I didn't take Naraka seriously: there wasn't much reason to take Bladepoint seriously. The tutorial teaches you that this battle royale game specializing in melee combat is all about clicking and comboing. Then, in the first game, you sneak up and play against bots. The bots behaved like mosquitoes that had just had their brains implanted in human bodies, and the Australian player was glued to the ground with lag, but easily won the first trio of matches.

A few matches later, however, the 60-player battle royal really came into its own. What seemed to be Donnie Yen scrambled to find a longsword "pickup" prompt that flew out of his hand in a whirlwind of particle effects. By now, though, it's already too late. As Kenshiro, the badass from Fist of the North Star, would say: "You're already dead.

Clearly, martial arts battle royale is not something that can be mastered in a single tutorial. Skills often transfer between shooters, but getting a new melee fighter can mean suppressing everything you learned in the previous game. In my case, the previous game was Chivalry 2, where medieval fights happen at a cool 90 bpm and attacks take into account weapon weight, swing direction, torso rotation, etc. Naraka is more or less the opposite of that.

Humbled, I returned to a poorly localized menu and found a training mode. As I grew from Naraka: Bladeboy to Naraka: Bladeboy to Naraka: Bladesman, I began to see a complex, sometimes erratic, but sometimes elegant game of skill.

The first thing I learned was that basic combos are easy to counter for good players. But you can also end combos early in a tricky way, or use charge attacks that are less predictable and cancelable. There are other complex tricks that, if learned, create the psychological warfare you will enjoy in "Chivalry 2. This is because in "Naraka," everything is visually dazzling and interspersed with the magic and physical lightness of Chinese martial arts fiction. (The most mainstream example of this genre is probably "Fushilong")

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The animation is fast and weightless, the timing games are more about memorization than intuition, and the game feels a bit old-fashioned. Close quarters fights test how well you know the attack patterns of each weapon (there are katana, greatsword, longsword, dagger, and spear) and whether you can predict when your opponent will throw a counterable attack (or take advantage of the fact that he is waiting for you to throw the same attack). It will be.

Not all battles are brainy. Sometimes spamming attacks works, and the classic frustrations of fighting games are well represented, such as being repeatedly stunned by combos even though you're hitting dodge after dodge. But there are also beautiful moments when patience and cleverness triumph. Old-fashioned or not, it's fun.

Also, Naraka's inspiration for the genre results in something modern and wonderful. There is something reassuring about being able to move freely, whether it be double-jumping, hook-shot grappling between buildings (and other players), or climbing trees and towers (I have all of Assassin's Creed's parkour skills).

Naraka is a fast, aggressive battle royale. You can be stealthy, but crouching and walking is not strictly necessary, as you will not be killed from bushes 200 meters away (Naraka has bows and firearms, but nothing comparable to PUBG's rifles). Freewheeling play lends itself well to the seven heroes and their special and ultimate abilities. For example, the wandering monk Tianhai's ultimate ability transforms him into a six-armed giant.

Not being sniped is nice, but the ranged weapons leave something to be desired. The repeating crossbow has a ridiculously fast rate of fire and is useful for finishing off retreating enemies. The latter is the least satisfying bow I've used in a game (the Huntsman headshot in Team Fortress 2 still trumps it for me), but I like the little stardust effect and the satisfying pwung sound that indicates increasing power as you draw.

Guns.

The firearms are a pistol and a musket, not really my thing. The pistol can be charged and fired many shots at once (like you would with a pistol), which adds a bit of risk and tension, but in a game with so many fast, pliable characters, the choppy bullet spread is frustrating. The musket gun behaves like a bolt-action rifle and feels equally out of place. One advantage is the ability to zoom in a bit when the sights are down, but the bullets move too slowly to reliably hit an enemy who jumps or grabs at you. While effective against players looking at their inventory, it is not an interesting weapon for video games.

That said, unless you're in a dire situation, you won't be stuck with a weapon you don't like; Naraka's loot-gathering part is pleasantly simple and encourages you to get into the fight rather than skulking around looking for something better. There is no variety of ammunition to worry about. Ranged weapons reload with the same consumables that repair worn out melee weapons. There is only one healing item and one armor repair item each (there are multiple rarities).

I somewhat miss the thrill of finding mundane treasures; I remember in the early days of PUBG, finding any scope was ultra exciting, but that feeling is less present in Naraka. There are a few crappy drops at the end of the game that spice up the final circle and make it worth the risk of fighting over the equivalent of PUBG's airdrops in Nacala: flamethrowers, high-speed rocket launchers, and rotating blades that you wield like a blowtorch. Soul jades, little amulets that have special effects when stored in your inventory, add a bit of fun to the loot game, but more often than not, you find something ultra-rare that doesn't suit your needs. Mainly, you can get armor, spears, and bows at the highest rarity, plus any number of upgrades to your inventory.

On the other hand, the loot that can be collected between games is not simple, with a ludicrous number of progression tracks and currencies. The basic premium track has a 1,360 gold battle pass, which is of course only slightly more expensive than the 1,200 gold you can buy for $9.25, so you have to add 240 gold for $1.85 or 3,000 gold for $23.15. Some pretty cool costumes can also be purchased directly, again for just over 1,200 gold. There are also non-premium currencies, daily challenges, and loot crates, but they don't matter to me. I like Naraka, but I don't need new clothes so much as I need to click through the menus for each district and collect taxes every time I log in. It's worse than "Rainbow Six Siege" in that regard. (Although, I admit that I've spent money on costumes for Siege, so maybe I'll change my mind.)

However, some of this chaotic menu changes in-game functionality, adding maintenance chores and pointless uncertainty to the game. It's not "pay to win," but unlocking the -2.40% energy cost fix for the dash is not going to make anyone smile. It doesn't have to be there.

When I first played Naraka, I noticed a surprisingly low frame rate, but they must have adjusted something correctly in the graphics menu. The simple color scheme and shape are appreciated when trying to pick a small martial hero, and it is nice to see temples and sparkling snakeskin energy fields instead of Russian or American industrial parks and commercial buildings.

Naraka is most popular in China where it was developed, with some players complaining of laggy region hoppers. When my Australian friend teamed up with me on a North American server, we would occasionally get stuck or move erratically. It is unfortunate that latency is not handled more gracefully, but I personally have not noticed high ping players dominating. Some players have reported specific issues with frame rate drops and lag, and the developers have noted them on Reddit.

Even if it's less popular in the US than elsewhere, I'm not the only California player. One cool feature. I am apparently the 17th best tenkai in Oakland, but that is only because he is not popular and people think I live 40 miles north. I like the depth of the stats record, although it needs some adjustment. You can create custom private matches and customize your hero's face with a powerful character creator (maybe too powerful). There is also a deathmatch mode, which is quite fun.

There are other disappointments, but they are interesting disappointments and novel reminders that Naraka is an unusual game. For example, one of the potential surprises for battle royale FPS players is that Naraka works best solo, never falling into the impossible 1vs2 or 1vs3 melee combat. I still prefer to play in a trio with friends, but I like the tension of a large solo free-for-all fight. With two recovering players stalking each other through the trees, Naraka's thrills rival the best of the genre.