Naraka: Bladepoint

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Naraka: Bladepoint
Developer(s)24 Entertainment
Publisher(s)NetEase Games Montreal
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseAugust 11, 2021[1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Naraka: Bladepoint (Chinese: 永劫无间, pinyin: yǒngjiéwújiān) is an action-adventure battle royale game developed by 24 Entertainment and published by NetEase Games Montreal. It is a battle royale game where up to 60 players fight each other to be the last one standing. The game incorporates martial arts-inspired melee combat and features a rock-paper-scissors combat system.[2] There are vast arsenals of melee and ranged weapons to choose from, as well as a grappling hook that can be used for both combat and traversal. In addition, each hero has unique skills and talents, allowing for customization to suit your play style.[3]

Gameplay[]

Naraka: Bladepoint sets its premise on "Morus Island" where heroes gather for battle.[1] Players can queue up for either solo games or in trios[1] and can choose from more than nine different characters, while each of those has two skills (F skill and Ultimate).[4]

In solo mode, players start as a team of himself/herself while in trio mode, players start the game with two other members in the same team to compete in the game. After matching with enough players (maximum 60 players in one round),[5] players choose characters with different skill set, called Heroes, to play. Finishing selecting heroes, players choose one spawn location on the map, and other teammates can choose to follow or spawn wherever they like. Once players are shown on the map, the team can search for weapons grapples, health or armors to equip them up. In the meantime, the team will have to pay attention to enemy squads showing up to avoid ambush.

While players keep searching and fighting on the map, the safe zone in Naraka: Bladepoint will get smaller with a random center. However, players have time to prepare for the spreading of shadow corruption. There are multiple events in one round of the game, such as eliminating the targeted enemy, praying in front of a Buddhism, etc.  

When knocked down, players are able to get on their feet again if teammates come to rescue them in a short period of time; otherwise, they will die after being cairns. However, if it is before the first round of shadow corruption spreading, players can still get back on the map and fight again by using soul altars after their death.

In each round, a squad of heroes will win the game as the top one team.[6]

Seasons[]

Seasons of Naraka: Bladepoint afte release[7]
Number Title Time Description
Season 1 Tidal August 11, 2021~November 10 2021 110 Levels in total, and the season has more than 30 season tasks.
Season 2 Cavalry November 11, 2021~present 130 Levels in total, and the new season has different awards including skins of new characters.

Characters[]

Naraka: Bladepoint, currently, have 10 playable characters, with the newest addition on January 19, 2022, of Wuchen.[8]

Among the seven characters, "Kurumi Tsuchimikado" is based on the Onmyoji archetype.[9] Yoto Hime originates from another game made by NetEase Games, Onmyoji Arena.[10]

Character List[11]
Character Release Date
Tianhai August 12, 2021
Viper Ning August 12, 2021
Yoto Hime August 12, 2021
Temulch August 12, 2021
Tarka Ji August 12, 2021
Kurumi August 12, 2021
Matari August 12, 2021
Valda Cui September 17, 2021
Yueshan November 10, 2021
Wuchen January 19, 2022

Melee Weapons[]

Weapon name
Longsword
Katana
Greatsword
Spear
Dagger
Bloodrippers

Development[]

Naraka: Bladepoint is partly inspired by the old action PC game Meteor Butterfly Sword (also named Meteor Blade), of which the producer is the same, and some gaming elements of it that fans loved could be seen in Naraka: Bladepoint, as the producer stated.[12][13] Naraka: Bladepoint, along with many other titles, was officially announced during the Game Awards 2019 ceremony on December 12, 2019.[14] From November 3 to 9, 2020, Naraka: Bladepoint had its steam server test in North America region to test its gameplay and performance.[15] Naraka: Bladepoint is officially coming to consoles,[16] and it has PS5 gameplay from the melee-focused battles to show players how they can play it on PS series and Xbox series.[17] The mobile version is under development now to provide the melee-focused combat gaming experience for mobile players globally.[13][18]

Esports[]

The first official Naraka: Bladepoint tournament in Southeast Asia, Celestra Cup, started on September 9, 2021, ended season finale on December 12 and witnessed the first winner of SEA Naraka tournament.[19]

