Over the past weekend, Naraka: Bladepoint developer 24 Entertainment hosted the game's first open beta. Over the course of 72 hours, the beta managed to hit 140K+ concurrent players and crack the top 5 most played games on Steam, and it's easy to see why.
Game Rant spent some time with Naraka: Bladepoint throughout the weekend, also playing with Marketing Manager Raylan Kwan of 24 Entertainment on Sunday. Naraka could best be described as a 60-player battle royale game that meshes the Eastern inspirations and aesthetics of games such as Nioh and Ghost of Tsushima with mechanics found in Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone. At the same time, that doesn't capture exactly what the game is all about, with Kwan preferring the description of "unchained multiplayer combat."
Indeed, this feels much like a better description, because unchained applies to the whole game too. One thing BR veterans will notice is how much more there is to Naraka: Bladepoint than most games. Players don't just slap a skin on a Fortnite character, as they can customize their facial and overall appearance, complete with a bunch of minor cosmetics as well. Players don't just play by the meta weapons like in Call of Duty: Warzone, as there are various progression systems such as glyphs to improve the player's Apex Legends-like abilities. How Naraka: Bladepoint's seasonal models and presumable microtransactions impact these remains to be seen, but treated fairly, it seems likely that Naraka becomes one of the most customizable battle royale experiences on the market.
During the beta, players had access to a total of 6 characters such as Viper Ning, Matari, and Telmuch, but there was an additional 3 characters who were locked. Kwan confirmed that more characters would be joining post-launch, stating there were several characters in development, and so it seems the post-launch support for Naraka: Bladepoint is perhaps most comparable to Apex Legends. Players can expect a traditional pipeline of content as with any BR game, but once players drop on Morus Island, it's clear that the game itself is anything but traditional. Players must do the same song and dance of spawning somewhere on the map, finding weapons and gear, and attacking enemies, but those elements don't really take the forefront.
Innovation is the life of the battle royale genre. In Naraka: Bladepoint's case, its most unique innovation seems to be the grappling hook and parkour abilities. At times the game feels more akin to Assassin's Creed and Nioh than Apex Legends, making it a prime entry battle royale game for those who don't prefer the genre.
In most battle royale games, life or death can sometimes depend on the gear, the weapon, or the player's abilities, but in Naraka: Bladepoint, that feeling is placed more on the grappling hook. Players can only carry so much depending on their bag, with grappling spools being one of those limited items. Mastery of the grappling hook is a key skill in Naraka: Bladepoint, as it can zip a player out of battle, above an enemy, onto an enemy, on top of a large building, on top of a tower with a massive gun, and so much more.
Combine this freedom of movement with parkour elements like wall-running, and the sheer versatility becomes a feature in and of itself. At one point, we managed to zip through an entire village area without even touching the ground, highlighting just how well the parkour and grappling hooks are implemented. It may not be Assassin's Creed, but it has that same freeing feeling.
The combat captures a similar feeling, whether playing solo or in trios. The same element of defeating enemies, looting their bodies, and moving on remains the same, but with a completely different approach. Naraka: Bladepoint's combat doesn't feel slow, yet it's not as fast-paced as most battle royale games either. The combat feels a lot like Nioh in a battle royale setting. With a variety of ranged weapons and 3 melee weapons (with Kwan confirming that more melee weapons will be available down the road), the combat felt more skilled than point and shoot.
For example, players have a variety of techniques with a melee weapon. There's the light attack and the charge attack, which are twisted into combos that can then be redirected after anticipating an opponent's move. At the same time, that changes quickly when it's not 1v1, and abilities add a chaotic flare. Watching Kwan hit enemies with fireballs while we slowed our own targets with a sandstorm, all just to finish them with a well-placed melee or ranged shot, meant there was never a dull moment. We also encountered several hot drops and "slaughter houses," where the "unchained" element of combat really shined. All in all, the pacing can be somewhat erratic, which is true of every battle royale game, but the combat here can be really satisfying nonetheless.
Notably, this was also a beta ahead of its summer 2021 launch. This means that much of the game was still being worked on, but it still proved to be an overall solid experience. It seems likely that certain characters and weapons will continue to be balanced, especially as more are added. Controller support, Kwan mentioned, hadn't been optimized yet, but the only time it was even noticeable was when looting. Again, sometimes betas feel like players are just lab rats, but that wasn't the case. Some tweaks are likely to happen, but it would be hard to tell Naraka: Bladepoint's beta apart from most games at launch in terms of quality.
At the end of the day, the battle royale elements that have made the genre so popular are there in full force. But combined with a freedom of movement, enhanced melee combat, and the chaos of never knowing what was around the corner, it seems Naraka: Bladepoint isn't just designed for battle royale fans. It feels designed for anyone who loves multiplayer and is looking for something unique and truly different from the crowd.
Naraka: Bladepoint releases Q2 2021 for PC.