Marvel’s Bladewas announced at the 2023 Game Awards — a major win for any fans of uphill ice skating. The upcoming action game will follow the titular vampire slayer as he stalks his prey on the streets of Paris. The game will be developed byBethesda subsidiary Arkane Lyon, which is known for its work on theDishonoredseries andDeathloop.
Besides a reveal trailer and a tease for Blade’s character design, details about this game are sparse. Most of what is known about the project is that it will be a single-player third-person experience with an original narrative. Though, based on a new rumor,Marvel’s Blade’s plot could be taking quite a bit of inspiration from a lesser-known comic storyline.
Blade’s Superpowers Could Come With Super Consequences
First shared in arecent video from the Double-Barrel Gaming YouTube channel, an anonymous source revealed that the developers behindMarvel’s Bladeare supposedly toying around with the idea of a morality system akin to that of theInfamousseries. This could change by the time the game launches, or it could simply be nothing more than a rumor. That being said, integrating such a system into the game would make plenty of sense given the track records of both Arkane and the character Blade.
Morality Systems in Past Arkane Games
Arkane has long prioritized player choice in its games when it comes to both level design and narrative. This can especially be seen in theDishonoredseries. Neither Corvo Attano nor Emily Kaldwin are presented as inherently evil protagonists, but players can choose to take them and the entire city of Dunwall down a destructive path thanks toDishonored’s chaos system. Corvo and Emily are given vast arsenals of potentially deadly weapons and abilities, but killing is completely optional in the games.
Running through alleys, gunning down guards, and summoning a swarm of rats to eat them might be easier than sneaking through that environment, knocking the guards out, and hiding their unconscious bodies to avoid being discovered. However, going the lethal route will have noticeable consequences. The more chaosCorvo and Emilycreate during their time in the games, the darker an ending their stories will have.
Blade’s Morality and the Impact of the Darkhold
Blade is typically depicted as a heroat best and an anti-hero at worst, but his morals have been corrupted on occasion. During a 1993 comic storyline, Blade found and read a passage from the Darkhold — an ancient spellbook filled to the brim with dark magic — that he believed would help him to destroy all monsters. Under the influence of the passage, the vampire hunter gained the ability to steal supernatural abilities from his opponents and became known as Switchblade.
Though these new powers allowed Switchblade to easily dispatch his foes, his continued reliance on them caused him to fall further and further under the malignant sway of the Darkhold. He became more monstrous in both body and mind. His bloodlust grew, and the feral Switchblade widened his scope beyond monsters as he began targeting anyone with supernatural abilities. Switchblade even killed the originalGhost Rider, Johnny Blaze, during his rampage. Switchblade was eventually defeated, but not before he had already left a trail of carnage in his wake.
Implementing a Morality System in Marvel’s Blade
If Arkane is considering adding a morality system to its upcoming Marvel game, the Switchblade arc provides the perfect opportunity to do so. Arkane is known for giving its protagonists strange, mystical abilities that allow each player to navigate gameplay scenarios however they see fit. Adding the Darkhold toMarvel’s Bladeopens up avenues for Arkane to integrate similarly engaging powers into the game alongsideBlade’s traditional arsenal.
The Darkhold could then make way for branching pathways in the sandbox and the story. Whenever Blade takes down a vampire, the Darkhold presents him — and therefore the player — with a choice. He could take the creature’s power, like how Colt could absorbenemy slabs inDeathloop. Doing so would grant Blade strength at the expense of his willpower and sanity. He could also choose to resist the Darkhold’s thrall. This would maintain his composure while keeping Paris safe from a bloodthirsty Blade, but it would ensure that all future fights are more difficult. Arkane has proven that this sort of game design is right in their wheelhouse, and the nuance of potentially turning Blade evil in a playthrough would help to greatly differentiateMarvel’s Bladefrom more straightforward superhero gaming narratives like those in theMarvel’s Spider-Manseries.
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.
