BlazBlue Entropy Effect is a roguelike adventure with a very high replay value.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect was developed and published by 91Act, a platformer, fighting, and shooter/adventure game studio. BlazBlue is a well-known game series with both a collection of games, as well as a foot in entertainment with its singular anime series titled BlazBlue: Alter Memory.
Now, before getting into the review, just a small note to take into consideration – The latest BlazBlue, Titled BlazBlue Entropy Effect, is a stand-alone game and has nothing to really do with the BlazBlue franchise; the only thing it does have to do with it would be its cast of playable characters such as Ragna Bloodedge, Noel Vermilion, Jin Kisaragi, and so many more from the BlazBlue franchise.
Starting the game, you will immediately be taken into the tutorial in the form of Hibiki, learning how to jump and attack using various combinations of button mashing and directional attacking, alongside dodging. Players can improve their fighting styles while the game is one part of button mashing. Once you have defeated a room and all the enemies within, you can sometimes choose between skills to add to your Acer’s attacks, such as adding traps to your dash, extra damage to skills, and more damage for combos during combat.
As you go through BlazBlue Entropy Effect’s tutorial, you don’t just stop after beating the room; after beating a level, you will be given a chance to choose the next level and or room to go to next. Some rooms will allow you to rest and recover missing HP or, instead, Health Points, while with others, you will be granted buffs or upgrades to special skills.
With each room or level cleared, you will be given the option to move to the next room, choosing one of three element-specific rooms, with each either granting new skills or add-ons to skills. However, just like in any Roguelike game, dying is not the end. Instead, much like Oblivion Override or Ember Knights, when you have gone down in battle – you will be taken to your home base in your original form, which will be of a cute little robot, one who seeks to learn how the world came to be that way it is. While moving around in-game, you’ll also meet other bots with much to say and show you.
When narrative meets gameplay, BlazBlue Entropy Effect’s story features and focuses on a Technological world controlled by robots. Collecting spheres and entropy anomalies will show you flashbacks of how the world came to be as it is and what happened to humankind as a whole while also showing you how it can be done again. It borders on fantasy and sci-fi when it comes to dialogue. The characters’ interactions are beautifully done and voiced while written in text, even if some dialogue can be long-winded.
While obtaining your milestones, you will be given the lore of the game, and thankfully, you don’t need to struggle in remembering what came before and how the lore ties itself together, as you can replay the information gathered in case something seems amiss. This creates a nice balance between gameplay and narrative when collecting objects of interest, allowing the Roguelike aspects to be nicely drawn together. However, when it comes to dialogue, players may feel a bit of a disconnect from the story and lore as they play between being a robot and a character cast from BlazBlue.
With the tense atmosphere of the Roguelike game, sitting through long-winded dialogue and expositions might be hard as the addictive combat will surely make players want to jump straight back into the fight rather than having to sit through lines of lore and story. However, this is not to say that BlazBlue Entropy Effect’s story is not good. It’s actually quite the opposite. The story is enthralling and interesting, showing how things came to be, how they are, and why you, as a robot, get to play as these characters during a mind-training simulation.
Getting into the gameplay is pretty easy yet somewhat complex; once you have entered the simulator, you can choose from a list of 10 playable characters from the BlazBlue franchise, but choose carefully, as they will all be locked until you can unlock them. As you progress, though, more characters will be unlocked. Each character will have unique abilities and fighting styles, which tie into what would come to be known as core “Potential,” as these skills define each character and enhance their fighting style and abilities.
With stackable elements to define characters’ fighting styles and potentials, it is through these skills and abilities that you will alter and enhance your play style. Though dying in a roguelike, this one means your core abilities and levels will be retained and will be able to be used in other characters, for example, Taking Ragna’s Legacy and that of Noel and combining them into any of your main chosen character for the run which will also give you an edge when it comes to combat.
This mechanic in BlazBlue Entropy Effect will give you access to a skill tree of abilities from up to two other characters. As you progress, more skills and core potentials will be retained, making abilities available for use in the next run.
From an action and combat standpoint, BlazBlue Entropy Effect almost takes the top in the roguelike game combat system genre. No matter which character calls you the most, it is incredibly smooth and beautiful with its combos and skills. Aside from its flashy and smooth combat, much more is offered. As mentioned before, you can alter the outcomes of combat and skills used, such as summoning Ice, Fire, Slime, and even Lighting, which will add to your already overwhelming power.
Although you are powerful and have carefully stacked skills to change combat and unique abilities, don’t let this power go to your head, as getting hit will still hurt, and you won’t come out unscathed, cutting your run short and having you start over.
The combat is addictive much like in similar games like Hades, each room and or given skill after each room will have to be carefully chosen, as just throwing something together because it looks cool won’t get you the win at the end when facing a boss fight. Bosses hit really hard while having their own unique skills and fighting styles. You will have to adapt to survive and hope the combos of skills and stacked alterations of attacks will be enough to save you.
As you travel from room to room, you are offered most of the time 1- 3 options, these will be the routes you follow to get to where you want to be. Aside from element-specific rooms, you will also be shown rooms that range from more training and resting to black markets and short roulette mini-games that will add to your buffs or give you possible debuffs. You may also find special quests in some of these paths.
The BlazBlue Entropy Effect music is techno with a hit of mystery, keeping players invested in the game’s theme; gameplay is anything but repetitive as new combos and skills are constantly being offered. You can also VS and invite other players to join your runs or face off against them in combat, where you battle it out with your favorite character versus theirs.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect’s combat system is so extensive; there are hours and hours worth of replayability, along with exciting bosses and enemies, some more annoying than others, but that’s what makes this game so enjoyable; it just doesn’t get stale to play with changing tactics, skills, and abilities. The game stays fresh and addictive, making players see how far they can get before falling victim to a boss or annoyingly persistent enemies who just won’t stand still and take it.
In the end, BlazBlue Entropy Effect is a marvelous showcase of some of the best aspects of the Roguelike generation. It takes the core features and majorly expands on them by giving players a tenfold delivery of an addictive combat action experience, and even though the game is far from the normal BlazBlue experience, the new entry still pays respects to the cast of the BlazBlue franchise by retaining what makes them all so unique and beloved by BlazBlue fans.
