- DEVELOPER: Permanent Way Game Co.
- PUBLISHER: Blowfish Studios
- PLATFORMS: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
- GENRE: Action RPG
- RELEASE DATE: October 7, 2025
- STARTING PRICE: 24,99€
- REVIEWED VERSION: PC
I don’t get why some small indie studios start huge projects without enough money. The result often feels rushed, unfinished, and not worth playing. Right when I saw the first trailer for Blood of Mehran, I knew it would be a letdown. If the studio had a budget like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blood of Mehran could have been the perfect mix of Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed and easily won over a lot of fans. Unfortunately, if you want an exciting new game to try, you can find much better titles out there.
While playing, I honestly felt the team put most of their effort and money (maybe 70% of the budget) into the world-building. They used all of Unreal Engine 5’s power to create stunning backgrounds and colors. However, everything else quickly falls apart. Even though the combat has a few fun moments, the game has problems like the music being too loud and overdone, very poor voice acting, occasional slowdown issues, and truly useless enemy AI.
Basic Action RPG Combat Flawed by Bad AI
Let’s start with the story. The narrative is about Mehran, a legendary warrior trying to get revenge after his family is killed. It takes inspiration from Arabian Nights folk tales. Sadly, the game quickly loses the plot by jumping from scene to scene just to push Mehran toward his revenge. The entire story feels rushed and badly done; it never truly uses the depth of the folk tales. Overall, the way the story is told leaves you wanting much more, as it never reaches its full potential.
Gameplay uses typical action RPG combat. But, the skill tree is disappointing; the upgrades for your skills and basic stats (like stronger attacks or more experience) feel useless the more you play. The combat uses light and heavy attacks, dodging, parrying, and weapon-specific moves (like using a shield to block shots). The whole system feels old and it’s hard to get excited about fights because the enemy AI usually just stands there watching you attack others.
Parrying works well, but everything else is frustrating. Also, you almost always have to fight many enemies at once. While the stealth options work, you can ignore them completely. It’s much easier to just run in and fight than to try and sneak around and even though the stealth mechanics work properly, the enemy’s awareness is terrible: if one guard sees you, all the others instantly rush to that same spot to attack.
The game has a decent range of enemies, including those with shields, assassins that use different moves, and archers that add some challenge. The combat also gets exciting with bigger, stronger mini-bosses and main bosses. Outside of fighting, however, exploration is dull. The levels are mostly straight lines with only a few small things to collect. Moving through the world feels empty because the game constantly guides you; you have no freedom to jump around or search for secret rooms. The whole experience lacks a good rhythm and feels very basic.
You can probably forgive the combat; since it’s an indie game, you don’t expect a lot, and the fighting works well enough. However, the visual presentation is truly disappointing. Blood of Mehran features environments that look like ancient Mesopotamia, and while this seemed interesting at first, it quickly loses its appeal. The game’s overall look is very dull, with bad facial animations and forgettable style choices that don’t fit together well. Everyone looks the same, and as you play more, you start to wonder why the visuals became so bad.
Sometimes the game runs well, and other times it doesn’t, depending on the area and what is happening in the background. Overall, I didn’t have many big performance problems, only a few frame rate drops and glitches. The biggest issues are the repetitive gameplay and the cinematic scenes. The cutscenes don’t fit the game’s theme and look poorly made, with graphics that jump from bad to good. In the end, Blood of Mehran tries hard to be good, but it’s not worth the price for what you get.
Pros
- Exciting Boss Fights: The combat becomes “exciting with bigger, stronger mini-bosses and main bosses.”
- Enemy Variety: The game has a “decent range of enemies,” including those with shields, assassins, and archers that “add some challenge.”
- Combat Works ‘Well Enough’: Despite its flaws, the fighting “works well enough,” and its basic functionality is forgivable for an indie title.
Cons
- Rushed & Undeveloped Story: The narrative “feels rushed and badly done,” quickly losing the plot and failing to use the depth of its Arabian Nights inspiration.
- Old-Feeling Combat System: The action RPG combat system “feels old,” with frustrating elements outside of parrying.
- Poorly Made Cutscenes: The cinematic scenes and cutscenes “don’t fit the game’s theme” and look “poorly made,” with jumping graphic quality.
- Dull Exploration & Lack of Freedom: Exploration is “dull,” levels are mostly “straight lines,” and the player has “no freedom to jump around or search for secret rooms.”
- Inconsistent Performance: The game sometimes runs well and “other times it doesn’t,” depending on the area.
Review copy provided by the publisher
2.3
