Solo indie developer RareBreed Makes Games has released the 2D arcade fighter Blazing Strike to Xbox consoles as part of the ID@Xbox program.
Blazing Strike was originally revealed as a 2D fighter with completely 3D modeled characters back in 2015. That was before Mark Chung, the solo developer who created and developed Blazing Strike, decided to shift toward a more classic fighter look and feel to align more closely with the game’s retro-inspired fight mechanics.
The game offers players the Rush System: a metered mechanic that allows players to engage in fast-paced combat by enhancing normal moves or activating Rush combos that can really pack a wallop. Proper meter management can allow the most skilled players to move faster, jump higher, attack stronger, or use a special character-specific Rush Ability to bring opponents to their knees in defeat.
The Y2K era and the early days of the original Xbox have become the dominant nostalgia source for many game developers, as low-poly and “retro-inspired” indie games flood the market in an attempt to relive the games of their youth. There are still a few of us gamers, however, who dip even further back into the nostalgia well.
Hot, muggy summer breaks of the early 90s were often spent in dimly lit arcades, the front entry of grocery stores, and even the backs of dusty old laundromats with a group of game-loving friends. That’s where the best arcade cabinets could be found, playing host to titles like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, ready and waiting to gobble down your loose quarters as you button-mashed your way up the leaderboard. At least until the streetlights came on, when you had to head home for supper.
The inspiration from those dusty old arcade cabinets oozes from Blazing Strike in every way. Blazing Strike’s stunning pixel art brings to life creative characters who look ripped right out of any classic arcade fighter. The story mode is set in a dystopian 2D world where players find the remnants of civilization struggling to survive following an apocalyptic event that left a corrupt, murderous regime in power.
Where there is authoritarianism, however, there is resistance. Players take on the role of Jake and his band of allies as they fight their way through the authoritarian government, overthrowing megalomaniacal governors and evil autocrats to save what’s left of civilization for the people.
Of course, arcade fighters can’t begin and end with just a story mode. Blazing Strike features a proper training mode so you can learn how to control the 14 available characters and master their unique styles. Training mode gives you the tools to analyze the game’s frame data, see visualizers for hit boxes, and even replay dummy behavior so that you can maximize your fighting prowess.
Training effectively sets you up to master Rush mode, allowing you to not only learn how to execute Blazing Strike’s combat mechanics efficiently, but also the freedom to create your own combo sets.
Once the playable roster of 14 characters (or your preferred main, at least) move sets have been mastered, you can try your hand at taking over the scoreboards in Arcade mode. Arcade mode gives you a chance to test your skills against computer opponents in a variety of challenges, complete with obstacles to keep things interesting. Run up your Rush meter and unleash an onslaught against your foes to rack up a high score.
Beating up the CPU isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, however, and modern fighting games require online gameplay if they’re going to stand a chance at building a community. Blazing Strike supports both local and online co-op, with rollback net code ensuring lag-free gaming with other fighters worldwide. Play casually or dive into ranked to prove your mettle.
Players on the Xbox ecosystem can already enjoy cross-platform support between the Xbox One and Series X|S console families, while plans for true cross play support across all platforms is expected to launch in a future update.
Blazing Strike was previously released on other platforms, but the newly released Xbox version of the game brings with it some quality of life improvements and upgrades requested by the community. Story mode has had a save point feature added, while players can look forward to updated dialogue, new move sets, and new animations.
RareBreed Makes Games has shown a commitment to improving Blazing Strike moving forward, as well. The developer has already announced plans for two new DLC characters coming in the future.
We may no longer be lurking in the corners of a dim arcade, basking in the glow of a CRT screen while we force-feed quarters to the machine for just one more chance. But the efforts of indie developers like RareBreed Makes Games ensure that genres like the retro fighter are still bringing us that same joy and introducing that feeling to a new generation of players.
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