Gladio Mori, the new physics fighter, sends animators to where they belong: the gladiator pit

Anyone who has watched a swordfight in a film (or even fencing during the Olympics) probably has that little voice in the back of their mind saying "He was wide opened! They could have dodged!". Gladio Mori is a physics-driven, gladiatorial sandbox that's new to Early Access. You can animate your own moves.

You get a simple-looking, over-the shoulder fighting game in which medieval mannequins stab each other. Normaly, that would make for a very limited fighting game. But the most interesting part is that you can create your own moves. You can delve into the IK bones of your character and animate your puppet's movements keyframe by keyframe. Then assign those moves to different buttons.

should be able to work as long as your character's limbs are able to perform the attack. You can then test your fighting style against AI bots or online opponents, or even local split screen.

Gladio Mori’s damage modelling is a bit unsettling, as it tracks damage to arteries, muscle groups, and reflects what damage to certain parts of the body will do. These mannequins can't feel or scream pain (probably for their own good), but even a nicked-up hamstring will leave you unable to move. The human body is also full of places where a slight hit could make you bleed out quickly. All you have to do is hit a point without being hit. Simple!

Well, probably not. This is a niche that has been well-worn by other games. Toribash is the most popular game, where you control the muscles of your character in turn-based ragdoll battles. Die By The Sword, a quirky game from the late 90s that had you wagging your sword using mouse or joystick controls, made for chaotic, improvised combat. The brutal damage model is reminiscent of Square's experimental PS1 combat game Bushido Blade.

Early Access Gladio Mori is $15.99/PS13.49 and includes "all key features". Plebian Studio plans to spend the next few years expanding the number of arenas and adding Steam Workshop (which allows you to share or borrow animations from other people) as well as fleshing out the graphics. The price will increase over time, as new elements are added. Steam is a dangerous gladiator pit, even for small studios. I can only hope this quirky little fighter won't be joining those who are about die.