BlazBlue Entropy Effect X Review – The Truth of the World

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If you’re searching for a classic rogue-lite action game, Dead Cells is a popular pick. But in 2024, BlazBlue: Entropy Effect quickly gained attention, also launching as an early access title. Fans of fighting games might recognize the name, as it’s based on Arc System Works’ lesser-known anime fighter. However, this new game isn’t made by Arc System Works and doesn’t share the same story. In fact, it was originally known as Chaos Effect.

Despite its flaws, I was completely captivated. Unlocking characters and learning their unique abilities, then pushing the difficulty to its limits – even though it didn’t have as many levels or enemies as Dead Cells, it was a fantastic experience. It was a constant power trip, and the game just kept getting more intense.

This brings us to BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X, a free update that also introduces the game to consoles. Even though it shares some of the same problems as the original, I’m still completely engrossed, experimenting with different strategies and exploring the story to uncover everything that’s happening.

Before starting your journey in the Sea of Possibility, you can select a playable character, or Avatar, inspired by the world of BlazBlue. Icey and The Beheaded from Dead Cells also make guest appearances. The console versions of Entropy Effect X include all downloadable content, giving you access to characters like Rachel, Hazama, and Bullet – just make sure you’ve collected enough Analyzers to unlock them.

Let’s talk about the story, which is a major highlight. While I might struggle to recall the plot of the original game, Entropy Effect X’s story immediately grabs your attention. You play as Doctor A, working with four colleagues under the enigmatic Doctor Mercurius. Your team’s mission involves using the Diving Bell System – or DBS – to explore the Sea of Possibility and gather Shards, all in an effort to prevent a looming catastrophe.

The characters from BlazBlue quickly show up, and while fans of the series will appreciate the connections, the story of Entropy Effect X is surprisingly good even if you’re not familiar with them. We eventually learn that Doctor A is actually Ace, and his coworkers adopt new names that fit their personalities. But there’s more to these aliases than just surface-level descriptions, and it’s fascinating to watch how the characters change with each new experience.

What’s the reason everyone is rushing to Doctor Mercurius’ aid? What secrets is she keeping? And are the Shards of Possibility what they seem to be, or is there more to the story?

You’ll have to try it out to know for sure! Before diving in, you can choose a character based on those from BlazBlue (with Icey and The Beheaded from Dead Cells as guests). The console version of Entropy Effect X includes all downloadable content, giving you access to Rachel, Hazama, and Bullet if you’ve collected enough Analyzers.

The game is easy to pick up: you progress through levels called Depths, battling a boss at the end of each one, with the ultimate goal of reaching Depth 5. Before entering each new room, you can customize your character by increasing their health and energy, or by selecting different elemental abilities. One ability, Blade, creates spinning blades around enemies, dealing damage and, with upgrades, attracting them closer while spawning more blades. Another, Toxin, poisons enemies, and can be upgraded to spread the poison, cause it to explode, or even create floating bubbles using pufferfish.

Entropy Effect X builds on the idea of the Extreme Zone by adding more challenges. Like the Entropy Zone, it makes enemies tougher – increasing their numbers, damage, and health. As you increase the effect, you’ll also unlock helpful passive bonuses to balance things out.

The game already offers a lot of strategic depth through its various Tactics, and figuring out how different elements work together is rewarding. But what really keeps you coming back for another playthrough is the diverse cast of characters. Take Naoto, the newest addition: he starts with standard combos, both in the air and on the ground. But as you unlock his Potential, things get interesting. He can perform uppercuts with brief invincibility, or charge up each hit for extra power. You can then extend those uppercuts, make them usable mid-air, and even unlock a triple jump to reset your ability to use them repeatedly. Plus, his special points (SP) let you enter a powerful Overdrive Mode or unleash unique, enhanced attacks that you can weave into your regular combos.

Legacy Tactics let you carry over powerful abilities from previous character runs. After each run, whether successful or not, your character becomes a saved ‘Avatar.’ You can then choose two of these Avatars to activate their special moves – Legacy Tactics – during future runs, in addition to your current Avatar’s abilities. If you discover a really effective elemental ability, saving it as a Legacy Tactic will ensure it’s available in future runs, as long as you also find the same elemental ability (depending on how rare it is) within that new run.

This is just a glimpse of how varied character builds can be. You can choose Covenants that give you advantages, but also drawbacks – for example, starting a room with less magic power. Trials challenge you to win battles with a handicap to earn powerful rewards like reduced damage taken. The Black Market allows you to trade some maximum health for benefits, such as gaining health with each perfect room clear. Finally, Mind Unleashed Effects are purely positive, offering significant damage boosts and potentially changing how you play.

The new Entropy Effect X expansion builds on the challenging gameplay of the original, especially with the addition of the Extreme Zone. Similar to the Entropy Zone, this feature increases the difficulty of enemies by boosting their numbers, damage, and health. Pushing the difficulty even further unlocks passive bonuses that benefit the player. You can also unlock special challenges called Vanguard Battles, which offer powerful rewards, or improve your Legacy Tactics. A temporary boost called Overdrive Mode is available for tough situations – and you’ll need it when exploring the new Depth. The new boss is truly epic, surpassing anything seen in the original Entropy Effect and delivering impressive results.

I wish the story had explored its deeper themes a bit further and perhaps included another main character in addition to Naoto. Still, if you’re new to this story, it’s definitely worth checking out and revisiting.

Despite enjoying the game overall, there’s room for improvement. The objectives could be more diverse – too often, you just have to defeat enemies to move forward. While the levels look beautiful and have great music (especially in Sakura City!), they aren’t very complex and become repetitive quickly. There aren’t enough different enemy types either, which impacts how much you’ll want to play again. Plus, the final section of the game mostly consists of fighting bosses one after another before you reach the true final boss.

BlazBlue: Entropy Effect really shines in several areas, including its exciting combat, deep character development, and extensive customization options. The game also offers a satisfying sense of progress, letting you improve your character’s health and healing, and experiment with passive abilities called Mind Crystals that offer various benefits. If you’re short on resources, you can complete extra training, but you’ll need a strong enough character and can’t repeat training exercises.

Though it might not have the lasting appeal of games like Dead Cells or Hades, BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X improves an already enjoyable action game in several meaningful ways. I wish the final difficulty level had been more developed, and another playable character alongside Naoto would have been great. Still, if you didn’t play the original, this version is definitely worth checking out repeatedly.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2026-02-17 14:21