I’m not a huge one for fighting games. I enjoy them, but I’m not very good at them so I’m not overly familiar with the vast swathes of them that exist across the gaming sphere. Given this information, it probably won’t surprise you that I’ve never actually played a BlazBlue game before. I am familiar with it, I had a friend in Uni that was a big fan, but haven’t tried the series out.

Where I may not be very good at fighting games, I love an action roguelite. Luckily for me, BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X is an action roguelite so I can now jump into the crazy anime visual novel world created by Arc System Works in a game genre I actually understand. While the core gameplay is very similar to the original Blazblue: Entropy Effect originally developed by 91Act and released for PC and mobiles in 2024, Entropy Effect X has been expanded with a brand new story and brand new characters.

The result is a game that is a visually spectacular side-scroller, mechanically deep enough to drown in, but perhaps too steeped in its own fighting game heritage for its own good.

The Visuals

Even coming into the series fresh, the presentation in BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X makes an immediate impact. The sharp 2D art style stands out, and the developers have done a great job of making the game look like a high-budget, playable anime.

The visuals are clean and consistent, with character models that sit naturally within the neon-heavy, sci-fi environments rather than looking pasted on. The lighting effects help ground the action too; big attacks cast dynamic light that changes the mood of the scene. When the protagonist unleashes waves of crimson energy, for instance, the surroundings take on a harsh, red-tinted intensity that sells the power of the move without making the screen too messy to read.

Animation is similarly impressive. The movement feels fast and responsive, which is essential for a game heavily focused on dashing and jumping and attacks flow smoothly from one to the next. Even without knowing the history of these characters, their movement styles feel distinct and weighty. The UI complements this well; rather than overcrowding the screen, it uses a minimal, holographic style that fits the “simulation” theme and keeps the focus squarely on the combat.

The Roster

The cast is large, and more importantly, the characters feel meaningfully different. In plenty of action roguelites, swapping characters just tweaks speed and damage. Here, every fighter feels like they were designed with a distinct rulebook for how they should move, attack, and control space.

Noel Vermilion plays like a gun kata acrobat with lots of ranged harassment, constant repositioning, and a rhythm that rewards staying airborne and slippery (I found her very difficult to use). Mai Natsume (who I definitely didn’t just pick because I thought the character design was cute!) has a spear that she uses to great effect in disposing with enemies up close and at range. There’s 16 characters in all (14 for Blazblue fans and 2 others – ICEY from ICEY and The Beheaded from Dead Cells) and through a process of trial and error you’ll be sure to find one that suits your playstyle.

All of the characters have alternative outfits and different tactics to use and unlock, giving even more reason to dive back in for extra runs even if you don’t necessarily have a handle on what in the world is supposed to be going on.

The Legacy System

The standout feature, and the most addictive part of Entropy Effect X, is the integration of its Legacy System, the meta progression layer that links your runs together.

Instead of only collecting generic stat bumps, finishing a run or dying mid attempt can convert that character’s identity into a Legacy Data chip. These chips can transfer over passive boosts and flavourful mechanical twists that affect how your next character behaves.

So if you complete a run with Jin Kisaragi and earn a chip that adds freezing properties, you can slot it into a completely different style of character on the next run and suddenly you are experimenting with elemental hybrids and off meta synergies. The end result is that the character select screen becomes a strategy board where you play someone new not just to try them, but to harvest a specific mechanic for your long term build plan. It strongly encourages you to explore the whole roster, not just settle into one comfort pick.

The Story

For the narrative enthusiasts, BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X introduces a brand new storyline, where you need to find Shards of Possibility through your dives into the Sea of Possibilities. While I won’t dive into spoilers to preserve the twists for those ready to face them, it is fair to warn that the barrier to entry here is quite steep. The plot does rely somewhat on established lore, tossing around terms like with the expectation that you are already a veteran of the franchise’s complex, fifteen-year history. If you are new to the series, you might find the emotional stakes hard to grasp, as the game often prioritises fan service and deep-cut references over a standalone, beginner-friendly narrative, leaving the uninitiated feeling like they have walked into the middle of a very long, very complicated conversation

Despite this, I did have fun and if anything it’s made me quite curious to find out more about the series and it’s characters.

The Combat

Entropy Effect X does a smart job of expanding its combat depth in two directions, and the key is that it separates upgrades into systems that either apply to everyone or reinforce what makes each character unique.

Tactics are the universal layer. They are augments shared across the entire roster, and they function like special power ups that piggyback on actions you already do constantly. A dash can electrify nearby enemies, a super can trigger extra effects like falling lances of light, and a room can periodically erupt into a gravity field that drags enemies into a vortex. The important part is that Tactics add spectacle and crowd control without demanding stricter inputs or longer combo routes. You get more impact, not more finger gymnastics. They also reward good timing and positioning, since the strongest effects often depend on when and where you trigger them, not on memorising another command string, which is part of what makes power focused add ons feel satisfying in action combat systems more broadly.

Potentials are the character specific layer, tied to each avatar’s signature kit. These upgrades do the more flavourful work for each character: boosting damage, speed, and range, unlocking follow ups, extending invulnerability frames, and sometimes adding transformative effects like HP regeneration on hit. Because every character’s baseline rhythm is different, Potentials naturally create new strings and combos that feel bespoke, not generic. Over a long run, they are what pushes a character from “I understand their buttons” to “I have built my own version of them”.

In practice, the combination lands well: Tactics let you shape your run’s overall utility and chaos management, while Potentials let you deepen mastery and identity within a specific fighter.

Sometimes, however, Entropy Effect X sometimes leans so hard into fighting game style execution that it forgets the realities of a roguelite screen. In a fighter, demanding command inputs and precise routes feels fair – even if I’m inherently quite bad at it. In a trap filled room with multiple enemies and overlapping projectiles of a roguelite, the same precision can become punishing.

Some characters add extra mental load with resource systems like gauges and conditional mechanics that feel exciting in theory, but overwhelming when you are also tracking lasers, bullets, explosions, and off screen threats. I had moments where I was not outplayed by an enemy so much as outmaneuvered by my own fingers, attempting a simple crowd control option and getting a different move because I had forgotten the last button in a sequence.

The skill ceiling is high, and mastery is rewarding. But the skill floor is noticeably steeper than genre benchmarks like Dead Cells or Hades, and that may be the make or break point for players who want improvisational roguelite flow more than fighting game discipline.

Final Thoughts

Even though I’m not familiar with the story or history of BlazBlue I had a very fun time with Entropy Effect X. It is genuinely fun to play, offering a loop of combat that is as challenging as it is visually stunning. The large Roster of very different characters and the interplay of the Legacy system make every run feel like a new experiment in breaking the game’s limits. And the Entropy system unlocked upon winning a run lets you push the difficulty as hard as you can.

However, that brilliance comes with a specific entry fee. The game’s insistence on fighting game execution standards can lead to moments of frustration amidst the roguelite chaos, and the dense, unexplained lore may leave newcomers feeling like outsiders at a private party. If you are willing to look past the jargon and master the inputs, there is an incredible action game here waiting to be unlocked.

BlazBlue: Entropy Effect X was reviewed on PS5, Gamer Social Club would like to thank the developers and publisher for the code.

The game releases on the 12th February 2026, on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S, with the game also joining Xbox Game Pass on the same day across Ultimate and PC tiers.