Blade of God X

Blade of God X: Orisols is the latest entry in the Blade of God series, bringing dark fantasy, intense combat, and deep customization to web3 gaming. Developed by Void Labs and published by PGD, the game officially launched on December 12, 2024, after several playtests that gathered feedback from both traditional and web3 gamers. Set in a world inspired by Norse mythology, it offers players the chance to battle through the realms of gods and monsters while uncovering a gripping story.

In Blade of God X, you play as an Inheritor, a warrior reborn into a world steeped in Norse mythology and ancient magic. You’ll battle your way through fiery Muspelheim, explore the sacred lands near the World Tree, and uncover the secrets of a world on the brink of chaos. Every choice you make shapes your journey, pushing you toward a fate of Sacrifice or Redemption.

Gameplay

The game kicks off with a well-crafted cutscene, giving players a cinematic intro to its dark, mythological world. You take on the role of an Inheritor, a warrior reborn into a land ruled by gods, beasts, and chaos. You can choose which character (Either Hela or Chaos) to play through the story, but switching to a different one means starting fresh with separate progress, adding some replayability.

Blade of God X nails that Soulsborne vibe with its dark, twisted monsters, intense combat, and eerie atmosphere, but it also mixes in gacha mechanics like Genshin Impact, letting you collect characters and upgrade gear. Unlike those games, though, BoG X isn’t open-world. Instead, you progress one dungeon at a time, leveling up, collecting Soul Cores, and upgrading your gear back at your base before heading into the next big fight.

As you make your way through the story, new features gradually unlock, and you’ll naturally pick up the game’s mechanics along the way. Movement and controls feel familiar to Soulsborne fans, with dodge rolls, parries, and precise timing playing a big role in survival. However, combat in BoG X takes a different approach, leaning more toward customizable skill combos. Instead of relying purely on reaction-based fights, you can chain up to four skills in a set attack pattern, giving players room for theory-crafting different builds.

Each character has access to two weapon types—a light weapon (like a sword) and a heavy weapon (like a greatsword)—which determine their available skill sets. During battle, you can swap weapons on the fly, switching up skill chains and stat bonuses depending on the situation. Alongside normal attacks, players can perform strategic dodges and break skills, allowing them to interrupt enemies or retreat at the right moment. Once your energy bar is fully charged, you can unleash a powerful Awakening Skill (which works similarly to an Elemental Burst in Genshin Impact) to deal massive damage.

Another key system in Blade of God X is Soul Cores, which add another layer to character builds. By defeating monsters, players can absorb their essences and incorporate them into their skill chains, allowing for even more customization. If you’ve played Wuthering Waves, this system will feel familiar as it's all about defeating enemies and collecting their abilities to improve your character.

And, of course, no RPG would be complete without a gear system. BoG X features multiple armor and weapon slots, each with individual upgrades, star ranks, and dismantling options to keep progression flowing.

Dungeons in Blade of God X follow a straightforward loop: enter, clear waves of enemies, find loot chests, and move to the next stage until you reach the final boss. Beat the boss, and you progress to the next dungeon. As you advance through the game, you’ll unlock tougher endgame content, including harder dungeon challenges that function similarly to Genshin Impact’s Spiral Abyss, testing your skills, builds, and strategies at a much higher difficulty.

Review

Blade of God X is best described as a mix of Soulsborne aesthetics and world, Genshin Impact/Wuthering Waves combat, and gacha mechanics. Visually, it holds up well—being a sequel to an existing web2 game gave it a solid head start. The cutscenes feel like something straight out of Dark Souls, with an ominous, cinematic vibe. Character designs are also impressive, almost like darker versions of Genshin Impact characters thrown into a grim fantasy world. The sound effects hit the mark, though the lack of voice acting is a bit of a letdown. Some English translations in cutscenes feel off, which can be distracting. The game also has minor bugs, and I occasionally experienced crashes, which can be frustrating.

Concept-wise, I have to give Blade of God X credit. While the theme and gameplay aren’t necessarily new, the way it blends elements from different games makes it work surprisingly well. The gameplay itself is easy to follow, with simple movement and combat mechanics, though at times, it might feel too simple, especially for players coming from Soulsborne or gacha RPGs. The parry system is pretty forgiving, and enemies don’t punish you too hard if you’re at least close to their power level.

While combat may not be super challenging, the real fun in BoG X is theory-crafting builds. There are tons of skill combinations to unlock, and you can customize attack patterns, decide which skills trigger first, and fine-tune your build. Soul Cores add another layer to this, bringing unique abilities like summons and buffs, making build variety really enjoyable, especially when testing setups for endgame content.

Replayability depends on the player. Like most RPG and gacha games, progression can feel convoluted and overwhelming for newer players. If you’re free-to-play, expect to hit power walls, where your character isn’t strong enough to clear a stage, forcing you to farm resources for days or even weeks. That’s just the nature of the genre, and the gacha mechanics won’t appeal to everyone. Personally, I enjoy the thrill of pulling my favorite characters from limited banners and using them to wreck enemies, but if gacha systems aren’t your thing, BoG X might not be for you.

BoG X takes inspiration from Soulsborne games, gacha RPGs, and character-building systems, combining them into something that works surprisingly well. The visuals, combat, and customization options make it fun, but the simplistic combat and gacha mechanics might not be for everyone. If you enjoy theory-crafting builds, dungeon-crawling, and the occasional high-stakes character pull, it’s worth checking out.