Blades of Steel

Blades of Steel is an ice hockey game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that was released by Konami in 1988. It is one of the most famous sports games of the 8-bit era and impresses with its dynamic gameplay, surprisingly good graphics and iconic sound.

Blades of Steel puts you right in the middle of the action of an ice hockey game with a total of eight fictional teams from North American cities. In contrast to many other sports games of its time, Blades of Steel places less emphasis on simulation and instead offers fast, arcade-style gameplay with a high fun factor.

The controls in Blades of Steel are simple but effective: you switch between players, pass the puck, shoot on goal and also control the goalkeeper manually. Graphically, the game impresses with smooth animations, voice output ("Face-off!" or "Fight!") and atmospheric cutscenes.

In addition to the single-player mode, the two-player mode is particularly popular in Blades of Steel - perfect for exciting duels on the virtual ice. Between the thirds, small advertising clips for other Konami games are even displayed - a nice retro gag.

Blades of Steel is fast, entertaining ice hockey fun with cult status. It combines accessible gameplay with clever details and remains one of the best sports games for the NES.