Did Blade of Darkness really pioneer Dark Souls?

When it originally launched in 2001, Severance: Blade of Darkness was known as the game in which you could beat enemies to death with their own limbs. But this grisly little factoid isn’t actually true. You can beat enemies to death with other enemies’ limbs, which if anything is more depraved, but the idea you can lop a goblin’s arm off and then cave in their skull with the bloody end is a myth.

Blade of DarknessPublisher: SNEGDeveloper: Rebel Act StudiosPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now on PC

Then again, Blade of Darkness is a game suited to myth. The action RPG developed by defunct Spanish developer Rebel Act Studios has spent much of its existence trapped in a realm of legal limbo. But it has recently been unleashed from its copyright dungeon by publisher SNEG, relaunching on Steam with a slightly abridged title and some much-needed support for modern screens and machines.

What’s most fascinating about this re-release, however, is the game’s Steam description, which reads “Blade of Darkness is a hardcore fantasy action-adventure with unique combat mechanics and role-playing elements that pioneered the ‘soulsborne’ genre”. It’s a line fit for comedy double-takes. I thought Blade of Darkness was a game about chopping the legs off orcs, when did it suddenly become the progenitor of Dark Souls?

I haven’t played Blade of Darkness since before Dark Souls came out, and booting it up in 2021, the number of links between the two are certainly striking. The game has you select one of four heroes to play as, Sargon the Knight, Naglfar the Dwarf, Zoe the Amazon, or Turkaram the Barbarian. Each character has their own introductory level, Dragon Age-style, before your chosen warrior embarks upon the same meandering quest to retrieve the legendary Sword of Ianna.

Blade of Darkness, re-release trailer Watch on YouTube

The similarities become evident the moment you swing your weapon at an enemy. Or more to the point, the moment they swing theirs at you. Blade of Darkness’ combat is not merely violent, it’s also highly treacherous. Indeed, it was infamous for its stern challenge upon its original release. The game has no difficulty settings, most enemies can kill you in a few hits, and there are only a handful of opportunities to heal yourself on every level.