Heavenly Sword

 PlayStation 3
  • Publisher: SCEA
  • Release Date: Sep 12, 2007
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 633 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 462 out of 633
  2. Mixed: 104 out of 633
  3. Negative: 67 out of 633
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  1. RichardMitchell
    Aug 22, 2007
    1
    Ever since the demo of Heavenly Sword was released, it has been called "Heavenly Flop," because the "in-game" "Playable," graphics aren't nearly as good as the "Cut-Sceen" "Non-Playable" graphics...also, the gameplay of Heavenly Sword is very clumsy--it plays like a "button massher," which requires no true skill. There are also graphic framerate problems with Heavenly Sword. SomeEver since the demo of Heavenly Sword was released, it has been called "Heavenly Flop," because the "in-game" "Playable," graphics aren't nearly as good as the "Cut-Sceen" "Non-Playable" graphics...also, the gameplay of Heavenly Sword is very clumsy--it plays like a "button massher," which requires no true skill. There are also graphic framerate problems with Heavenly Sword. Some reviews rate Heavenly Sword as a good game, while others rate it poorly. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that Heavenly Sword is receving, "Mixed Reviews." In other words, it certainly isn't considered anything special by everyone who plays it.… Expand
  2. MaksF.
    Sep 24, 2007
    0
    Anyone trying to say this game isn't repetitive is probably trying to justify buying a $600 game based solely on hype. This game is terrible. The forced use of the six-axis controller for throwing/shooting mini-games is frustrating and badly-implemented, especially with the catapults and the targets on them. You hit every other part of the frame, nothing happens, but you hit the Anyone trying to say this game isn't repetitive is probably trying to justify buying a $600 game based solely on hype. This game is terrible. The forced use of the six-axis controller for throwing/shooting mini-games is frustrating and badly-implemented, especially with the catapults and the targets on them. You hit every other part of the frame, nothing happens, but you hit the catapults that the enemy mysteriously installed on the catapults' weak spots and the things suddenly fall apart. The enemies' AI is pathetic, the main character's hair looks godawful, especially next to everything else, the clothes were textured terribly and look like car tarps or plastic, the "heavenly sword" is unbelievably badly designed and makes no sense from the perspective of anyone who knows anything about weaponry, and the game is terrible. I honestly don't understand how anyone could rate this highly unless they're severely biased or trying to justify their purchase. From a game design perspective, it's a failure on almost every level, and the same goes for it graphically.… Expand
  3. dabyd1304
    Mar 31, 2017
    3
    ¿Como puso ser uno de los títulos de lanzamiento de PS3?
    Ya conocía la escasa calidad de la tercera consola de Sony. La potencia de la consola es bastante lamentable, su construcción y periféricos son mediocres y su interfaz parece construida por alguien que no ha sabido adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos.
    Sin embargo, lo que importan son sus juegos. Uno de los primeros en llegar a la    ¿Como puso ser uno de los títulos de lanzamiento de PS3?
    Ya conocía la escasa calidad de la tercera consola de Sony. La potencia de la consola es bastante lamentable, su construcción y periféricos son mediocres y su interfaz parece construida por alguien que no ha sabido adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos.

    Sin embargo, lo que importan son sus juegos. Uno de los primeros en llegar a la consola fue este título de Ninja Theory. Sabíamos por donde iban a ir los tiros, por una suerte de Ninja Gaiden alternativo. Y básicamente tiene todas las carencias que poseían los juegos de esa saga.

    No era de esperar un gran guión, ni nada nunca visto antes. Heavenly Sword está diseñado como demo de las capacidades técnicas de la consola. Y como tal, es donde fracasa estrepitosamente. El juego está completamente roto por intentar buscar un buen apartado visual. Por culpa de esto, se han descuidado el resto de apartados, incluido el mas importante a nivel técnico, la fluidez.

