If you’re a regular reader then you’ll know that I am always on the lookout for the next great indie. This predisposition towards buried treasure can often mean I don’t look as intently at bigger budget projects as I should. I know that sounds like excuses, but it’s the reason I’ve not got to BlazBlue Entropy Effect yet. Until now, at least, as the game is out now on mobile devices, prompting me to pick up both my Steam Deck and the ol’ iPad, to see how it plays on both.
What is BlazBlue Entropy Effect?
Developed by 91 Act, this side-scrolling beat ‘em up channels the spirit of BlazBlue, the globally renowned fighting series, into a highly replayable roguelite framework.
Controlling one of several characters, Entropy Effect throws you at a series of side-scrolling combat encounters in a futuristic cyberpunk world, where your progress is punctuated by challenging single-screen boss battles. These big bads feel like opponents from a fighting game, which of course is where BlazBlue draws its extensive heritage.
As you move between stages, players are invited to enhance and upgrade their build, adding powerful attacks that fill the screen up with eye-popping special effects. It looks fantastic, but almost surprisingly, it plays just as good.
How going mobile changes the game
The PC version is where I’ve spent most of my time. Therein, you have access to all of the base characters, with DLC ones to add. The mobile game gives you one free character, then after that you’ve got to splash the cash.
This is a significant change, because there’s a core gameplay element that requires you to have multiple characters. The twist in Entropy Effect is that you can take the essence of your past characters, and turn them into special attacks to use during your next run. Thus, with only one free character, you’re not able to mix and match this element of the game in the same way.
You get one character (from a pool of three) for free, then the next one is a buck. The one after that is two bucks, and then you can buy a bundle of six for a tenner. Or thereabouts. The full roster on mobile will cost you a bit more than the game on PC, however, the lower barrier to entry and modest start-up cost is a good counterbalance.
All in all, I think it’s a fair system, and the reported six million players that the game has in China is testament to the approach taken. I reckon the fact that the game also offers co-op – LAN on mobile, both LAN and online on PC – also helps.
The knockout blow
I’m going to wrap things up now, because I think you’ve probably got the gist of how this works. Of course, your device will factor in when considering things like performance, however, I did notice that my five-year-old iPad had long load times before each stage, but then relatively smooth performance when the action started.
I was able to play on a controller, but I did sample the touch screen controls and they were… fine, I guess. If anything, being able to see the big on-screen buttons makes the whole thing quite accessible to new players because you can work out what’s going on and what your tactical options are more clearly than in the smaller UI on PC.
At the end of the day, Entropy Effect fits really nicely on mobile and tablet, and in my experience, the load times were chonky but the action was smooth. That said, I’d recommend you play the PC version if you’ve got the option – it just feels more complete.
On mobile you can start experiencing the game roughly as intended for just a couple of bucks/quid/denari, but I genuinely don’t think you’ll begrudge handing over a bit more to expand your roster because the whole thing connects together with great cohesion.
As for the moment-to-moment gameplay in BlazBlue Entropy Effect, the fluid controls, spectacular battles, and tightly-packed arena encounters result in some of the most eye-catching combat in the roguish space. What’s more, the game-enhancing twist is much more than just a gimmick. There’s a story in there somewhere, too, but really the focus is very much on arcade combat above all else, and on that front, 91 Act has delivered a stylish combo of technical depth and immersive gameplay.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect is out now on Android, iOS, and PC (Win). I played the game via access kindly provided by the developer and their PR buds!
