D graphics, making this work show great potential.
The main goal of RareBreed Makes Games is to create a game that is easy to get started but difficult to master. To achieve this, Blazing Strike uses a light-and-punch combo model similar to the Marvel Heroes VS Capcom series, where players can perform combos by pressing only a single button of a tap + a hard hit. It also uses various flip mechanics, such as critical strikes that can be launched when near-death, to increase the character's speed and combo chances.
The game also wanted to provide a more enjoyable experience with one of its main mechanics, the Rush system, which the player could trigger by pressing the corresponding button. Players can activate Rush mode to perform a variety of moves, including character-specific Rush skills, special Rush combos, similar to Street Fighter's EX Rush speicals, and to increase the character's movement speed and jumping ability.
Blazing Strike is set in a dystopian futuristic world in which resistance groups are fighting against authoritarian governments. There are 14 optional fighters in the game, and their different battle animations and gameplay all exude a desolate sci-fi style. In addition to the 14 selectable characters at the beginning of the game, the developers hinted that the official version may have three unlockable boss characters.
I only played 3 of the 14 Gladiators in the official version in the beta version, but I can still feel that RareBreed Makes Games has put a lot of effort into creating colorful characters. Shinsuke's style is very similar to Ron's, and I'm fascinated by Jake's powerful moves unleashed with his bright blue arms, but my favorite character in this beta version is Pink Samurai. Not only is her combat animation the most eye-catching of the 3 characters I've played, she can also use a knife to perform a wider range of attacks, only another knife player, Ryohei, has this advantage, and her moves are also very popular with me.
Since many of the moves of these characters follow the operations of classic fighting games, such as using the quarter circle/backward + attack keys to launch stunts, as a veteran of Street Fighter, I quickly got started with my muscle memory. As designed by the developers, the game's difficulty curve is smoother and won't be intimidating for novices. After playing with the computer for a short time, I launched a stunt to beat the computer to the north. Pressing the corresponding button to trigger a rush can greatly increase the speed, which allows me to play many more powerful combos. Of course, the combo system of light hit + heavy hit also greatly reduces the difficulty of playing a powerful combo.
I can only play PvP mode in the beta version, but the official version of the game includes story mode, arcade mode, training mode and AI battle, and supports online battles and replay battles on the GGPO platform, which should minimize network latency. Hot Fight will be available on PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC in the first or second quarter of 2022.
Translated by 丨 Kulo
Edit 丨 Tonkotsu Ramen
Follow, like, watch