On November 5, 2021, 24 Entertainment announced the inaugural NARAKA: BLADEPOINT World Championship (NBWC), complete with a prize pool of $1.5 million. The inaugural NBWC will go down early next year in 2022.[20]

Release[]

  • After launching for 3 months, Naraka: Bladepoint has sold more than 6 million copies globally, making it one of the fastest-selling Chinese PC games ever.[21]
  • 2021.8 Global launch with more than 10 language versions. NetEase Thunderfire UX team has been doing user research and UX design for Naraka: Bladepoint since its very first prototype.[22]

Reception[]

Naraka: Bladepoint received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[28] Naraka: Bladepoint  was nominated as Best Multiplayer Game 2021 of Golden Joystick Awards on October 19, 2021, which is the one of the oldest game awards globally.[29]

Player count and revenue[]

The game hit over 120,000 concurrent players in its April Steam test.[17] By November 9, 2021, the game has reached more than 6 million copies selling globally. It means that it had more than $250 million gross revenue by selling copies and in-game virtual collectibles.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Palmer, Jordan (August 20, 2021). "Naraka: Bladepoint review". Tom's Guide. Retrieved August 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint is a Battle Royale for Fighting Game Fans - IGN". November 2021.
  3. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint sold 6 million copies. 30% off from Nov.10-17 UTC". 10 November 2021.
  4. ^ Aitken, Lauren (August 12, 2021). "Meet the heroes of Naraka: Bladepoint". PC Gamer.
  5. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint Isn't As Easy As You Think". ScreenRant. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  6. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint gameplay and combat guide - Know thyself". PC Invasion. 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  7. ^ "Naraka Bladepoint Season 2 Release or Start Date: When it is coming out?". DigiStatement. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  8. ^ Purslow, Matt (2021-11-01). "Naraka: Bladepoint's New Hero Is Yueshan, a Ferocious Terracota Warrior". IGN. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  9. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint Character Tier List | Gaming Verdict". August 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Onmyoji Arena Character List: Yoto Hime
  11. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint Heroes - All 7 Character Classes & What to Play". Altar of Gaming. 2021-08-21. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  12. ^ Brandon Adams (2021-06-27). "Naraka: Bladepoint Developer Interview - Launch, Monetization, Bots, and Shrek". Attack of the Fanboy. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  13. ^ a b c "Bloomberg - Naraka: Bladepoint answers to Fortnite". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2019-12-12). "Naraka: Bladepoint is a multiplayer ninja game that looks dope". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  15. ^ "Melee battle royale Naraka: Bladepoint launches a closed beta today". PCGamesN. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  16. ^ Skrebels, Joe (2021-11-01). "Naraka: Bladepoint Is Coming to Consoles 'Soon', PS5 Gameplay Revealed". IGN. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  17. ^ a b Subhan, Ishraq (2021-07-29). "Naraka: Bladepoint is coming to consoles". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  18. ^ "NetEase is planning to develop a mobile version of Naraka: Bladepoint". GamingonPhone. 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  19. ^ "Celestra Cup Wildcard Qualifier Finals | Naraka: Bladepoint Dev Tracker | devtrackers.gg". devtrackers.gg. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  20. ^ ""24 ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE NARAKA: BLADEPOINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (NBWC)" - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  21. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-09/netease-s-answer-to-fortnite-clocks-up-6-million-in-sales
  22. ^ Fenlon, Wes (August 11, 2021). "Here's when Naraka: Bladepoint unlocks in your time zone". PC Gamer.
  23. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  24. ^ Campbell, Kyle (26 August 2021). "Naraka: Bladepoint Review". IGN. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  25. ^ Wilde, Tyler (1 September 2021). "Naraka: Bladepoint review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  26. ^ Forward, Jordan (18 August 2021). "Naraka: Bladepoint review – sharpen up". PCGamesN. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  27. ^ Clark, Justin (12 August 2021). "Naraka: Bladepoint Review -- House of Flying Daggers". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Naraka: Bladepoint". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  29. ^ "Golden Joystick Awards 2021: See the full list of nominees and how to vote today". 19 October 2021.

External links[]

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