Trine series developer Frozenbyte has announced Boreal Blade, a team-based melee fighting game for Switch and PC. The Switch version and a free demo are available now via the Nintendo eShop for $19.99 / 19.99€ / £17.99. The PC version will launch via Steam at a later date, but players can join the closed beta via the game’s official Discord server.
Here is an overview of the game, via Frozenbyte:
About
They have a saying in Norvalg: Fight for a cause worth dying for.
A noble sentiment, but what happens when almost every cause is good enough to die for? Whenever a decision needs to be made–whether it is about heading to war or determining where the cheese should go in a sandwich–fierce Norvalgian warriors gather in their famous debating arenas, pray for strength from their gods and fight until the truth is uncovered. Are you ready to join the battle?
Boreal Blade is a team-based melee fighting game with a focus on player vs player combat and gameplay consisting of both reactive and proactive elements. The game features various weapon types and three distinctive fighting styles, allowing players to choose between two-handed weapons, a shield and a weapon combo, or long thrusting weapons like spears and pikes. Three armor classes with their strengths and weaknesses are also included to guarantee a varied, ever-changing fighting experience.
Boreal Blade strikes an excellent balance between realism and gameplay. The game turns away from the rock-paper-scissors approach where weapons and shields matter only when the player presses the corresponding button to use them for attacking or blocking. Actually, there is no block button at all, but the passive blocking featured in the game allows players to block attacks by simply positioning themselves wisely and timing their attacks with care. Pre-determined attack key combinations and complex counter moves have been abandoned in favor of the beautiful simplicity of only a single attack button – and hundreds of ways to variate every attack. Players can move their weapon and character around freely, turning an attack into a block – and back to another attack just in a blink of an eye. Strikes and blocks meld into a seamless continuity. Weapon movement feels very natural, allowing players to create and modify their signature moves and distinctive fighting styles. More seasoned warriors can spice up their game with dodges, sprints, blocks, powered attacks, feint attacks and weapon throws to confuse opponents and make the battle more unpredictable and exciting.
Boreal Blade gives competitive players the chance to hone their prediction of attacks, counter-attacks, timing and the use of different stances to defeat their enemies on the battlefield and to hack them into pieces!
Key Features
- Reactionary and tactical gameplay
- Complete freedom of attack and block direction performed with simple controls, allowing players to concentrate on their battle tactics and series of maneuvers and to control the flow of the battle.
- There are hundreds of ways to variate attacks and players have complete freedom to move the weapon and character around, encouraging them to experiment and find the fighting style that suits them best.
- Four multiplayer game modes
- Players can charge into combat together with their clan mate warriors in Team Deathmatch and Boreal Battle modes where two teams go up against each other.
- Boreal Claim mode consists of two teams who take turns attacking or defending a banner against the other team.
- In Deathmatch it is everyone for themselves–the first warrior to get 20 kills wins the match!
- Four different fighting styles
- Hundreds of weapons, shields, pieces of armor and battle items for developing customized fighting styles and battle tactics.
- Detailed character creation and game world
- Create your warrior and choose their equipment, accessories and weapons and customize their appearance with jewelry, facial hair and armor dyes.
- Explore the different fighting arenas across the Nordic mythology inspired, painting-like Norvalg.
- Free demo
- Put your team fighting skills to the test with the free Boreal Blade Demo available today.
- The demo includes the tutorial, Training hall and Yggslatr map. Demo players are also free to join all games hosted by all other players.
- In the demo you can use the default armor and weaponry and you have the opportunity to pick up additional items and armaments from the ground.
- Demo and full game are compatible, allowing players of both versions play together!
Watch the announcement trailer below. View a set of screenshots at the gallery.
