To me Blade Runner is a faux-artsy exercise in style. But then again, deep deep down, the very first Alien is an exercise in style as well. Don't get me wrong, I was raised on those two films. I first saw them when I was 7 and loved them ever since. To me Covenant achieved things Blade Runner only superficially touched upon, though. And it incorporated its artsiness in a lot meaningful way, I'd say.
And yes, Nick is right, Blade Runner flopped extremely hard and was scorned by critics for nearly a decade.