Info about Half Sword:

Official game description:
Future Feature List
===================
About the Game
==============
**Half Sword** is an immersive, physics-based medieval combat simulator that offers players a unique experience of becoming a commoner-turned-knight, **fighting brutal tournaments in 15th-century Europe**. With innovative gameplay mechanics, you can **wield your weapon with precision using your mouse**, feeling the intensity of each clash as you ascend the ranks to face formidable opponents.
Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of history with our **meticulously crafted collection of historically accurate arms and armor**. Experience the diverse and vibrant array of armor from history, offering players an authentic glimpse into the past.
Become the **champion of the Arena** by besting your opponents in various brawls and tournaments. Prepare for an unparalleled combat experience where your every move matters. All animations and maneuvers are meticulously designed with a strong foundation in realism.
**Your control over weapons is genuine,** as we have crafted a combat system based on the expertise and feedback of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) practitioners and sword fencers. Through this dynamic system, players can immerse themselves in the intricacies of swordplay and learn the art of the game's combat mechanics.
Survive bloody battles to gain renown and claim wealth to buy new equipment or forge your own armor and weapons tailored to your combat style. Feeling confident? Bet on your success to potentially boost your earnings and further your progress.
Every story needs an end, and in Half Sword, **it often means losing your head - quite literally**. As this is a simulation game, death is final…
Be Warned: Half Sword is an extremely violent and gory game. I mean… we do have a Chief Blood Officer. Witness **skull-crushing blows, limb decapitations, and gruesome displays of entrails and bloodshed**, all intricately tied to the weapon and armor choices of both you and your opponents.

Release date: Jan 30, 2026

Categories: First-Person Melee Combat, Character Customization, Weapon Customization, Historical Simulation, Gore-focused Combat, Physics Simulation, Single-player

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 85; verdict: Predatory; summary: The game has received significant criticism for its monetization practices. Users frequently describe it as a 'cash grab' and 'overpriced,' indicating dissatisfaction with the value for money. Additionally, there are complaints about false advertising and poor optimization, further contributing to the negative perception of the game's monetization.
- Steam Deck: score 75; verdict: Poorly Optimized; summary: The game suffers from significant performance issues, lack of FSR support, poor controller and UI design, frequent crashes, and specific problems on the Steam Deck. These issues collectively result in a subpar user experience, particularly affecting players on certain hardware configurations and platforms.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Improved gameplay and controls (weight 0.97): Players appreciate the more responsive and fluid controls, combat, and overall gameplay. The game feels smoother and more enjoyable compared to the demo, with better physics and combat mechanics.
- Weapon and armor customization (weight 0.94): The game offers extensive customization options for weapons and armor, allowing players to create unique and personalized gear. This feature is well-received and adds depth to the gameplay.
- Enhanced graphics and visuals (weight 0.92): The game's graphics have seen significant improvements, with players noting better lighting, detailed maps, and overall visual appeal. The game looks great even on lower settings.
- New maps and environments (weight 0.91): New maps and environments have been added, offering unique experiences and varied locations. These maps are aesthetically pleasing and add to the game's challenge and enjoyment.
- Performance and optimization (weight 0.83): The game runs well on various hardware configurations, with players reporting smooth performance on both high-end and mid-range PCs. Some optimization issues remain but are not game-breaking.
- High hopes for future updates (weight 0.82): Players have high expectations for future updates and improvements. They believe the game has great potential and are excited for upcoming developments.
- Realistic and brutal combat (weight 0.81): The combat system is praised for its realism and brutality. Players appreciate the tactical and skill-based nature of the combat, which adds to the game's enjoyment.
- Enjoyable despite technical issues (weight 0.76): Despite some technical issues and bugs, players find the game enjoyable and fun. The overall experience is strong and engaging.
- Character customization (weight 0.74): Players enjoy the character customization options, which allow for a personalized gaming experience. The new character models and textures are well-received.
- Positive reception of new modes (weight 0.34): New game modes, such as Progression mode and Abyss mode, have been introduced and are well-received. These modes offer unique challenges and add variety to the gameplay.
- Worth the purchase (weight 0.24): Players feel that the game is worth the money, offering hours of fun and enjoyable gameplay. The game is seen as a good investment for its current state and future potential.
- Historical accuracy and themes (weight 0.13): The game's historical accuracy and medieval themes are appreciated by players. The setting, soundtrack, and artwork contribute to an immersive experience.

