Naraka: Bladepoint’s sword-fighting battle royale makes every encounter feel exciting

Battle royale has taken many forms in video games since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in 2017. And as we get last-player-standing versions of Tetris, Bomberman, and Super Mario Bros., it’s easy to assume that the giant-map shooter battle royales will remain the exclusive territory of Fortnite, Warzone, and a few others. But what we’ve learned over the years is that a few small changes can do a lot to make this type of game feel fresh. And that’s exactly what developer 24 Entertainment is doing with Naraka: Bladepoint.

Naraka is a battle royale like many others before it. You don’t jump out of a bus like Fortnite, but you do pick your spawn point similar to Ring of Elysium. But the major difference is that while other similar games focus on shooting, Naraka puts an emphasis on melee combat.