Now I’m going to be totally honest with you guys, I first picked up Wulverblade in a sale back in December. The art style and setting appealed to me because I love history (I have a degree in it) and for me, it was interesting to see a game set in Roman Britain. Furthermore, having the game’s three protagonists be ‘Barbarians’ and not Romans also appealed to this historical nerd. This is because most media based in Roman Britain is almost always shown through Roman eyes.

Therefore, I eagerly booted up the game, looking forward to reveling in the story of Briton Barbarians fighting back against the mighty Roman Empire. From the first cutscene I was captivated by the story and looking forward to getting elbow deep in Roman blood. However, Wulverblade is a HARD game! Especially for people like me who don’t play that many brawlers. Unfortunately, by the third level boss I’d had enough! He was simply too hard and I had to give in! However, hope was on the horizon. A press release from the game’s developer Fully Illustrated stated that they were going to be working on a huge patch, which would add an ‘easy mode’ to the game, along with some other updates such as checkpoints before boss battles.

So now, months after the patch was released, I finally have time to dive back into Wulverblade’s easy mode. And boy, I’m glad I did!

The Story

Wulverblade is set in the first century AD around the time of the famous 9th Legion Hispania’s invasion of modern day Scotland. Hearing of the Roman’s dominance in the South and their gradual push into northern lands, a group of heroes from the Wulver tribe decide to put an end to Rome’s conquest. Led by the mighty Caradoc, the Wulvers head south to push the Romans out of northern lands. However, what they discover is that Roman might and gold are stronger than the other northern tribes’ will to fight. With no allies to support them and being deep in Roman territory, the Wulvers must return to their homeland to put a stop to the marauding 9th Legion. With his families life on the line, Caradoc and his honour guard will have to fight to their last breath to save them and push the Romans out of the North for good.

The Game

Wulverblade is a 2D side scrolling Brawler with a few quirks that make the gameplay fast, precise and fun. The tight controls help make the game so entertaining to play. Each of the three playable characters has a light/fast attack mapped to X, which starts a basic combo. More inquisitive players will find heavy weapons hidden throughout the level, which give Caradoc or his honour guard a heavy attack mapped to Y. For a brawler these attacks are pretty normal however, in Wulverblade Caradoc is also equipped with a block. This was my favourite mechanic of the game. This is because if you time a block perfectly you can parry an enemy, slowing down time and letting you absolutely smash them to pieces. Honestly, there was nothing more satisfying in Wulverblade than hearing the parry noise against a difficult enemy and then inflicting tons of damage on them!

Furthermore, each character has their own power meter that when full, unlocks their blood rage mode. When enraged, characters are invincible and attack with higher damage and speed. This mode was always a last resort for me as I used it to regain health when I was low. It was reassuring to know I had it in my back pocket when facing tougher Roman soldiers or bosses. Finally, Caradoc’s final ‘move’ is calling in his wolves, which can be used once per level/life (depending how good you are) to inflict maximum damage to enemies.

I thought the controls and mechanics of Wulverblade were superb. I always felt like I was in full control of Caradoc and that his attacks were precise. It wasn’t just a case of simply button mashing and hoping for the best, like in some other games of this genre. It was a case of knowing exactly what I wanted to do and seamlessly making Caradoc do it on the screen.

The thing I loved most about Wulverblade was that you could tell it was Michael Heald’s (Fully Illustrated) passion project. The amount of historical detail is unbelievable. Roman legionaries fight like legionaries should. They hide behind their shields and thrust their swords at you at opportune times. The auxiliaries from other parts of the Empire look different, with different regalia and shields. I love this type of historical detail and you can see Michael does too.

The detail seeps into the games collectables too. There are so many unique weapons to find, each with their own description and back story. Historical context is added to the game via environmental story telling and picking up letters and notes from the Romans and Britions. These make the levels not just fun to explore but also educational, teaching players about Roman weapons, forts and about the invasion of Brittania. Finally, the cherry on the cake was Micheal’s development videos and blogs about the inspirations for the game’s settings. I consumed all of them, as I found them to be both interesting and insightful, giving me a quick glimpse into indie game development. Admittingly this detail and historical context might not be a appealing for everyone, but for me it was like a dream!

For those of you that like getting the most out of your games I have good news! The campaign is not the only part of Wulverblade. There is also an arena mode that lets you take on waves of enemies. Hone your skills with your sword as you slay enemies and climb global leader boards. Arena adds hours of content if you’re the competitive type, or just need to practice (like me). Plus, a new mode is unlocked after you beat the campaign which lets you replay the game in a totally different way. I don’t want to spoil what it is, but it is cool! There’s also local multiplayer, so if you get stuck on a boss, invite a friend over, give them a joy con and battle that boss together.

Art and Music

Personally, I really like the art style of Wulverblade. I think the contrast between the dark back and foregrounds makes the colourful characters pop on the Switch’s handheld screen and on my TV. I thought the cutscenes were beautifully crafted, doing an excellent job of telling Caradoc’s tale. Furthermore, I actually like the way characters were animated. I’ve read/heard some people on the internet criticising the way the characters moved. However, I thought they moved fluidly, especially when pulling off long combos.

The music is also excellent, setting the tone of the game perfectly. The use of horns really gives you a sense that a barbarian horde could be at your door. In addition to the great music, there is also top notch voice acting.

Surprisingly for me, the game is totally voice acted to an extremely high standard. I always get a little worried when games use strong British accents. This is because I sometimes think they are delivered a little ‘over-the-top’, meaning that they quickly become annoying to the player. I’m happy to say that this isn’t the case with Wulverblade. Though the game does use strong accents (Scottish) the lines of dialogue are always delivered clearly and concisely. The voice acting was totally a surprise for me and an absolute bonus to this already wonderful games.

Problems

I only had one problem with the game and sadly it was a big problem… I really didn’t like the ending. Now let me be clear, the final level of the game is awesome to play, however I think the developer took a sharp turn with the tone of the story, which I didn’t like. I loved that Wulverblade was so detailed in history and that the story was based on actual historical events. The ending however, is a total ‘video game ending’, which honestly left me a feeling a little let down by the game. I literally gasped out ‘eh?’ as the last beat of the story unfolded, this is because just before something happened that I thought would have been a great and brave ending to Caradoc’s tale.

Though the ending was a disappointment to me, the was no other problems I had with the game. It could be argued that the loading times are a little long on the Switch. However, I didn’t mind waiting a few more seconds to get into this excellent game.

Conclusion

If you are a brawler fan or have been at anytime in the past, I highly suggest Wulverblade to you. Its mechanics and controls make it feel so satisfying to play. However, the thing that I love most about the game is that it represents what an ‘indie’ game is. You can tell that it is a passion project with all the love and detail put into it. Its genre is niche and its story is niche. Nevertheless, I think it should be commended that Micheal Heald made the game he wanted to make, regardless of it appealing to a mass audience. What’s incredible is that though the game may not appeal to everyone, it seems to have sold very well on the Switch, so I’m happy for Micheal and Fully Illustrated. Critically, the ending really did disappoint me and thats why I couldn’t give Wulverblade a perfect score.

Therefore, I give Wulverblade by Fully Illustrated my score of

Like this: Like Loading...