Blade & Sorcery: The Dungeons Update (VR)

My last post on Blade & Sorcery was last July with the release of Update 8, AKA The Sorcery Update. At the end of that post I speculated about how B&S could expand in the future – ‘There’s a lot it can do, and that’s before we even consider the possible inclusion of some kind of campaign. I’m not expecting much, but I can totally see some kind of randomised ‘dungeon’ mode in which you progress, level up and earn loot to buy new weapons or abilities.’ And as you can probably guess by the title of the latest major update, that’s exactly the direction B&S is moving in.

But it’s important to note that this update is really just a first step. B&S, let’s not forget, is being developed by a very small team. Updates may take time, but they’re certainly worth the wait when they arrive. B&S has improved considerably in pretty much every aspect since I first picked it up and reviewed it back in January 2020.

The visuals have had some impressive overhauls – environmental and character. The inclusion of new armour types. The expanded range of spells and their various applications within combat. There’s been a lot of good stuff added, expanded and improved. But through it all, B&S has still always been just a ‘sandbox’ experience. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – B&S certainly has a decent range of maps to play on and a generous number of sandbox modes to choose from.

But as fun as the sandbox is to mess about in, it doesn’t really keep you playing. There’s no structure to the game. No sense of progression. And B&S doesn’t necessarily need these things – I’d still recommend it without. But when the combat is this enjoyable, it’s a shame there’s not more.

The Dungeons Update is the first step to changing that. Right now, it’s still basically just a sandbox. From the new player home you can pick a new map which loads you into the ‘Dungeon’ – a semi-procedurally generated environment, randomly stitched together from 50 pre-set ‘rooms’.

That sounds like it could result in a ‘dungeon’ that’s something of a mess in terms of environmental design, but it actually works remarkably well and combines the various pieces in a way that almost feels handcrafted. And there’s a great deal of detail put into every piece and a consistent style to their design.

As I said though, it’s still basically just a sandbox. You pick your weapons, enter the map and progress through slaughtering enemies. There is now a ‘stealth’ system of sorts that can let you sneak up and kill them, and some enemies will follow basic patrol paths, but there’s not much more to it.

But there will be, and that’s the exciting thing. There’s now scope to expand the game with some kind of structured progression. Once again, I’m not expecting a massively in-depth, narrative driven campaign, but some kind of level system in which you unlock new weapons and spells as you progress through increasingly complex and difficult randomised dungeons, maybe with a ‘boss’ enemy to fight at the end of each?

That said, what might be the most exciting part of this update is actually . . . a chicken. Why? Because it’s the first non-humanoid model added into B&S and opens the door to a lot more both officially and through mods. In other words, enemy types that aren’t just human in nature. This is a fantasy game, after all, so why not trolls, goblins or even dragons? It’s probably best not to get too carried away, but that little chicken represents a lot of potential going forward.

If you own a VR set then B&S is what I consider a must-have title. It can be demanding if you crank up the enemy count, and you will need some space to play in, but if your system can hack it and you have the room, then be sure to pick it up and give it a spin. It’s already worth the cost, and it’s only going to get better.