Arkane’s Blade Game Already Has One Big Challenge to Overcome

The 2023 Game Awards was full of surprising announcements, but none were quite as shocking as Marvel’s Blade. Not a lot has been confirmed about Marvel’s Blade just yet, including any release window or even what platforms it’s coming to, but there’s a lot of potential there.

Marvel’s Blade will take place in Paris and, by the looks of it, the city is undergoing some kind of widespread crisis, with the most likely culprit being a horde of vampires. It’s up to players to take down whatever this mysterious threat is, using swords, guns, and a slew of other weapons and gadgets that Marvel’s Daywalker is known to use. But while that all sounds great already, there’s one big challenge that Marvel’s Blade is going to need to overcome in the character’s portrayal.

Arkane’s Blade Has a High Bar to Cross

Marvel’s Midnight Suns Had a Great Blade

Potentially the biggest challenge that Arkane’s Blade is going to face is the characterization of its titular vampire hunter. At the end of last year, Marvel’s Midnight Suns was released. Though it wasn’t the commercial hit that Take-Two was hoping for, Midnight Suns still reviewed very well, and for good reason. While Midnight Suns‘ unique card-centered turn-based combat gameplay is great, it’s Midnight Suns‘ characters that really shine through the entire experience, with Blade being a particular highlight.

One of the primary members of the titular Midnight Suns, Blade quickly becomes a fan-favorite character in Firaxis’ Marvel strategy game, both in terms of gameplay and characterization. Voiced by Michael Jai White, Marvel’s Midnight Suns‘ Blade sounds and looks exactly how he’d be expected to, though while he maintains a stoic demeanor throughout, it’s his little moments of vulnerability and levity that make him such an endearing version of the vampire hunter.

Gameplay-wise, Marvel’s Midnight Suns‘ Blade is an indispensable member of the team. With plenty of Quick attacks and hard-hitting Heroic cards, Blade is easily one of Midnight Suns‘ best fighters; with his ability to Lifesteal and apply the Bleed status effect, each attack becomes invaluable later on in the game. While Captain Marvel can tank attacks and Doctor Strange can provide support, Blade’s primary role is dishing out as much damage as he can, all while looking after himself at the same time.

Mahershala Ali’s Blade Could Also Be Great

With no release window currently confirmed, it’s unclear just how far away Marvel’s Blade is. Therefore, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that it could launch after the MCU Blade movie in November 2025. Though it keeps facing some pretty major setbacks, Blade is still one of the most exciting MCU projects in the pipeline, with Mahershala Ali already being viewed as the perfect casting for the hero.

Arkane’s Blade Needs to Really Stand Out

By the time Marvel’s Blade comes out, many Marvel fans will already likely have their own favorite version of Blade, whether it’s the one from Midnight Suns, Mahershala Ali’s, or even the classic Wesley Snipes version. Arkane’s going to have to do something really special to make its own version of the Daywalker stand out, whether it’s giving the hero some never-before-seen abilities, or really honing in on the character’s unique personality traits.

Marvel’s Blade

Marvel’s Blade is in development at Arkane Lyon, which developed Deathloop and Dishonored. It is a mature single-player third-person adventure game set in Paris, where players take on the role of the titular and beloved comic book hero.

Franchise

Marvel

Publisher(s)

Bethesda Softworks