Naraka: Bladepoint
Developer 24 Entertainment
Publisher NetEase Games Montreal
Format PC
Release Out now
Glimpsing a rooftop as we materialise on Morus Isle for the first time, our immediate instinct is to fly up there using grapple. It’s here we’re suddenly reminded by our unimpressed blindfolded assassin Viper Ning that we need to pick up some spools first. Fortunately, they’re in plentiful supply, but even though you can hold six in a single inventory slot, space is still at a premium when you have to account for equally important consumables for healing or repairs, which makes us more cautious about nonchalantly zipping around. And that’s before we discover there’s a limit to how far you can grapple, as the reticule fails to pick up a cliff face just out of reach. Greater disappointment is to come: we find a forest of bamboo, only to find it can’t be targeted, dashing our hopes of reenacting that iconic sequence from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Just as Sony’s PS5 tagline jars in the face of ongoing console shortages, so there are limits to promise of
