Blade: The Edge of Darkness remastered

ARTICLE

A PC role game to find runes inside of a Sumerian and Northern mythological narration.

Created by Rebel Act Studios from Spain, Blade The Edge of Darkness is also known as Blade of Darkness and Severance Blade of Darkness. The first sketches were designed at the end of 1996 and, 5 years later, it was released as a game of action, fantasy, sorceress and adventures. The audiovisual effects were remarkable at that time, including puzzles, destroyable staging elements, and light / shadow effects in real time which had never been seen before.

Somehow, it is also considered as the first of its kind, later inspiring other soulslike games such as Dark Souls or Demon's Souls. And twenty years later, in October 2021, it was released for the second time in a much lighter PC version (only 462 MG) by Steam and GOG, with rescaled textures, updated visualization options and support for panoramic screens and 4K, among other changes. Anyway, the game is basically the same as that of the original version: a dark scenario for tactical, paused and quite visceral combats demanding to display control and accuracy inside of compacted areas.

Mythologies

Some names and key elements of the game remind us of Northern and Sumerian mythologies. For instance, we have to find 6 Runes of Power to reach the goal. Each one of them holds a relief telling about a moment during the creation of Blade's universe. The letters belong to the ancient alphabet, the saxon and the young alphabet, so some of them are associated to Northern gods: Fehu and Freyja, Haegl and Thor, Algiz and Heimdall.

We may find many other resonances! If you're interested in them, click here.
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name	in the game...	echoes in...
Ahura Mazda	creator of the Universe	entity manifested through light and fire, adored in Mazdeism (later in Zoroastrism)
Angra Manyu	one of the sons of Ahura Mazda	twin spirit of Ahura Mazda (Mazdeism)
Avestas	one of the groups of gods	language of some Zoroastrian written texts
Asha	human queen	one of the seven entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, also known as Amesha Spenta (Zoroastrism)
Spenta	Spenta Manyu is another son of Ahura Mazda and incarnates the Prince of Light	Spenta Mainyu Gatha (ancient anthem in Avesta language and translated as "good spirit")
Xshathra	the god who forged metals	Vohu Khshathra Gatha (translated as "good domain")
Ianna	goddess daughter of Ahura Mazda	Inanna, goddess of love, war, passion, fertility, and prostitutes

Narrative

gods

Ahura Mazda is the Lord. In the beginning, he created the Primigeneous Chaos, splitting appart Light from Darkness, and then emerging his sons, the Avestas gods.
One of his sons, Angra Manyu, is the Prince of Darkness, and tried to take his place. To do that, he created Aserat, the Lord of Chaos, who made great evil in the Universe.
Ahura Mazda along with one of his sons, Spenta Manyu or the Prince of Light, defeated Aserat, and peace was restored. Nevertheless, Ahura Mazda was disapointed about his creation and went to the Depths of the Universe. It is said he will come back only at the end of times.

Earth

Goddess Ianna populated the Earth with a big garden where humans appeared.
Angra Manyu (the Prince of Darkness) moved to the Earth with the Avestas. Xshathra, the god of metals, was among them, who lived for a while in The Forge of Xshathra, where he teached his human pupils. But peace didn't last too long and soon some gods were loyal to Ahura Mazda (the Avestas) and others were loyal to Angra Manyu (the Arcontes, with Xshathra among them).
The Earth was about to be destroyed because of the fierce battle between gods, so Ianna cast a strong spell and expulsed them all. Since then, Ianna moved to the Moon and watches the nights from there, while Spenta Manyu moved to the Sun and watches humans from there, and the rest of gods were disseminated across the Universe.

War of the Sword

But humans had to keep on fighting demons left by Angra Manyu.
Among the humans, a young heroe appeared, Eresh Kigal, who received the Sacred Sword of Ianna, becoming Blade, the Knight of Light. He commanded a great army of humans and dwarves, defeating the forces of evil although dying because of the injures he received during the battle. He was buried along with his sword in the Temple of Ianna.
6 Runes of Power emerged from the sword as well as 4 gems, which can be used to open the temple. The gems were saved in secret places by his friends Amlach, Gorlond, Sawan and Nergal. The runes were hidden too, and the dwarf Frair was in charge of it. Frair was proclamed king, and we find his story on a wall at the end of the level The Mines of Mount Kelbegen. Even though the runes and gems remain hidden, there are traces we may follow to find them if needed.
Kings Azud and Asha are human leaders. Both rest on The Tombs of Ephyra, along with a powerful shield and a magic sword that can be use against zombies awakened with necromancy.

