Relating to epic medieval fight, few franchises do it higher than Chivalry. Designed to imitate the largest medieval battles seen on the silver display, the first-person slasher collection places gamers proper into the warmth of brutal, gory, and unpredictable combat the place they combat on huge battlefields to say victory for themselves and their workforce. Now, Half Sword, an upcoming medieval fight simulator on Steam, seems to copy that very same gore-filled, adrenaline-pumping depth and mix it with the physics-based mechanics of the hilarious and common occasion recreation Gang Beasts.
Hafl Sword Video games’ Half Sword is taking Chivalry‘s genuine medieval fight to the subsequent degree by giving it a Gang Beasts twist for somewhat further mayhem. Nevertheless, fairly than throwing gamers into an enormous battlefield as Chivalry does, Half Sword focuses on close-range encounters the place physics dictate practically all the pieces that occurs and infrequently flip duels into awkward, brutal scrambles. That blend of brutal realism and hilarity has already precipitated Half Sword to unfold quickly throughout social media and push it up Steam‘s wishlist charts with over 600,000 wishlists already, particularly as gamers examine its free, floppy fight to one thing nearer to Gang Beasts than what’s anticipated from a conventional sword recreation.
Half Sword’s Options at a Look
- PHYSICS-BASED MEDIEVAL COMBAT SIMULATOR with absolutely simulated limb and weapon motion.
- FREEFORM MOUSE-DRIVEN COMBAT the place swings, blocks, and thrusts are managed by your inputs fairly than canned animations.
- HISTORICALLY INSPIRED ARMS AND ARMOR from Fifteenth-century Europe, with diverse weapons and equipment.
- BRUTAL, VISCERAL MELEE that features graphic blood, dismemberment, and intense close-quarters fight.
- MULTIPLE GAMEPLAY MODES like Gauntlet, Abyss (wave survival), and Free Mode (open fight eventualities).
- SINGLE-PLAYER FOCUS with rising challenges and development by way of more durable opponents.
- DEEP LEARNING CURVE the place mastering physics management and weapon dealing with is a part of the expertise.
Half Sword Feels Like Chivalry With out Coaching Wheels
Your management over weapons is real, as we now have crafted a fight system primarily based on the experience and suggestions of Historic European Martial Arts (HEMA) practitioners and sword fencers.
Chivalry has all the time been broadly thought to be having a excessive ability ceiling, with fight that’s simple to leap into however difficult to grasp. Its fundamental mechanics like swings, blocks, and counters are intuitive sufficient, however studying how one can learn your opponent effectively, manage stamina, and select the correct motion when it issues is a special story. Its greatest problem is aggressive mastery greater than execution, and that is the place it differs probably the most from Half Sword.
In Half Sword, successful the combat in opposition to enemy gamers is simply half the battle. With its freeform, physics-based controls, the place each limb and swing is influenced by mouse motion, the distinction between random flailing and precise proficiency is an exceedingly lengthy street—a journey that would take gamers dozens and even lots of of hours to finish. In keeping with a number of remarks from those that have performed the tech demo for Half Sword, just like the feedback below a Reddit post by Subject-Cranberry-93, the ability ceiling is “insanely excessive” in the event you concentrate on precision and management fairly than goofy swings.
In keeping with Half Sword‘s Steam description, gamers have “real management” over their weapons, with mechanics that have been impressed by the experience and suggestions of Historic European Martial Arts practitioners and sword fencers. The purpose, in fact, is immersion, as it is a system designed to let gamers truly “really feel” each sword conflict. “All animations and maneuvers are meticulously designed with a robust basis in realism,” its description reads, in order that gamers can “immerse themselves within the intricacies of swordplay and study the artwork of the sport’s fight mechanics.”
All of that stated, the 2 video games are related in how they depict medieval combat as one thing ugly, exhausting, and barely sleek. Fights in each Chivalry and Half Sword have a tendency to interrupt down into determined scrambles fairly than clear exchanges, and there is little or no romanticism in both method. In essence, each video games present how, regardless of precision, medieval battles are messy affairs the place metal collides and our bodies stumble and flail. Half Sword definitely leans more durable into physics and awkwardness, however at their core, each it and Chivalry deal with medieval fight as one thing violent and unpredictable.
Half Sword Turns Gang Beasts-Fashion Physics Into Medieval Chaos
Given Half Sword‘s want for as a lot realism as doable, each motion within the recreation can lead to some extremely goofy animations and encounters till gamers have discovered the ropes. Like Gang Beasts, Half Sword‘s combat is entirely physics-based, even when that physics makes battles look clumsy or unflattering. Gamers would possibly initially overcommit, lose stability, or get twisted up in ways in which finally break the immersion however concurrently produce some hilarious and memorable clashes. Like every actual sword combat, no encounter in Half Sword is supposed to remain clear for lengthy, and gamers are ultimately reacting to their very own momentum fairly than executing exact responses to their opponents’ actions. It is messy and awkward, but it surely’s additionally in keeping with the sport’s aim of constructing each motion really feel genuine.
Be Warned: Half Sword is a particularly violent and gory recreation. I imply… we do have a Chief Blood Officer.
If physics did not already make it really feel actual sufficient, Half Sword even goes the additional mile with its gore as effectively, to the purpose that Half Sword Video games felt the necessity to embrace a disclaimer within the recreation’s Steam description. “Witness skull-crushing blows, limb dismemberment, and ugly shows of entrails and bloodshed,” it reads, and whereas that does not essentially echo Gang Beasts‘ cartoonish violence, it exhibits what occurs when the physics-based fight of the occasion recreation collides with the realism Half Sword goes for. Because the developer boldly states on the sport’s Steam web page, “We aren’t afraid to point out the brutal nature of medieval fight with in-depth blood and gore options.”
The most important distinction between Half Sword and Gang Beasts, nonetheless, is likely to be that whereas Gang Beasts‘ physics-based fight system is meant to be humorous, Half Sword‘s seems supposed to be immersive. This does not imply gamers cannot have enjoyable with it and even snort on the outcomes, in fact, however there’s nothing in Half Sword‘s description that makes it sound like it’s meant to be a comedic recreation greater than an immersive medieval experience. Fairly than aiming slapstick or parody, its aim is to supply gamers the distinctive expertise of combating brutal tournaments in Fifteenth-century Europe.
In brief, Half Sword is the proper recreation for many who need the high skill ceiling and management of Gang Beasts and the medieval realism of Chivalry. It takes concepts from each video games and strips them right down to make them really feel like something however snug and secure. Its fight is demanding, gamers are vulnerable to numerous errors, and mastering it will possibly solely come by way of loads of time and repetition. It is uncompromising with a tinge of humor, and that is precisely why Half Sword has already discovered an viewers so rapidly on Steam. It is not essentially making an attempt to attraction to everybody, however for gamers who need medieval fight to really feel heavy, chaotic, and actual, it provides one thing few video games are keen to try.
Half Sword launches on Steam in Q1 2026.
