Blood of Mehran Review: A 4.6/10 First Draft of a Good Idea

Blood of Mehran sets a player loose across sand dunes, bazaars and palaces, with a blade, a bow and the option to slip past a fight entirely. It is a single-player action RPG from Permanent Way Games, published by Blowfish Studios, and it is out now on Xbox Series X/S, PC, PlayStation 5 and Mac. It lands with a 4.6/10 on OpenCritic.

That score is the story. Blood of Mehran promises the fantasy of building a legend. What it delivers is a game that never decides what its legend is about.

Trailer, via BlowfishStudiosGames.

Sand Dunes, Bazaars and Palaces

The setting is the pitch. Blood of Mehran hands you sweeping sand dunes, bustling bazaars and sprawling palaces, and asks you to move through them as a fighter, an archer or a ghost. That is a real choice, and it is the best thing the game has going for it.

You can go blade to blade with enemies. You can pick them off from a distance with your arrows. Or you can slip by them like a ghost. Three routes through the same space, and the game lets you take any of them.

The camera sits behind the character in third person. The whole thing is built for one player, with no co-op and no multiplayer mode. Blood of Mehran is a solo game about a solo legend, and that is the correct call.

Building a Legend in Third Person

Leveling up is the spine of Blood of Mehran. You build your legend as you go, and the RPG systems are meant to make that growth feel earned. The problem is that growth is the only thing the game asks of you.

An action RPG lives on the tension between what you can do and what you have to become to do it. Blood of Mehran has the first half. The second half is where it goes quiet.

There is no companion to argue with. There is no faction to betray. There is a world to cross and enemies to cross it with. That is not nothing. It is just not a legend.

Blade, Bow and the Ghost Route

The three-way combat choice is where Blood of Mehran works hardest, and it is where the seams show most.

Blade to blade is the loudest route and the one the game seems to want you to take. Arrows give you distance, and distance is a different game. The ghost route is the most interesting idea in Blood of Mehran, because it treats the sand dunes and bazaars as a puzzle instead of a stage.

But a stealth route only pays off if the world reacts to being avoided. Blood of Mehran does not appear to care whether you fought or slipped by. The enemies reset. The palaces stay palaces. The bazaar keeps selling.

A 4.6/10 and What It Means

OpenCritic has Blood of Mehran at 4.6/10. That is the published critical score, and it is the number this review stands on.

A 4.6 is not a broken game. It is a game with a good idea and no follow-through. Blood of Mehran has the setting, the three combat routes and the leveling loop. What it lacks is a reason for any of it to matter beyond the next fight.

The comparison that matters is not Blood of Mehran against another game. It is Blood of Mehran against its own description. Sweeping sand dunes, bustling bazaars, sprawling palaces, blade or bow or ghost, level up and build your legend. Every one of those promises is on the box. The game delivers the nouns and skips the verbs.

The Part Worth Watching

The ghost route is the part worth watching. If Permanent Way Games ever builds a sequel, that is the seed. A game where the bazaar remembers you, where the palace guards learn your face, where slipping by is a strategy and not a shortcut, would be worth playing.

That game is not Blood of Mehran. This one is a first draft of a good idea, and 4.6/10 is a fair price for a first draft.

Key facts

• Title: Blood of Mehran
• Year: 2025
• Developer: Permanent Way Games
• Publisher: Blowfish Studios
• Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac
• Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
• Theme: Action
• Perspective: Third person
• Modes: Single player
• OpenCritic score: 4.6/10

Verdict: 4.6 of 10.

action RPG · Blood of Mehran · game review · OpenCritic score · Permanent Way Games · stealth combat