Swordship PC Review

Swordship is an arcade title that manages to flip an entire genre on its head. Familiar with these endless runners that feature you blasting enemies away? Well guess what? There’s none of that here. Well… Not in the normal sense anyway.

You start as… Swordship, a small and thin ship whose purpose is to collect containers as it zips its way across the water. It has no weapons and therefore must rely on correct placement and perfect timing to trick the enemies into slaying each other instead. That is the magnificent crux of Swordship.

 

The lack of weapons forces the player to consistently trick the enemies into shooting each other, blowing themselves up, blowing each other up etc. As opposed to many other titles in this style, Swordship instead acts more like a high-intensity puzzle game as you ‘outthink’ the outpour of enemies and ensure that you are ready to collect those containers.

It’s endlessly fun, dodging and weaving as you make enemies blast each other away, whether it was a bomb that sat a little too close to an enemy. Or an enemy was spouting gouts of vicious flame threatening to torch your hull and instead hit that enemy that lingered behind you. Every aspect of this game feels precise despite how hectic it can become.

All of this with the addition of the very simple ‘dive’ mechanic that allows you to submerge yourself in the water and suddenly the game becomes even more interesting. Diving provides you with a whole host of merits like avoiding sight-lines, not getting blown up etc, and this in conjunction with the rest of the game has a stunning flow that makes the game so addictive and entertaining.

 

Moreover, as if to enhance the game even more, each of the containers that you can collect can be used for various purposes, either you use them for extra lives or you save them and allow yourself to get a perk. You could also bank the points and instead save them to gain permanent upgrades that give your ship unique abilities to counter the enemies.

Enemy variety is also a highlight of this title, introduced slowly at the beginning (particularly at beginner difficulty) the enemies trickle down through the various runs and environments and each enemy feels like a natural progression of the last. Going from simple laser shooting enemies to ones that can make massive forcefield walls, flamethrowers and then how crazy that end boss fight was fun and constantly keeps you on your toes. 

It should be stated however, that the game is also very hard. Despite how fun the game can be, it can also be a grind. The game is relatively unforgiving and can lead to a lot of frustration, especially if arcade titles aren’t exactly your forte. Not to mention that end boss fight. Some may find it easier than others as is often the case, but it is still challenging and overall, Swordship may not be a game for the faint of heart.

 

It would be criminal to not also mention this game’s art style, which is gorgeous. A stunning burst of color that never ceases to amaze across the three maps (Fours if you include the boss arena). The enemies are clearly indicated with the intense red of their weapons while any containers are highlighted by a long stretch of bright yellow.

Every bit of color is informative and useful for the player and makes gameplay more fun due to the game’s general readability. However, the game does lack accessibility features. The bright colors alongside the general pace of the game would make a color-blind mode an obvious choice but the game has omitted it, hopefully (if the game has continued support) a patch could possibly add the semblance of some accessibility features.

In addition to the games’ aesthetics, the music for the title is exemplary. The punchy bass in conjunction with the powerful synth combines to make an incredible soundtrack that enhances the whole experience.

 

Overall, Swordship is a fun and interesting arcade title that flips the genre on its head. Its high intensity dodge ‘em and puzzle-style action creates a fun gameplay loop. The addition of upgrades and difficulty changes adds to the title’s replayability and while the game is somewhat difficult and lacking in accessibility features, the game still manages to be an exceptional example of arcade-like brilliance. 

The biggest issue with Swordship remains to be the lack of accessibility features, even a simple color blind mode could be useful in ensuring that more people could enjoy this extraordinary title.
 

Joshua Burt (@JoshuaBurt123),
Senior Editor, NoobFeed