Common complaints:
- Severe optimization issues (weight 0.88): The game suffers from significant optimization problems, including poor performance, frequent frame drops, and laggy maps. Players report low FPS even on high-end hardware and various performance issues across different settings.
- Demo comparison disappointments (weight 0.26): Many players feel the full version of the game is inferior to the demo. Combat, physics, and overall gameplay feel less satisfying and more buggy compared to the demo experience.
- Free mode limitations (weight 0.11): The Free Play mode is criticized for its lack of freedom and customization. Players are restricted in selecting maps, game modes, and weapons, making the mode feel less free and more limited.
- Weapon handling issues (weight 0.1): There are numerous problems with weapon handling, including weapons getting stuck, spawning issues, and problematic combat mechanics. These issues make combat feel clunky and less responsive.
- Character fragility (weight 0.1): Characters in the game are perceived as weak and fragile. They often fall or die easily, and their movements can feel janky and unnatural, leading to a less enjoyable combat experience.
- UI problems (weight 0.1): The user interface is described as confusing, undercooked, and lacking basic quality-of-life features. Menus are difficult to navigate, and the overall UI experience needs significant improvement.
- Abyss mode complaints (weight 0.09): Players have issues with the Abyss mode, including changes to enemy behavior, loot spawn rates, and overall difficulty. The mode is seen as more frustrating and less enjoyable compared to other game modes.
- Progression mode difficulties (weight 0.09): The Progression mode is criticized for being overly difficult, buggy, and tedious. Players report issues with the mode's structure and the need to unlock content before accessing it in other modes.
- Combat mechanics issues (weight 0.08): Combat mechanics are seen as problematic, with issues ranging from unrealistic physics to unnatural character movements. Some moves are difficult to perform, and hits sometimes do not register correctly.
- NPC damage issues (weight 0.07): NPCs are seen as overly powerful, with unnatural abilities to dismember or injure the player. Damage settings and reactions to being hurt are also criticized.
- Combat system criticisms (weight 0.07): The combat system is criticized for being poorly designed and less enjoyable than the demo. Players report issues with hand-to-hand combat and the overall combat experience.
- Slums map performance (weight 0.07): The Slums map is highlighted for its severe performance issues, including lag, frame drops, and various graphical problems. Players report significant performance dips on this map.
- Zombie mechanics complaints (weight 0.06): Zombie enemies are criticized for being unenjoyably hard to fight, with issues ranging from one-shot kills to lack of visible damage. Players find the zombie mechanics frustrating and poorly balanced.
- Clunky gameplay mechanics (weight 0.06): The game is criticized for feeling clunky and cumbersome. Players report issues with weapon handling, combat mechanics, and overall gameplay fluidity.
- Physics issues (weight 0.06): Physics in the game are criticized for feeling terrible and unnatural. Players report issues with weapon physics, character movements, and overall gameplay physics.
- Early access performance (weight 0.05): The game is criticized for not being ready for early access, with significant performance issues on various maps. Players report that the game feels broken and poorly optimized.
- Armor customization issues (weight 0.04): The game is criticized for its lack of armor variety and customization options. Players report issues with armor randomization and the inability to adjust armor in Free mode.

