The Heavenly Swords the brand has been somewhat stagnant for a decade now. A lot of Heavenly Swords was ahead of its time, making many things limited to the hardware available to game makers. This in turn caused many players to overlook Heavenly Sword. However, those who played it will say that much of the game is quite fun to play. While the story was sub par and was plagued with some technical issues holding it back, the combat and steep learning curve made it an interesting game to play.
Even with all its faults, many fans have been calling for either a sequel or a remaster of Heavenly Swords because it can feel better on PlayStation 5. There was hope several years ago for a sequel, unfortunately fans may not see new life in the game for a long time now. However, the game still has a lot to offer today, and many things hold up in today’s world. Although not everything has aged well Heavenly Swords, this list will highlight the aspects that hold up, and in turn make for an enjoyable experience.
5/5 Graphics
This is an area that has divided fans Heavenly Swords, some say the graphics haven’t aged at all, and others would say the opposite. When you play on Playstation 3 on certain levels the game doesn’t look that great, but during the more open areas and cutscenes the game looks good. Heavenly Swords borrows a lot from Ninja Gaiden, like the camera which is probably one of the weakest parts of the game. As such, it does not allow players to see the area or the vast landscape unless they flip it themselves.
But when they do, players can see the rich colors pop, and dark tones blend well with the lighter ones. Not only graphics, but also movement animations of Nariko are kept up today as well, much like other older games with great running animations. Players will feel that the game is not that old, just because of the look of it Heavenly Swords replicates earlyXbox OneandPlaystation 4game.
4/5 Sound track
Around the time of Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, games became more and more cinematic. When that happened, the soundtracks matched the energy of those games and it made things feel bigger, giving players the right feel for certain levels. IN Heavenly Swords, this is very true. The scale of these soundtracks is massive, they reflect the battle scenes very well. In some cases, the soundtrack can be confused with a game released in 2022.
Because of how dynamic and massive it can be since each section has a different feel, the soundtrack should highlight that aspect as well. For the big matches, the big music comes in, matching the player’s energy. This means that they fight and play with less fear, which many games in the last ten years have done. For the slow moments, like walking or interacting with the world, the music reflects that.
3/5 Sign
While history is a department where Heavenly Swords lacking, but the characters make up for a lot of that. With Andy Serkis as the main antagonist, and many other characters, the players provided a decent size with an interesting cast. Play as god of war 2, which is one of the best games in the series, featured many characters with arcs that make them deep and compelling. To make up for the subpar story, Heavenly Swords does a good job of making these characters deep and in turn the story itself becomes more immersive at times.
This was back in the day when the games were simply simple and didn’t really challenge the players that much in terms of character development. But thanks to games like god of war, character development has been a big thing in games. To Heavenly Swords, this was great because it made the player a part of that growth as well. When a game gets it right, they become fun to play.
2/5 Difficulty
About like Ninja Gaiden, Heavenly Swords is quite difficult to play, and it is probably one of the mechanics that has aged well over time. Since many games today lean towards the harder style of play, players who jump into the world of Heavenly Swords will remember how quickly things got tough. This made combat really over-the-top, and a lot like that Ninja Gaiden, the fight itself was brutal but fun.
While Heavenly Swords was difficult, it was still accessible, encouraging players to fight aggressively, because with the fighting style of both God of War and Ninja Gaiden things quickly became chaotic, but the players were able to control the game. But thanks to the brutal style of play to Heavenly Swords, many players who played it are able to transfer these skills to games today because the steep learning curve is an aspect many games use today.
1/5 Match
As mentioned before, Heavenly Swords is a brutal game with a combat system that reflects it. If players don’t pick it up quickly, they may have a hard time throughout the game. Hack and slash games haven’t really changed much, but they have become more dynamic with how they play. Heavenly Swords is much like this and borrows elements from Ninja Gaiden when it comes to being active in combat, relying primarily on combos.
Because just like in Ninja Gaiden, if players drill combos, they can get a better rhythm and can take down enemies faster. In turn the whole experience of Heavenly Swords becomes easy to play. As in modern games such as god of war, if players manage the enemies, they can easily cut themselves out of any situation. This makes the fight much more tangible.
Heavenly Swords is available now on PS-Plus.
