Yesterday brought a lot of hype as the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase gave players a lot of great first looks at upcoming games due to release over the next 12 months. World premieres of the Xbox's first-party titles defined much of the content shown during the live event, but others came in the form of partnered releases planned to release on the console for the first time. One of these notable announcements was for the highly acclaimed melee Battle Royale from 24 Entertainment, Naraka: Bladepoint. Bringing its stylish combat and art style, players will be able to begin loading into battles on June 23 when it comes to Xbox Series X|S and Windows as well as its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass.

Since its original release in August 2021, Naraka: Bladepoint has been beloved by players for its truly unique spin on gameplay; the game puts an emphasis on melee combat as opposed to the gunplay synonymous with the genre. Its gorgeous art style and setting only further the immersive, fluid gameplay as gamers are able to gracefully move through the air as if it were an adaptation of Ang Lee's 2000 hit film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Through its unrivaled combat and traversal mechanics, Naraka: Bladepoint is a title that players are not going to want to miss out on, especially if they have a Game Pass subscription.

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What Sets Naraka: Bladepoint Apart From Its Competition

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Heavily inspired by martial arts, Bladepoint stands out from the crowd through its gameplay elements. Though it has the traditional BR aspects such as consumables, armors, and a standard last-man-standing approach, 24 Entertainment has added many elements to ensure Naraka: Bladepoint feels like a refreshing BR game for those who may feel fatigued from the standard fare available in other popular titles. Traversal plays a big part in Bladepoint, as players can defy gravity by floating through the air or using a grappling hook to make up the distance. This makes the moment-to-moment encounters all the more intense as there is more to take into consideration in every situation.

The aspect that makes Bladepoint's gameplay most effective, however, is that it has a heavy focus on its combat that goes deeper than any other title in the battle royale genre. Melee and ranged weapon combat are both at the player's disposal when figuring out ways to take out the competition and outlast the other 59 players, but melee gets lots of special treatment. Bladepoint uses combos, parrying, and focus attacks that take a short amount of time to learn but hours of grinding to master. Each of the available weapons has its own way of working things, so this is where focusing on what feels right comes into play. Additionally, the available heroes to choose from also have their own stats and abilities that further the gameplay learning curve even more.

Naraka: Bladepoint's Campaign Is A Wild Card

playable characters from naraka bladepoint battle royale

This title truly is an innovation even outside its BR confines and with this console release, it also appears that 24 Entertainment is fully realizing this by giving Naraka: Bladepoint a brand-new campaign that will launch at a future, undisclosed date. This campaign is especially exciting because it'll be a multiplayer experience consisting of teams of three. According to Xbox Wire, this campaign will see some "exhilarating" boss battles and serves as just the beginning plan in the next steps towards the future of the IP as more chapters of campaign content are planned for the future.

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It'll be interesting to see how 24 Entertainment is able to deliver a campaign using the elements that the game already holds all the while allowing for it to be a multiplayer experience. It could be approaching gameplay similarly to multiplayer titles such as Destiny 2 where dungeon crawling and grinding prove valuable for gamers, as it may net rewarding new customization pieces and weapons that can be used in the larger Battle Royale mode. There's a lot of wiggle room for Naraka: Bladepoint in this aspect, since it's such a unique title.

Naraka: Bladepoint Is A Win For Players

Naraka Bladepoint art

This campaign announcement should only sweeten the pot for players and make it unavoidable to try for Game Pass subscribers even if they aren't into BRs. Bladepoint seems to be offering players quite a bit of content, which means that there's a very compelling case to download it. Adding to that, players diving into this game on Xbox and PC are also going to benefit from cross-play and cross-progression. This is going to make it a breeze to jump into matches with friends no matter what platform they're playing on.

Microsoft and 24 Entertainment bringing this title to Xbox consoles is a huge win for both parties and players. With the game releasing in a little over a week, only time will tell how console players will receive Naraka: Bladepoint and if 24 Entertainment's port will meet the standards that players have. Any inconsistencies on how the button layout has been transferred to controller are going to be felt, as well as any server issues it could come with. One can only hope that 24 Entertainment is proactive in creating a solid first impression at launch and can follow up on the potential success with a standout campaign worth playing.

Naraka: Bladepoint is available now on PC, and is coming to Xbox Series X/S on June 23.

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