Game

goal

Evil comes back to Earth and enemies attack. The runes are hidden across different locations in the game and are usually protected by mortal traps. By gathering them, we can free the Sacred Sword embedded in The Temple of Ianna, so we can defeat Dal Gurak in the penultimate level, then access the final secret level The Abyss, defeat Aserat (the Lord of Chaos) and evil for good.
The player may choose one of four different characters to start the game. According to the choice, the game begins in a context (level) that is specific to that character. After that initial level, the game happens in different locations such as desserts, castles, volcanoes and temples. We have to explore tombs, frozen fortresses, demonic towers, face several enemies, solve puzzles and avoid traps made with fire, water, arrows, stones and other elements.

characters

Each one of them has strong characteristics, weaknesses, abilities and particular fighting styles.
Naglfar is a dwarf coming from a mine town, an expert in the usage of heavy weapons and shields. When orcs moved forward, he had to search for answers in a secret library in the city of Khazel Zalam.
Tukaram is a barbarian coming from the Northern steppes, an expert in mandobles and swords, and travels to the home of its ancestors in The Valley of Kashgar.
Zoe is an amazon from the External Kingdoms who entered the game looking for The Lost City of Marakamda, also being an agile spearwoman.
Sargon is the captain of the Knights of the King, holding several balanced qualities (strength, resistance, defence and agility) and appears in the context of The Fortress of Tabriz.

levels

Initial (according to the chosen character): Khazel Zalam, The Valley of Kashgar, The Lost City of Marakamda or The Fortress of Tabriz.
The Mines of Mount Kelgeben
The Fortress of Tell Hallaf
The Tombs of Ephyra
The Island of Karum
The Fortress of Shalatuwar
The Defile of Orlock
The Fortress of Nemrut
Oasis of Nejeb
The Temple of Al-Farum
The Forge of Xshathra
The Temple of Ianna
The Tower of Dal Gurak
The Abyss (hidden level)

Runes

In The Mines of Mount Kelbegen, we have to break a wood wall to enter a hidden pathway in a big stone structure. The structure is surrounded by acid, which is quickly filling the room, and holds the rune Othila at the top.
Othila is related to family, possessions, lands, legacies, genetic codes. It indicates wellness, fortune, success, earns, prosperity and satisfaction, good luck and vital strength.

Rune Othila of Blade The Edge of Darkness — On how Ahura Mazda, the Lord, created the Primigeneous Chaos. And on how by splitting it apart he formed Light and Darkness, giving them life and thoughts of their own. And on how by creating the other gods he was not alone anymore.

In The Tombs of Ephyra, behind the tomb of King Azud, is the rune Haegl (Hagalaz).
Related to losses and hail when destroying harvests and producing times of need. It is also associated to Thor since it is believed hail comes from the stones thrown by the wheels of his carriage.

Rune Haegl of Blade The Edge of Darkness — On how the Prince of Darkness started manipulating the Primigeneous Chaos to create a new being. And how, before he controlled it, the being was independent of its creator. And how the Lord of Chaos appeared among the gods.

In The Fortress of Tell-Halaf we find the rune Fehu (Feoh).
Earth is its element and is associated to richness, plenty, maternity, fertility, honor and cattle. It also refers to goddess Freyja.

Rune Fehu of Blade The Edge of Darkness — On how Ahura Mazda being disappointed by his sons, retired to the depths of the Universe, and how he has not been seen among the Avestas since then, to only come back at the end of Times.

In The Fortress of Nemrut is the rune YR of the Saxon alphabet.
The meaning is not clear although is associated to weapon, war machine, or an emblem carried as a sign of warrior distinction.

Rune YR of Blade The Edge of Darkness — On how the Avestas agreed to create a home where they all could leave together. And how Ianna, the beloved daughter of his Father, created a beautiful orchard, which gave life to the entire Earth. And how Angra Manyu, the Prince of Darkness, visited his brothers and lived among them.

In The Oasis of Nejeb is the rune Algiz (Elhaz).
Related to protection during battles, defense and god Heimdall, who watches the home of gods and the rainbow linking to the world (Bifrost).

Rune Algiz of Blade The Edge of Darkness — On how the aura of light and beatitude that surrounded the Earth was darkened by evil. On the fight of Avestas and Arcontes, and the expulsion of the fighters from Earth.

In The Temple of Al-Farum we find the rune Yr of the young alphabet.
It means tejo (European tree), and is related to war, death, ends.

You may find a demo of the game to download and a version to buy on the editor's website SNEG. Creators: Rebel Act Studios (now in Digital Legends and MercurySteam). Development: Fire Falcom and General Arcade. Distribution: Codemasters.