Blades of Time Review – A Creative Time-Rewind Mechanic Held Back by Floaty Combat

Release Date: March 6, 2012 (NA) / March 8, 2012 (JP) / April 20, 2012 (PC/Mac) / May 14, 2019 (Switch) | Developer: Gaijin Entertainment | Publisher: Konami (console original), Gaijin Entertainment (PC) | Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac OS X, Nintendo Switch | Genre: Hack-and-Slash Action Adventure | Price: ~$6 USD on Steam (all-time low ~$2 USD) | Languages: English, Japanese, French, and 4 more — Simplified Chinese is not supported

Time Rewind Is a Great Idea

In 2012, Gaijin Entertainment made Blades of Time. The studio would later become known for War Thunder, but back in 2012, it was still making a hack-and-slash game centered on a blonde twin-tailed heroine.

Blades of Time has one genuinely standout mechanic: Time Rewind.

Hit a button, and time rolls back a few seconds. You swing your sword, rewind, swing again — and the “ghost” of your previous position repeats your earlier attack, striking alongside you. Rewind a few more times, and you’ve got a small squad of clones ganging up on enemies. A hack-and-slash game that basically lets you summon a squad of yourself.

What makes it work is how direct it is — no complex calculations, no precise timing. Just hit the button and watch your clones repeat your moves. What matters here isn’t balance. It’s the fun of it.

But the problem is: everything else about the game feels like it came from 2008.

Combat Feels Like Swinging at Air

This is the most common complaint you’ll hear.

If I had to describe Blades of Time’s combat in one sentence: it feels like you’re cutting through paper, not enemies. Swords swing without weight. Hits land without impact. There’s no satisfying “thud” that tells you you’ve actually connected with something.

If you’ve played Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, you know what it feels like when a hit has real weight behind it. Blades of Time doesn’t have that. It’s flashy, with lots of particle effects and combos — but the feedback is light. After a while, it starts to feel like you’re pressing buttons rather than actually fighting.

Enemy variety is also limited. You’ll be fighting the same handful of faces over and over. Early on it’s fine. Later, it’s just repetition.

Story? Not What This Game Is About

The protagonist is Ayumi — blonde twin-tails, easy on the eyes, armed with a gunblade, and dressed in a way that screams “anime character.” She’s a treasure hunter who travels to an ancient island, only to get caught up in some chaos magic business.

The story isn’t much to write home about. It’s not the point. Dialogue is stiff, voice acting is uneven, character development is thin. If you’re expecting something like Bayonetta’s over-the-top-but-still-fun storytelling, you won’t find it here.

To be fair, the game never pretends to be about the story. It’s about slashing things. Slash away.

The Switch Version Is a Disaster Zone

The platform gap here is massive. The PC version still holds a “Very Positive” rating on Steam. The Switch version? 38 on Metacritic.

7 reviews — 5 negative, 2 mixed. Nintendo Life gave it a 40. Digitally Downloaded gave it a 20. One reviewer said it “looks and plays like a game that came out much longer ago than it actually did.” Frequent complaints about frame rate, input lag, and muddy visuals only make an already dated game feel even older.

If you’re going to play Blades of Time, I’d recommend the PC version. The Switch version isn’t worth considering.

So, Is It Worth It?

~$6, ~$2 on sale. At that price, you’re getting a unique “time-rewind clone gang-up” mechanic, a visually striking protagonist, and a decent set of combos.

The combat feedback is weak. The story is forgettable. The Switch port is a mess. But it has a kind of “rough sincerity” — they actually built the Time Rewind mechanic, and it genuinely works.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a great game. But it’s memorable — not for being polished, but for having the guts to build an entire game around one weird, bold idea.

If all you want is to swing a sword and have a little mindless fun, wait for a Steam sale and pick it up for a couple bucks. If you’re looking for Devil May Cry 5 levels of polish, skip it.

One last thing: at least its heroine looks a lot better than she did in X-Blades — and honestly, that might be the most honest summary of what Blades of Time really is.

Copyright Notice: All game screenshots, character images, and related materials referenced in this article are the property of Gaijin Entertainment and Konami, and are used for game introduction, review, and informational display purposes.