Muramasa: Revenant Blades has 108 swords, and its definitive update for PC wants to make sure you use them all

The Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo houses a collection of remarkable blades from hundreds of years of craftsmanship. Muramasa, a prominent figure in some of Japan's most famous battles, is not well-known despite his swords being featured in these historical events. Vanillaware's Muramasa: Revenant Blades is a 2D action game showcasing 108 swords, each with a unique skill that can be equipped on another sword only after it has had its fill of bloodshed.

The game aims to dispel the myth of the cursed swords, as Muramasa is an important character who creates powerful swords and the protagonists must collect souls for him in a cooperative relationship. Revenant Blades is the first Vanillaware release to make it to PC 17 years after the original release on the Nintendo Wii as Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

The game has been rebalanced to make more of its 108 swords relevant and features a new skill system that allows players to equip up to three ground and three air abilities on a trio of blades at any given time.

Survival in the game demands fluid strings of combos, flitting between swords to keep them from breaking, and chaining a launcher skill into a rapid series of slashes to pummel a whole gang of ninja. The game's painterly art has a timeless quality, but it was challenging to recreate for the HD release. Enemies now come in fixed levels in different areas, making it possible to steamroll weaker enemies but potentially encounter more challenging fights.

The game features a range of playable characters, each with their own stories, making it a beefy game with potential for future releases.