Gameplay feedback:
- Extensive customization options (weight 0.44): Players have a wide range of customization options for their characters, weapons, and armor. This includes weapon forging, armor upgrades, and character creation, although some limitations have been noted in the customization system.
- Realistic physics and combat (weight 0.43): The game features realistic physics and combat mechanics, with a focus on brutal and tactical gameplay. This includes a bruising system, bones breaking, and fluid hit mechanics, providing a more immersive combat experience.
- Diverse combat mechanics and modes (weight 0.4): The game offers a variety of combat mechanics and modes, including free mode, progression mode, and special modes like Gauntlet and Rare Retribution. Players can enjoy different game modes such as zombie games, tournaments, and a career mode, providing a rich and varied gameplay experience.
- Varied maps and environments (weight 0.39): The game offers a variety of maps and environments, such as Slums, Cellar, Alley, Forest, and more. These maps provide different settings for combat and exploration, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Early access limitations (weight 0.33): The game is currently in early access, which means some features and modes are still being developed or are limited. This includes the lack of a free level editing mode and some limitations in free mode and progression mode.
- Progression mode enhancements (weight 0.1): The progression mode has been well thought out and includes various activities, shops, and a token system. Players appreciate the improved gameplay loop and customization options within this mode.
- Character handling issues (weight 0.07): Some players have reported issues with character handling mechanics, including bugs with blood mechanics, weapon handling, and character movements. Characters can fall over easily and thrusting mechanics have changed, affecting gameplay.
- UI and control issues (weight 0.07): Some players have reported problems with the user interface, including text rendering and menu navigation. Additionally, there are issues with controls and mouse movements, particularly in point-and-click style interactions.
- Historical and medieval themes (weight 0.06): The game features historical fights and medieval themes, with animations and combat mechanics that reflect this setting. This includes the use of polearms, maces, crossbows, and other historical weapons.
- Unique enemy interactions (weight 0.03): Enemies in the game have unique behaviors and reactions based on player actions. This includes specific reactions to pain and different combat behaviors, adding depth to the combat system.
- Zombie mechanics need adjustment (weight 0.02): Zombies in the game do not show damage like human characters and can take too many hits to die. This discrepancy in mechanics needs to be addressed for better gameplay balance.

Performance notes:
- Slums map performance problems (weight 0.6): The slums map is particularly problematic, with numerous reports of lag, low FPS, and performance dips. This map is highlighted as one of the worst-performing areas in the game.
- Poor optimization and performance issues (weight 0.6): The game suffers from significant optimization problems, leading to low FPS, frame drops, and performance issues even on high-end hardware. Players report various performance problems across different settings and maps.
- Map-specific performance issues (weight 0.59): Performance varies significantly across different maps. Some maps, particularly interior ones, run well, while others, especially outdoor and progression maps, suffer from performance issues.
- High settings require powerful hardware (weight 0.55): To achieve decent FPS and performance, high resolution and settings are required, which necessitates powerful hardware. Many players had to turn down graphics settings to improve performance.
- Performance on high-end hardware (weight 0.55): Even high-end hardware like the RTX 5090 struggles to run the game smoothly, indicating widespread optimization problems that affect all levels of hardware.
- Blood and gore performance issues (weight 0.53): There are notable performance issues related to blood and gore effects, particularly in multiplayer fights. These effects seem to impact the game's performance significantly.
- Game crashes and stability issues (weight 0.52): The game experiences crashes, particularly on low-end builds, and has stability issues that affect gameplay. Some players report crashes every half an hour.
- Frame generation improves playability (weight 0.01): Using frame generation techniques can significantly improve the game's playability and performance, making it a recommended setting for better gameplay.
- Blood pooling issues on AMD GPUs (weight 0.01): There are specific issues with blood pooling on AMD GPUs, which affects the visual and performance aspects of the game.
- Split screen mode errors (weight 0.01): Players encounter fatal errors in split-screen mode, which hinders the multiplayer experience.
- Game runs hot on mid-grade PC (weight 0.01): The game causes high temperatures on mid-grade PCs, which can lead to performance throttling and potential hardware issues.
- Friends report performance issues (weight 0.01): Many players report that their friends also experience performance issues, indicating widespread problems across different setups.

