Set in a dystopian, cyberpunk future, Resonant Blade is a 2D action adventure game with unique color switching mechanics for combat and puzzle-solving scenarios. Developed and published by Wise Wombat Games, Resonant Blade sees you playing as Atlas, a once scientist now turned soldier. After seeing one of his comrades die in battle against a Dark Synth, one of the main antagonists of the game, Atlas picks up the sonic-powered blade and the game starts from there onward.
Sonically-Charged Gameplay
Resonant Blade provides a unique spin on combat for a 2D action adventure game. Instead of mashing away at enemies with your sword, you are required to scan your surroundings to see what colors are highlighted around the enemies. Attacking with the wrong color will do very little damage, so keep in mind that you’ll have to constantly keep switching colors. In the beginning of the game, you start with three of the primary colors: Red, Blue, Yellow. Another interesting feature of the game’s combat is the Triad system. Upon defeating or parrying an enemy of a certain color, an icon of that color will appear under your health bar. When you have three colors of certain combinations, you can perform special moves that can only be done with those color combinations. These can range from healing to devastating attacks.
The color mechanics in the game are also used for puzzling-solving and traversal. These can range from hitting nodes with a certain color or dashing through walls that require the correct color. As you progress the game, you will unlock more colors such as Purple, Orange, Green. In early dungeons or parts of the main hub area, you will see interactable objects with colors you don’t have. This is to incentivise the player to return after unlocking new colors.
Just to talk about it briefly, but this game uses a stamina mechanic. Stamina is tied to sprinting, dashing, attacking, and parrying. This was something in the beginning that I viewed with disdain, but as I played through more of the game I can say it adds a bit of challenge to everything you do. Instead of dashing and swinging your sword all willy-nilly, you’ll have to take your time to analyze enemies, choose the appropriate color, and know when to strike them. I will though say that it would be nice to have infinite stamina when traversing the main city. Personally, I’m not a fan of my character slowing down often from sprinting.
Dungeon Design
The main way of progressing through the game is exploring and reaching the end of dungeons. At the end of said dungeons, there’s a boss fight that is designed to have the player use what they’ve acquired or learned throughout the dungeon. I would say that doesn’t apply too much to the first boss, but it is meant to test the player on using the color switching mechanic. Afterwards, bosses will incorporate things such as new mechanics and colors into their fights.
Another thing about dungeons is that you’ll find materials and shops that sell materials for crafting purposes. As you progress the game, you’ll unlock different items to craft to progress further. One of the earliest examples involved crafting a bomb weapon to clear through some rubble. These bombs can also be used in combat or hitting hard to reach places.
Final Thoughts
Although I will say that I had a good time with Resonant Blade, I had some issues that I feel like addressing. This might have been an issue on my end, but playing this game with a controller was a bit difficult. It played fine until I reached a certain point where I had to hold down a button. It was as if it was treating my keyboard and my controller as being active at the same time. From then on, I had to use a keyboard for the rest of the game (which wasn’t too bad to play on either). Thankfully, the developer is making constant updates to the game to fix issues. If you enjoyed this game or not, be sure to leave helpful feedback to the developer. Overall, I would recommend this game if you’re looking for a unique 2D action adventure game.
