Blade of Darkness on GoG
 

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/blade_of_darkness

Some good old, real, hacking and slashing. Forgot to add that it used to be called 'Severence: Blade of Darkness', don't know why they severed 'Severence'!

This was one awesomely atmospheric and brutal action game. I wouldn't actually call it hack & slash, or at least not mindless. It's very tactical in the way you have to time your swings. I loved it, but it also freaked the hell out of me. The music and sound design was amazing.

Yep, that's what I meant but 'real' hack and slash in every sense of these words (not action rpgs).

By the way, just to point out that the GoG version includes the 'speeding up' fix that I had and many others with running the retail version on new CPUs.

On a semi-related note there are some new screenies from the remake of the game [EDIT: my link points to material from a Blade of Destiny remake and not Blade of Darkness - I am an idiot :) ], showing off the Thorwal region. There's also some new info:

- The developer is Austria-based Crafty Entertainment who have worked on various German language MMOs and browser games in the past
- The game is not going to be casualized. There's only supposed to be more support for newcomers.
- The DSA ruleset is not going to be touched. They are only aiming at various improvements of the system.
- They are planning on keeping the original soundtrack but it's getting a technical overhaul.
- The anticipated release date for the remake (not sure if only BoD or the whole trilogy but probably just the former) is Q2/2013.

Whaaaaaa???? A remake? Awesome!!!!!

No, there is no remake. Mo smoked the purple mushrooms today. Or he had a clown for breakfast. ;)

Oh so many memories with this game. GoG does fine job rereleasing the classics. They don't only do good business, but they also uphold the culture of videogames :)

There used to be a small, but healthy modding scene for bod. If you have played this game through dozen times through like I have, well then you surely seek extra challenge / content.

Few Bod sites:

http://www.arokhslair.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=24 <- Likely the oldest english BOD forums. You can find many links to bod related sites there. You can also find help if you're stuck in game or need tips how to run mods etc.

http://www.moddb.com/games/severance…/bodloader-05a
Bod loader is required nine times out of ten if you wish to play user made mods, singleplayer maps etc.

http://www.petrbnsfineart.com/blades…ladestuff.html <- The home of fugitive mod. One of the best sp adventures for bod, although fugitive 1 is maybe something one should skip entirely and play fugitive 2-3 since they are higher quality, but a bod junkie like myself plays everything :)

http://www.moddb.com/games/severance-blade-of-darkness Great resource for bod files.

Oh man I may need to get this. The version I had froze on XP.

Was it from GamersGate? ;)

haha. Don't even name the evil incarnate. ;)

I still have an original big box retail edition of BoD lying around somewhere.

Never got very far in this game. I remember finding it somewhat frustrating for some reason, and I wasn't interested enough to keep trying. Always meant to go back and give it another shot. I wonder how it holds up to more modern fantasy combat games.

I'll be picking this up. I rather enjoyed it but never finished but I rarely finish games anyhow.

If I remember correctly it had some superb combat. This is the first game that came to mind when playing dark souls. Combat wise.

Ooooooh, the "first" game to have shadows (and most games after it couldn't top them).

I remember getting frustrated at the keyboard combos, but finding the game freaking awesome.

I prefer the blue, smurfy mushrooms actually :biggrin: . Well, sorry about getting Blade of Destiny and Blade of Darkness all mixed up, folks. Thread hijack was unintentional. Please carry on… nothing to see here… come on… move along…

I always wondered if Blade of Darkness would end up on Gog. It's certainly a very worthy addition. In my opinion, BoD still has the best melee combat system I've ever encountered - something that is extremely impressive given the age of the game. Timing, footwork, hit detection for different body parts, and challenging, aggressive A.I. that keeps you on your toes and demands strategy over blind button mashing for success are the bullet-point highlights that make BoD extremely satisfying. Oh yeah, and it's still one of the only games (perhaps the *only* game) I've ever played with a "true" dodge mechanic - as in you actually duck underneath and around incoming blows instead of the lazy cop-out modern developers use of rolling around on the ground like a spaz. It's baffling to me that no one has managed to get dodging "right" in the years that have followed BoD.

There is a learning curve involved with learning how to properly move your character and time your attacks in a fluid rhythm alongside defensive maneuvers, but once you "get it," it is a truly remarkable game. In addition to the combat, the atmosphere is fantastic. What it lacks in story, BoD makes up for with it's lovingly crafted environments. Certainly one of my all-time favorite "hidden gems," and I hope that it finally gets some of the long over-due praise it deserves through its re-release on Gog.

I remember making it through the blinding snow level to he final gauntlet but gave up. Difficult game to say the least. Was I supposed to be that blind in that whiteout or was that an artifact of an old game on modern hardware? The first 2/3rds of the game is fantastic and the first few levels are pure brilliance.