Merge & Blade

Merge & Blade is a unique combination of an auto battler and a puzzle game, inspired by the iconic Tetris. It was developed by the independent studio Magic Cube.

Plot

The story of Merge & Blade doesn't matter much. The game takes place in a fantasy world overtaken by monsters. The player controls a group of heroes, their objective being to reclaim castles from the invaders.

Mechanics

The gameplay of Merge & Blade revolves around battling monsters. Before each encounter we must create a squad of up to 25 soldiers; to do so, we must complete a mini-game based on Tetris, combining identical units into a single, more powerful unit. The more soldiers we combine, the stronger the resulting unit will be. With more powerful squads we can face greater challenges.

Afterwards we must choose our squad's formation and start the battle, which takes place automatically. Unit stats and their positioning determine which side will come out on top. Winning battles rewards us with gold, which can be spent on upgrading our base and the individual units.

Game modes

In addition to the primary mode, in which we reclaim captured castles from monsters, Merge & Blade also offers different gameplay variants. In Defense Mode we must hold out against successive waves of enemies for as long as we can; in Challenge Mode we face various challenges, while in Versus Mode we can battle our friend in local multiplayer. The game also offers online rankings.

Technical aspects

The pixelart visuals of Merge & Blade are simple, though colorful.