Recommendations:
- Try the demo first (weight 0.24): Players recommend trying the demo version of the game before deciding to buy the full version. The demo provides a good sense of the gameplay and can help determine if the game is enjoyable despite its current issues.
- Wait for updates before buying (weight 0.24): Many players suggest waiting for further updates and improvements before purchasing the game. They believe the game has potential but currently suffers from bugs and performance issues that need addressing.
- Mixed recommendations based on current state (weight 0.17): Opinions are divided on recommending the game in its current state. Some players find it enjoyable and worth supporting the developers, while others advise against purchasing due to existing issues and suggest waiting for improvements.
- Recommend for progression mode (weight 0.01): The game is recommended for those interested in the progression mode. This mode seems to offer a more stable and enjoyable experience compared to other aspects of the game.
- Avoid if only interested in abyss mode (weight 0.01): Players interested solely in the abyss mode are advised to stay away from the game. This mode may not meet expectations or could be less enjoyable compared to other parts of the game.
- Provide constructive criticism (weight 0.01): Players are encouraged to give constructive criticism instead of angry insults. This approach is more helpful for the developers and can lead to better improvements and updates.
- Fix walking mechanics (weight 0.01): There is a specific request to fix the walking mechanics in the game. This issue seems to be a notable problem affecting the gameplay experience.
- Potential for future improvement (weight 0.01): The game is seen as having potential for future improvements. Players believe that with continued updates and fixes, the game could become much better.

Other player notes:
- Early Access concerns (weight 0.05): Players expressed disappointment with the game's release state, mentioning it feels too early in development for an Early Access release.
- Request for LAN multiplayer (weight 0.01): There is a demand from players for the inclusion of LAN multiplayer functionality in the game.
- More customization options needed (weight 0.01): Players are requesting additional skin options in the customization menu to enhance character personalization.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.31): Players feel the game is a significant downgrade from the demo, with numerous performance issues, poor optimization, and less satisfying gameplay mechanics. The combat system, physics, and overall technical state of the game at launch have not met expectations, leading to a sense of letdown.
- Frustration (weight 0.26): Players are frustrated due to significant bugs, performance issues, and gameplay mechanics that need improvement. The game's poor optimization, frame drops, and various glitches, such as character deletion in progression mode and unintended character movements, contribute to this frustration.
- Hope (weight 0.07): Players express hope for future updates and optimizations, believing that the game has great potential. They expect that the developers will address the current issues and improve the game over time.
- Hopeful (weight 0.06): Players are hopeful that the game will improve with future updates and community feedback. They believe in the developer's efforts and the potential for the game to become better.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the fun and interesting gameplay, high-quality combat, and new features like the Tourney mode. Despite some issues, they find the game unique and entertaining.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Players are satisfied with the improvements over the demo, new game modes, and features. They appreciate the solid experience, character customization options, and improved combat mechanics.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Players are excited about the detailed and fun gameplay mechanics, unique enemy interactions, and the anticipation of future updates. They find the game incredibly addictive and fun.
- Disappointed (weight 0.03): Players are disappointed with the current state of the game compared to the demo, citing performance issues and a lack of interesting new additions. The game's performance and optimization have not met their expectations.
- Frustrated (weight 0.02): Players are frustrated with the game's performance issues and glitches, such as characters dying from minor touches and walking backwards out of the circle on their own.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Players are angry due to poor optimization, lack of substantial updates, and disappointing release state. The game's performance issues and perceived unfair criticism contribute to this anger.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about the game's release and the fun they are having. They are eager to see the improvements that will be made in the future.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Players are confused by the UI, which is a confusing mess with some elements not explained. They are also puzzled by the full release being worse than the demo.
- Enjoyment (weight 0): Los jugadores encuentran el juego divertido a pesar de los problemas y errores presentes. La experiencia general de juego sigue siendo entretenida.}