Naraka: Bladepointisthe best battle royale you’ve probably never heard of. It combines fast-paced melee combat with a martial arts focus that makes it unlike any other game in the genre. Out with the guns and in with the swords, Naraka puts you blade-to-blade with your opponents, and it’s the first time I’ve ever clicked with a game like it.
Back in December, I attended the Naraka Bladepoint World Championship in Chengdong, China, to witness the crowning of the champion and watch them raise the illustrious J-Cup.
Prior to my visit, my exposure to Naraka: Bladepoint was minimal. It’s one of those games that I’ve heard about in passing, and seen bits of, but battle royales aren’t normally my kind of thing, and so Naraka had always entirely passed me by. However, I’d never been to an esports event before, have always wanted to go, and I’d seen enough of Naraka to be sold. It turned out to be a wise decision.
The biggest difference between this and other battle royales, and why Naraka has been on my radar when others in the genre haven’t, is that, thanks to its martial arts focus, you don’t need to be able to shoot straight, which is an immediate win for me. Instead of running to find a gun and discovering I can only aim straight if I stand still, which also makes me an easy target, it’s truly freeing to fight for your freedom with a ridiculously large Katana instead.
The press of a button, the flash of a blade, the visible and instant reaction. I love to see the chaos up close.
That’s not to say there is no skill required for Naraka: Bladepoint. As well as the complex combat mechanics and array of weapons at your disposal, adding in character abilities, counterattacks, heals, and of course two other players in your squad, makes combat both complicated and exciting.
Watching the professionals play is a different scenario, and they showed that the skill ceiling is sky-high. Their impeccable timing and perfect mastery of the mechanics make battles joyful to watch. Every game that involves combat has a learning curve, but when the fights are fast-paced, fun, and can turn on a dime, it’s as entertaining to try and master as it is to watch. Yes, you’re able to be defeated in seconds, but when you manage to land a perfectly timed swipe, that huge heal, or vicious counterstrike, the proximity to the action produces so much more adrenaline than a lucky gunshot.
These fast-paced fights and split-second counters made the J-Cup finals enjoyable to watch, even for a self-confessed Naraka noob. Remember, this was in China, and all the commentary in the venue was in Chinese. While the livestream was also available with English commentary, our seats were fantastic for seeing the action so I was hardly going to sit backstage watching the English version on my phone.
There are two tournaments, Solos and Trios, both of which are points-based, with points awarded based on kills and overall position. The finals see the 12 best performers in each format face off against each other in a battle to be crowned champion. The points from earlier rounds carry over, so qualifying well gives you an advantage in the final six-round battle.
I’m sure Naraka veterans can explain this far better, but the appeal of the game as an esports event is that it didn’t matter that I had no further insight into the scoring process than this.
So here I was, with only a basic grasp of the game’s mechanics, unable to remember all the extensive special moves, and with no commentary to guide me. It felt like a recipe for disaster. How would I enjoy a battle in which I couldn’t work out what was going on?
It turns out that the answer was ‘pretty easily’, actually. The beauty of Naraka Bladepoint is in the pace and how swiftly things can turn around. Squads can encounter each other virtually anywhere thanks to the verticality of the map, and the combat is satisfyingly quick and flashy. It’s like watching an action movie that’s pure adrenaline-pounding battle sequences.
You don’t need to understand the commentary to see when a health bar pings from full to almost zero in a second and read the expressions on the player’s faces. You could feel the tension in the air as battles got more heated. It was also an amazing moment to see ELD Froztivus in the Solos, who started off struggling but made an amazing comeback to absolutely dominate in a late round. The atmosphere and excitement transcended both the language barrier and my inexperience with the genre, and the whole stadium was invested in every clash and parry as the battle for the cup was decided in the final match for both the Solo and Trio finals.
GZ.AOW.Mike was crowned the solo champion but it wasn’t easy. After first-round domination, he was targeted so hard in the second, that he crashed out with zero points. While he was able to recover, a repeat of this early departure in the final round left him helpless, unable to extend his lead, while KLA.T225 fought hard to catch up. Luckily for Mike, some incredible shows from players lower in the table kept T225 from the top, and Mike took the victory.
The Trios was not as close, with winners TE pulling far ahead with an incredible performance in game five of six, pretty much guaranteeing their win at this point. However, watching the different tactics needing to be employed in Trios felt like watching a different game at times. Adding teamwork and co-ordination to the already complex puzzle meant the pace was lightning fast at times, with replays having to be employed, just for the audience to keep up.
Despite the wider points gap on the table in the Trios, there was still a lot of excitement and a build of tension in the arena. Even when the outcome feels set in stone, somehow the game still always feels like anything is possible.
Naraka: Bladepoint is a rare esport that’s both enjoyable to watch and enjoyable to play. Its beautiful environments and character designs are balanced with tight, scrappy combat, and it feels as though both veterans and newcomers can get their fill. So if you’re one of the many gamers still sleeping on this battle royale, then now is the time to change that.
