“James’ Journey on Medusa-42” James Hawkins finds himself in a Battle Frame after his ship is attacked, and he lands on the alien planet of Medusa-42 where the Raknos are attacking mining colonies. James’ father is also missing, so it is up to him to fend off the aliens and hopefully reconnect with his dad.
Gameplay and Combat Mechanics
Blackwind is an intuitive game to master, where you run around with the left stick, aim with the right, and perform various moves such as jump, block, parry, and dash to avoid taking damage from your foes’ attacks. Blackwind is interesting, one of the new PS5 games that you can keep on your radar. You can attack with a couple of melee buttons, a long-range blaster, and homing missiles, and upgrade almost every move with the earned currency that you get from defeating enemies. As you progress, you’ll learn more moves that change up the gameplay, making it one heck of a rewarding arsenal.
Blackwind’s gameplay remains intuitive even with its many features. This makes it an excellent game to play with friends cooperatively. This shoots ’em up that can also be classified as an adventure game – in case you’re looking to buy adventure games – need to be more developed. In my opinion, it tries to do too much and does not always manage to bring it home. It also has exploration and puzzle-solving that lets you find cool things such as the 15 skins to choose from. Additionally, there is a fast-travel system that makes navigating the game easier.
Uneven Campaign
Unfortunately, Blackwind’s campaign is uneven with many tedious segments. Specifically, the facilities force players to run back and forth, making it easy to get lost. The vague objectives expect players to memorize everything, which is not always feasible. A comprehensive map system with clear objectives would be helpful. Additionally, the controls can be finicky at times, especially with the drone.
Visuals, Voice Acting, and Satisfaction
Although the jokes of the protagonist, James, did not click with the reviewer, the voice acting is well-done. The visuals are rather standard yet there’s a neon aesthetic to combat that really pops. It makes blasting away aliens even more satisfying, especially when you can perform a finishing move where you rip their limbs off and stab them into their chest.
Conclusion
Blackwind is an enjoyable twin-stick shooter with satisfying moves. However, the campaign needs improvement to make it more comprehensible. If you did not find other cheap PS5 games to play, then you may consider Blackwind. It is the kind of game that you can play when you are tired of all the other triple-A video games out there. Not bad, not good… something to fill out a few hours and save you from a boredrom.