    Podría haber sido un juego de aprobado justito pero es completamente injugable. No se como en su momento se pudo pasar y dejar que el resto de compañías hicieran lo mismo al comienzo de vida de PS3.    … Expand
  4. RyanO.
    Oct 10, 2007
    3
    I thought the game, over all, was weak. Short story line. Drops in framerates. Yes, the graphics are stunning, but come on: do you got to see a movie because it is visually stunning? No. The game is weak in every aspect but graphics. Graphics should not make up for junk.
  5. Matthias
    Sep 29, 2007
    4
    Could have been a good game, but as it turned out now it sadly isnt too much fun. Good visuals at the cost of performance and a repetetice and boring game. Yes i dont like it. 4 out of 10 from me since this game still feels overrated.
  6. KeithM.
    Sep 19, 2007
    0
    This game is just another poor sony first party exclusive. And all of the people giving it good reviews are just justifying spending 600 dollars on a piece of machinery with no good games to play on it. Ill stick to Bioshock, because that is a truly great game. And say what you want about microsoft, but they make damn sure that the people who buy a 360 are more than satisfied with the This game is just another poor sony first party exclusive. And all of the people giving it good reviews are just justifying spending 600 dollars on a piece of machinery with no good games to play on it. Ill stick to Bioshock, because that is a truly great game. And say what you want about microsoft, but they make damn sure that the people who buy a 360 are more than satisfied with the first party games they are releasing. Bottom line: MIcrosoft willing to pay money for us to be happy vs. Sony who is cheap and think that their "superior" system will persuade developers. Heavenly Sword: Mediocre in all aspects, and that chick is no kratos.… Expand
  7. CevdetGunbey
    Aug 17, 2007
    3
    Not very next gen if you CAN'T JUMP.
    Fight and run, jump... Nope can't do that.
    Thats the sort of thing that should be being wiped out this time around, along with invisible walls to keep the player on the predetermined path, killed enemies that vanish into thin air as you watch and racers where you can plough through other cars, buildings and scenery but then get brought to a    Not very next gen if you CAN'T JUMP.
    Fight and run, jump... Nope can't do that.
    Thats the sort of thing that should be being wiped out this time around, along with invisible walls to keep the player on the predetermined path, killed enemies that vanish into thin air as you watch and racers where you can plough through other cars, buildings and scenery but then get brought to a standstill when you hit a small rock on the side of the road.    … Expand
  8. MasJ.
    Jan 13, 2008
    3
    I had high expectations of this game but it was disappointing. The facial animtations were good but there were too many unnecessary close-ups just to show that off. The two main characters are perpetual victims, going from one depressing scene to the next. Even with the most powerful sword around its one tragic scene after another with bosses mocking along the way. No witty dialogue from I had high expectations of this game but it was disappointing. The facial animtations were good but there were too many unnecessary close-ups just to show that off. The two main characters are perpetual victims, going from one depressing scene to the next. Even with the most powerful sword around its one tragic scene after another with bosses mocking along the way. No witty dialogue from the heroine. Compare that to the cool confidence of Kratos and its a let-down. Boss battles are frustrating exercises in perseverence. Having to slay 300-400 enemies with shields to block most of your hits near the end is another frustrating and needless exercise of a wasted hour or two.… Expand
  9. steveANARCHY
    Apr 28, 2011
    4
    i picked this game up as a budget buy since the psn is still down, i figured i'll give it a try. i'm in the 2nd act, and i already want to turn it off. so far the story is not all that great, the fighting is boring. over use of the sixaxis, i understand this was one of ps3's 1st games and they wanted to show off the sixaxis, but it 's really ridiculous. the graphics are okay, not great.i picked this game up as a budget buy since the psn is still down, i figured i'll give it a try. i'm in the 2nd act, and i already want to turn it off. so far the story is not all that great, the fighting is boring. over use of the sixaxis, i understand this was one of ps3's 1st games and they wanted to show off the sixaxis, but it 's really ridiculous. the graphics are okay, not great. the cutscenes are like watching a bad 70's japanese movie, lips move, and the dialogue comes when the lips stop moving. the best part about this game is that i can get my money back for it. don't get me started on having to block while in a certain stance.… Expand
  10. Broyax
    Apr 12, 2017
    2
    Encore un "bats-les-tous" idiot (c'est inhérent au genre) mais surtout chiant comme la pluie un dimanche de novembre à Dunkerque. La caméra n'a que deux degrés de liberté (à gauche et à droite) ce qui est très insuffisant pour appréhender l'environnement.

    Certes le jeu n'est pas trop vilain graphiquement et la version française intégrale est de bonne facture mais on peine à être motivé    Encore un "bats-les-tous" idiot (c'est inhérent au genre) mais surtout chiant comme la pluie un dimanche de novembre à Dunkerque. La caméra n'a que deux degrés de liberté (à gauche et à droite) ce qui est très insuffisant pour appréhender l'environnement.

