Swordship Critic Reviews

Swordship is a great example of contemporary arcade. It does one thing, it does it well, and it's incredibly fulfilling, challenging, and exhilarating. Smugglers of the post-climate change future against corporations, pirates at the service of the least, always ready to take risks and with a great sense of entertainment. Great management of the risk / benefit component, precise controls, audiovisual remarkable, with each game over generating more sense of revenge than frustration. A truly remarkable work in its compactness.

Swordship is fresh in concept and design, a thrilling ride that has been crafted with real attention to detail. It’s certainly a challenge, but nevertheless a rewarding one, with an addictive grip that is hard to resist.

The platform and theme are simple, but Swordship is not easy. Its take on shmups is unique, its visuals are interesting and its story is just enough to inspire the whole “be the hero” ethos. If you like dodge-em games this one is a good addition to your game library.

Swordship is a clever, original, and interesting concept. It looks good, sounds good, and plays well. There’s just that RNG irritant that means, while you can learn enemy behaviours, you sometimes get lost in the fray. Even the camera shifts and the slow down (which can be disabled) can occasionally disorientate you from your position, resulting in sudden death. At the same time, while imperfect, its evolving and increasingly intense nature has major appeal for score hunters. And, when you do grab that container, trip under a set of lasers, detonate three mines sequentially and blow the screen sky-high, it earns itself an action badge of honour.

While Swordship has a good premise and an attractive presentation, it’s ultimately a little too thin for the asking price. I think there’s something to the dodge, dip, dive, and dodge gameplay that is at the core of the experience, you’ll likely get your fill of it within an evening or two. Games of this sort really rely on variety to keep creating fun situations run after run, and Swordship falls a bit short in that regard. Cool only carries you so far in the end.

Brisk, stylish and compulsive, this is everything an arcade game should be.