Now I understand why Naraka: Bladepoint is already a hit on Steam as a demo

Even as a demo, the new battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint recorded massive players on Steam. Among them is our MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn, who took a closer look at the fast-paced game. His conclusion: The release cannot come soon enough!

What is Naraka – Bladepoint? Naraka: Bladepoint is a fast-paced battle royale on Steam. In it, you play as one of 6 heroes, each with their own skills. In the game, you fight on a cursed island with Asian fantasy flair for the power of a dead god.

The game focuses heavily on melee combat and acrobatics and is already being compared to the single-player hit Sekiro. But is the fast-paced game any good? Just over the weekend, tens of thousands logged in to the final demo of Naraka, including our author Jürgen.

The first battle royale with a powerful character editor

Here’s why the character editor is so cool: The first highlight of the game is the character editor. Yes, you read that right, the game has a complex editor! You have to decide on a basic character, but you decide how they look.

Provided are only the body, hair, and fixed details like the characteristic eye patch of the assassin Viper Ning.

The rest can be freely designed, making it easy to enter battle with bright makeup, desert scars, or different eyebrows.

Male characters can even slap impressive porn mustaches on their faces that would make even Dr. Disrespect turn green with envy.

This is how Naraka: Bladepoint plays

This is how my first match went: As cool as the editor is, if the game is bad, it doesn’t matter. So I immediately dive into my first match.

Before the round, I can choose which area my avatar appears in. Color codes on the map show where there is a lot of loot and where other players have already chosen their starting point. This allows me to optimally plan how I start my game: Loot in peace for the first time or jump right into action?

Those who know me know that I hate battle royale rounds where nothing happens, so I always start where the action is.

Shortly after, my mustachioed hero appears in an old temple and I barely have time to grab a sword before an opponent comes running at me. But he doesn’t have much to offer, and after just a few hits with the blade, he lies in the dust, and his remains are entwined by dark weeds.

This fits well with the atmosphere of creeping decay and corruption that haunts the cursed island.

But I only notice such details peripherally, as there are still 58 other suicidal fools who want to taste my blade. So I loot my way through the temple and soon have an impressive arsenal of a musket and an especially large sword.

With that, I hunt one opponent after another. And even though I don’t hit anything with the musket, I have significantly more success with the grappling hook. Every hero has it from the start, and you just have to find some rope coils to use it.

Primarily, the grappling hook is used to swing across the area and reach distant places. However, you can also target opponents with it and pull yourself directly to them if you hit.

Since the grappling hook hits much better than the old musket, I just leave the sword equipped and pull myself to distant opponents with the grappling hook. They don’t look dumb when I come rushing towards them with a whirling giant blade and effectively chop them up.

Only at the very end of the game do I find a ranged weapon that appeals to me: The weapon is called “The Swarm” and is essentially a rocket launcher in Asian fantasy style.

In extremely rapid succession, spears equipped with fireworks rockets are fired from a huge launch device, and the unfortunate opponents on the other end of this absurd weapon of mass destruction are quickly reduced to ashes. You can almost never miss completely with it.

As soon as the last enemy is composted, the game ends. I actually won!

Easy entry, but then it gets intense

Here’s how it continued: Such a successful experience at the beginning motivates one for further rounds, and I immediately start a new session. Here, too, the game repeats itself, I take out a few opponents and this time make more use of the cool parkour elements in the game and the skills of the heroes. My mustached character is a drunken scoundrel who can set himself on fire and then become even faster.

In addition, I explore the map more attentively and find quests and strange chests. Quests include kill orders for specific players or the task of ringing a certain bronze bell three times. For this, you get items and money.

With the money, you can interact with a bizarre merchant at certain chests. You only see a creepy hand peeking out from a chest, grabbing money, and spitting out items. Another cool idea that fits the creepy setting.

Here’s why the victories are not always so easy: I also notice that the opponents are noticeably tougher. I’m pretty sure that the opponents in my first round were entirely bots, as they acted very stupidly. But now I encounter foes that do not all blindly run into my blade. Suddenly they block my attacks, or I myself become the target of various grappling hooks.

Therefore, my second round ends in the last third when I encounter a worthy opponent who chases me, catches me with the hook, and then finishes me off in a tight duel!

The game probably fills the lobby with bots for new players, and only in subsequent rounds are more players gradually let in.

This is the alternative mode: After a few rounds in the regular mode, where I unfortunately did not score any final victory, I unlocked a new game mode. It’s called Bloodbath, and there it gets going on a smaller map with fewer opponents. You have respawns, and kills are counted until one has shed enough blood and has rightfully earned their bloodbath.

Here, I start with decent equipment, and it’s mainly about surviving the many fights rather than hoarding optimal loot. The mode is also particularly suitable for studying combat techniques and mastering various skills and weapons.

Are there also problems in Naraka: Bladepoint?

Was everything really so great? During my playtime, everything actually ran smoothly, but some players reported performance issues. However, they seem to occur mainly on HDD hard drives.

Other players criticized that Naraka: Bladepoint would only be available later as a Buy2Play game. They see this as a barrier to entry and a limitation of the player count. On the other hand, this might also ensure that there’s less trouble with cheaters, because if a banned offender has to buy a new account for at least 20 euros every time, they will eventually stay banned.

Naraka: Bladepoint appeals to fans of fighting games as already mentioned. If you also belong to that group, take a look at our list of the 8 best fighting games 2021.