    Certes le jeu n'est pas trop vilain graphiquement et la version française intégrale est de bonne facture mais on peine à être motivé par cette histoire grotesque tout droit sortie d'un mauvais Soul Calibur et cette ambiance sino-japonaise neuneu et déjà rabâchée mille fois : on s'en fout totalement. Un navet de plus sur la PlaieStassion3.    … Expand
  11. AwesomeH.
    Sep 12, 2007
    0
    Absolute crap this is a god of war wanna be without the good story or graphics keep ur money and buy metal gear solid instead
  12. Barry
    Feb 19, 2008
    4
    Graphics: Some amazing looking cutscenes........ Storyline: Pretty good...... Gameplay: Extremelly shallow and unoriginal. Most of the time it just feels like you're playing just to ge tto the next section of a movie. The game basically discates to you, giving you a feeling of almost 0% control as you are just pressing buttons to pull off little moves that get so boring quickly. Very Graphics: Some amazing looking cutscenes........ Storyline: Pretty good...... Gameplay: Extremelly shallow and unoriginal. Most of the time it just feels like you're playing just to ge tto the next section of a movie. The game basically discates to you, giving you a feeling of almost 0% control as you are just pressing buttons to pull off little moves that get so boring quickly. Very glad i got my money back and traded it in for Halo 3 on the same day. Some people may like it. But i strongly suggest you rent it before you buy!… Expand
  13. KDep
    Sep 15, 2007
    4
    Gameplay is very similar to God of War - but much less involved / robust and far shorter. This is a definition of a rental title. It took me around 6.5 hours from start to finish - easy to accomplish in a weekend. Visually stunning, music and sound are decent, but gameplay is short and has a "I've already done this" feel to it. Wait for a significant price drop or (better) - rent it.
  14. LarryM.
    Sep 23, 2007
    3
    Button-mashing Central.
  15. harlotjonny
    Sep 4, 2012
    4
    Ok game, it's pretty crappy! Boring controls, it's your average hack n' slash. Nothing new, amazing landscapes and graphics but that's about it. The combat system gets boring within the first ten minutes and very minor combos you can perform. Characters are fun, yet very stereotypical.
  16. metalboy31
    Oct 8, 2012
    3
    This game is beautifully designed. Beautiful landscapes, remarkable fortresses, epic battles. But the problem here are the quicktime events. The game doesn't respond to it. First time it doesn't respond, the boss automatically gains life becoming stronger. Avoid the game
  17. fludziom
    Jul 23, 2016
    0
    This game can’t go without a bad review. For me it’s the worst game in recent memory. Surly the worst ps3 exclusive. I’m deeply disappointed with Ninja Theory that they released turd like this. I played ‘Enslaved’ by them and it wasn’t nearly as bad. I was expecting the same kind of experience. I was very wrong. The only good thing in this failed God of War clone are the visuals and maybeThis game can’t go without a bad review. For me it’s the worst game in recent memory. Surly the worst ps3 exclusive. I’m deeply disappointed with Ninja Theory that they released turd like this. I played ‘Enslaved’ by them and it wasn’t nearly as bad. I was expecting the same kind of experience. I was very wrong. The only good thing in this failed God of War clone are the visuals and maybe the main antagonist. He was well-acted was sometimes funny. Everything else has been created to frustrate you. Starting with inhumanly unintuitive controls, through the most ridiculous shooting mechanics I have ever seen in a game, to insanely frustrating boss fights. You thought Dark Souls was difficult, think again, play this mess and you will see. Dark Souls is a cakewalk comparing to this. I finished Darks Souls three times I know what I’m talking about. Last chapter of this crap is one gigantic boss fight. There is no difficulty setting. Most of the game is rather easy and frustrating because of the shooting mechanic, but nothing comparing to the final boss fight. The final boss is absurdly difficult. One of the worst difficulty spikes in the gaming history. It gets better. When you thought you beat the bastard there comes a QTE sequence, if you fail it, guess what, the boss gains a health boost and you need to keep fighting. After countless attempts I finally beat it. Up until the boss fight I had spent 6 hours playing the game. Beating the boss took me ridiculous 5 hours on top of that and I’m not terrible at games. I was so hyped for the upcoming Hellblade from Ninja Theory, but now I’m seriously worried it would become something like this. Very disappointing game. Absolute waste of time and money… Expand
  18. cradlenrain
    Mar 3, 2020
    0
    I've been looking forward for AGES to play Heavenly Sword. As Enslaved was one of my favorite games of all time and Ninja Theory knows how to make thought-provoking story given games with incredible voice acting. Finally got PS now and first game I streamed up to play was Heavenly Sword...

