''Bloodforge'' is a

hack and slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

developed by Climax Studios and published by

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

in 2012. The game follows a warrior named Crom, who lusts for revenge against the Celtic gods that betrayed his life of peace, making him slay his own family.

Gameplay

''Bloodforge'' is a

game in which the player must use various weaponry to attack and defeat the enemy. To aid progress, the player is able to disorient their opponent (indicated by a specific icon appearing over the opponent's head), allowing Crom to perform a gruesome finishing move. Defeating opponents by using a finishing move will award the player more "Blood", which is used as in-game currency. Higher damage causes more Blood to be spilled, rewarding the player with the ability to upgrade their weapons and abilities. The four main weapons are the sword, war hammer, claws and a crossbow, each one allowing up to three upgrades. A green "Health" bar is displayed on the top left of the screen, above a red "Rage" bar. These bars are refilled by finding and using various Runes, usually found within breakable cairns

Plot

The game follows the story of Crom, a powerful and brutal Celtic warrior who leaves his life of violence behind in order to live in peace with his beautiful wife, Alena. Crom is at the end of a successful hunting trip. Resting, Crom dreams of a horrific encounter with

Arawn In Welsh mythology, Arawn () was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to ...

, the king of the netherworld realm of

Annwn Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (; ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it is a world of delights and eternal youth wh ...

. Crom awakens and rushes home to see his nightmare realised - his village aflame, ravaged by demons. Alena is nowhere to be seen. Crom lashes out at countless demons in search for his wife. He hears her cries and sees she is outside their home, surrounded. She calls out to him in fear as he rushes to her aid. Alena hurries inside the burning remains of their home. Consumed with fear and blinded by rage, Crom plunges his sword into the heart of yet another demon. Crom turns to face his previous foe in its true form: Alena. Disoriented and stricken with grief, Crom encounters the goddess Morrigan. She leads him to the shrine of his ancestors where he finds a mysterious gauntlet and is told that he must traverse the Bloodforge to gain vengeance. Crom accepts his fate, releasing his unrelenting fury on all those who oppose him. In order to discover the Bloodforge, Crom must massacre legions of demons, warriors, and monsters, butchering the very gods who betrayed him - including Aerten, the goddess of fate.

Development

''Bloodforge'' was developed by Climax Studios who collaborated with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

to work on the game to only be released on

for the

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

. After the game was completed, Microsoft decided to publish the game themselves and complete it under

. ''Bloodforge'' was released on April 25, 2012, on XBLA. An update on July 27 improved the camera, re-balanced difficulty and corrected issues with awards and achievements not unlocking.

Reception

Critical reception towards the game was generally unfavourable. ''Bloodforge'' received a low rating of only 42/100 at review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

References

{{reflist

External links

''Bloodforge'' official website''Bloodforge''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

2012 video games Action games Climax Group games Hack and slash games Microsoft games Unreal Engine 3 games Video games based on Celtic mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox 360-only games Xbox 360 games Single-player video games