One thing that can make or break any platformer game is the precision of the controls. With tight, precise controls, death feels fair and can be part of the learning process. If you die in a platformer because you misjudged a jump, you can try again and apply that knowledge to your second attempt. If, however, the controls feel loosey-goosey and sloppy, death becomes a frustrating roadblock instead of a meaningful part of progression.
All that is important to keep in mind going into the upcoming 3D platformer Blue Fire. Now, I haven’t played this for myself, but based on the footage I’ve seen so far, the platforming looks really, really well-handled.
The character’s movements have a snap to them, with wall jumps and a dash move that looks remarkably easy to use. The character is constantly encountering pits that feel impossible to traverse, only to zip, dash, and boost onto tiny bits of rock. And all of it looks effortless.
As I already mentioned, I’ve not actually played this. But by observing the gameplay footage, this has a lot of the hallmarks of precision controls. I think it’s probably the snappiness of the movement that really makes this look so tight. I should also point out that hands-on previews seem pretty positive about how this handles.
Another interesting feature is that the art looks like a blend between Hollow Knight and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (I would argue there’s even a little bit of Rack N Ruin thrown in for good measure). This is a very pretty game.
In any case, I’m really excited to get my hands on this so I can test it out for myself.
Blue Fire is due out for Nintendo Switch and PC on February 4, while PS4 and Xbox One versions are expected to drop sometime in March. You can watch the announcement trailer below.