    Good lord. The screen tearing every 2 seconds made it hard to focus and the fps drop made it feel    I've been looking forward for AGES to play Heavenly Sword. As Enslaved was one of my favorite games of all time and Ninja Theory knows how to make thought-provoking story given games with incredible voice acting. Finally got PS now and first game I streamed up to play was Heavenly Sword...

    Good lord. The screen tearing every 2 seconds made it hard to focus and the fps drop made it feel like I was playing Crisis 1 on my old ass potato PC.

    -Terrible performance issues/screen tearing. I felt like R Kelly's **** in prison watching this game on my TV.

    - I can forgive the graphics aging badly since it is a game made in 2007, but no mercy for choosing that colorless gray bland palette so many game developers go for to save memory. Everything in this game is **** gray. With the exception of Nariko and Kai and Bohan and sneaky sneaky snake chick every wall, enemy and weapon is as colorful and exciting as Joe Biden giving a speech.

    -The AWFUL AWFUL generic button mashing combat.

    -The GOD awful delayed QTE boss ending fights. Took me about 20 QTE fails during the flying Fox fight even though I was clearly pressing the buttons when they prompted.

    -The worst aiming system ever implemented in a video game. I've never raged so hard trying to complete basic 3 glyphs in any mission that involved Kai's aiming. If every aiming sequence in this game was removed this game would be a solid 6/10 carried by its story and voice acting.

    The positives

    +Bohan. This guy in my opinion is the best voice actor I've ever seen. Seeing him come to life with his voice and motion capture in Heavenly Sword is a sight to behold. The scenes he has with Flying Fox are hilarious.

    + The story metaphors about feudal China wanting to kill their daughters at birth. The perfect comparisons between strong Nariko and that fat ugly son Bohan has implement it even further.

    + When Nariko "breaks the 4th wall" at the end of a chapter and looks towards you(or the Gods of her sword) to not abandon her.

    + Kai's severe damaged state is adorable and reminds me of Ed from Cowboy Bebop. The inspiration is great.

    Overall I looked forward to this game forever and the surprise was that it was the most disappointing game I have ever played in years. It reminded me of No More Heroes 2. How great hype and marketing can overshadow how bad a video game can be.    … Expand
  19. TheRued
    Apr 21, 2013
    2
    Wow, quite impressive. Heavenly's main character ends up being the least intersting entity in her own game. That particular effort to produce a strong female character goes straight to hell when the game starts up... and she's DYING! Dying because of a lame Soul Edge clone, no less. She's mean-spirited, downright annoying whenever she speaks, and she controls like a mother! thanks to theWow, quite impressive. Heavenly's main character ends up being the least intersting entity in her own game. That particular effort to produce a strong female character goes straight to hell when the game starts up... and she's DYING! Dying because of a lame Soul Edge clone, no less. She's mean-spirited, downright annoying whenever she speaks, and she controls like a mother! thanks to the clumsy fighting mechanics. You want her to die! A lot! Points to Serkis' King Bohan for stealing every scene, not that he had any competition...… Expand
  20. AJCk19
    Jul 12, 2021
    4
    The female Kratos, except not as good. Try playing a demo before you buy. So in this way you can see what I'm saying.
  21. MaxPayneIsGod
    Jul 17, 2014
    1
    Horribly dated and downright unplayable. It had a little bit of potential but it's another case of a rushed launched title and God of War clone. 1/10
  22. Vellinaria
    Oct 19, 2021
    3
    Maybe the worst hack and slash I've ever played. Horrible performance, the shooting with the sixaxes is TERRIBLE. Maybe 1 dollar sale is ok.
  23. Abnikum
    Jul 22, 2021
    0
    One of the worst games on ps3
    A terrible action movie, the character has no response, the feeling that I am playing with a log that even a roll cannot do normally, the combo simply does not exist, the hero without his sword cannot do anything to the enemy

Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Best PS3 Game of 2007
7
#7 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2007
6
#6 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 64 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 64
  3. Negative: 0 out of 64
  1. Play Magazine
    100
    What MotorStorm has become to racing and Odin Sphere to action role-playing, Heavenly Sword is now to 3D action: Perfection. [Sept 2007, p.17]
  2. GamePro
    90
    So, while it doesn't eclipse the greatness of the original title that inspired it, Heavenly Sword is still a fun, engaging, and most importantly, exclusive PS3 title that Sony fanboys can brag to 360 fanboys about.
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  3. IGN
    70
    Heavenly Sword's presentation is stellar and nicely ties the action sequences together, but we just wish that the same amount of care that went into these cutscenes were applied to the game's pacing.
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