Blade Chimera’s demo suggests another rad 2D metroidvania from the Touhou Luna Nights devs

Blade Chimera is a cyberpunk metroidvania from Team Ladybug, the team behind the really very good Touhou Luna Nights and Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth. As with Deedlit – one of our favourite ‘vanias – I’m drawn to it partly for the opulent real-time RPG combat, and partly because, to be very superficial, the protagonist is taller than I’m used to in games like this. Sometimes he feels too tall for the levels.

I don’t know whether it’s just that I’ve been reprogrammed by the likes of Animal World or Ori And The Blind Forest to think of metroidvania protags as acrobatic blobs, but there’s something novel and, dare I say, regal about the imposing figure your character cuts in Blade Chimera, as he somersaults away from energy bolts and lacerates dragons with a whip. Look at his cape! Look at his pony tail! I used to have hair like that. I never had a cape, though.

Blade Chimera launched today, and still has a demo. If your interest has been piqued, I’d download that demo pronto, because they’ll likely pull it soon. It casts you as Shin, a cyberpunk demon hunter who doesn’t have a memory but does have a Demon Sword called Lux who can turn into bridges, ropes, and barricades. Demon Swiss Army Knife, morelike. Demon Green Lantern’s Ring, even. When she isn’t being used as a clobbering instrument or platforming prop, Lux also gets to be a ghost lady who can manipulate time. She’s the kind of friend you want when you’re lacerating dragons.

The controls might take a teeny bit of getting used to, if you’re new to the dev’s work– there’s a stateliness to movement that may feel stifling. I’m sure you’ll persist, though, because the animations and art are swish. Again: his cape! His hair! The last time I had hair like that was before the Millennium Bug. In terms of how it differs from Team Ladybug’s previous games, the map is apparently “far larger”. I’m not sure I like the cyberpunk backdrop’s abundance of metallic grey surfaces, next to Deedlit’s faerie labyrinth, but it’s a handsome production regardless.

Find out more (and the demo) on Steam. If you’re seriously beguiled, you can also get a bundle of four Team Ladybug games, including Blade Chimera, for 39% off.