Blades of Steel took hockey and pushed it to arcade extremes: fast skating, exaggerated shots, and fistfights as an integral part of the rules, not a marginal penalty. That balance between sport and spectacle made it an instant genre reference and one of the reasons Konami earned its reputation in sports games.
It still plays well today: controls respond with precision, matches are short and intense, and that mix of hockey and street brawl perfectly sums up the philosophy of 80s arcades.
If you liked this one
