Blade Chimera

Play it on: PC, Switch

Current goal: Find cool new demon powers

Blade Chimera might be easy to initially overlook as another admirably retro-looking pixel art metroidvania with no deeper hook, but that would be a mistake. Don’t do that! It’s a great 2D action platformer following in the foot-steps of Symphony of the Night that prioritizes cool combat abilities over knocking on walls in search of secrets.

Not that I don’t love occasionally backtracking in search of that ledge I can now reach or the obstacle I can now dislodge in order to reach a new area, but Blade Chimera offers a nice change of pace from some of the other metroidvania-style map games I’ve played in the past year. You’re a demon hunter keeping the horrors at bay in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk version of Osaka, Japan using guns and magic melee weapons that double as traversal tools.

It’s pretty and fairly short, with just enough personality and unique twists on familiar ideas to keep it from getting tedious; the perfect old-school palate cleanser to open the year with. It’s from Team Ladybug, the same group that made Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, another very good looking 2D side-scroller I didn’t gel with as much. I haven’t played their other games though, and I’m interested to go back and give them a try after Blade Chimera won me over so effortlessly. — Ethan Gach