Die by the Blade: Samurai punk sword fighting game promises bloody and stylish one-hit kills this May 

Publisher Grindstone has announced that they will be releasing Die by the Blade on May 17 for the PC (Steam/Epic Games Store). The game is also scheduled to come to consoles in October this year. It will be available in 8 languages including English. 

Die by the Blade is a weapons-based fighting game with samurai punk aesthetic that blends traditional Japanese culture with cyberpunk. The upcoming game is said to have been influenced by Japanese fighting games like the 1997 PlayStation 1 title Bushido Blade. 

The upcoming title will feature a story-driven single-player mode, as well as local and online battle modes, a tournament mode and a practice mode. In the game’s battles, your fighting style depends on your weapon, not the character you have chosen. Victory is determined by a single strike of a blade. In order to emerge triumphant from these high stakes, one-hit battles, players will need to understand the combos for each weapon and make sure their reflexes are as sharp as their blade, parrying and evading attacks until they find that crucial opening in the enemy’s defense. 

Die by the Blade will also appeal to players who like having the freedom to select their character based on appearance, as combat style is fully determined by the weapon. You will also be able to customize their look, allowing you to create your ideal character by outfitting them in armor and even a cybernetic mask. The game is also expected to offer weapon customization options. 

The upcoming title is being developed by Slovakian developer Triple Hill Interactive and indie developer Toko Midori Games (who released the well-received free-to-play bullet hell shooter Bone Dust last year).  Die by the Blade was originally announced back in August 2020 by Grindstone, who are also co-developing and publishing the game. It was later announced that Kwalee would be publishing the title globally in August 2022, however it was postponed. The long-awaited game is now slated for a May 2023 release.  

It seems that Grindstone reacquired the rights from Kwalee and obtained more external funding. Apparently Kwalee had a different vision for the game, which was deemed to be hindering the title’s “true potential.” Ever since its initial announcement, Die by the Blade has received a lot of attention for its samurai punk aesthetic, stylish and bloody combat, and gameplay mechanics. Hopefully the long wait for the full game will soon be over, and we can don our cybernetic masks in a thrilling duel to the death. 

Die by the Blade is scheduled for release on May 17^th for PC (Steam/Epic Games Store) but you can get a taste of the action in the playable demo that is available now. A console release of the game is also planned for October 2024. 

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-02-16 09:42 JST)