Swordship Review (Shoot 'Em Up Roguelike)

Swordship has a paper thin plot, it’s unfair at times, leaves zero room for error, lacks visual customization, and yet it’s extremely hard to put down. Stick around to the end to find out why you should give it a try.

The best way to describe Swordship was if Wipeout became a top down Shoot ‘Em Up. It has all the elements including the high BPM soundtrack, massive amounts of enemies, including aerial ones that seem indestructible and larger than life boss fights. There is one major difference: You don’t shoot! You trick enemies into shooting each other, which makes this game a Dodge Em Up (I think the first of its kind).

The plot is similar to 1995’s Waterworld with a more futuristic feel and your job as a pirate is to steal shipping crates from the mega corporations and give them to the less fortunate, that’s it.

The other way Swordship turns the genre on its head is by incorporating rogue-like elements into the game. You get points during each run by causing enemy destruction, close calls and capturing shipping crates with the latter being the main objective. You start with only one life that can only take one hit, which leaves little room for error.

At the end of each level, you can choose to put your crates toward points or lives. Points unlock permanent options for future runs including different starting ships and other upgrades. Putting your points into lives, not only gives you a little more room for error, but also gives you an upgrade on your ship that you have unlocked on previous runs. Deciding where to put these resources becomes a tougher decision the farther you progress during each run. At the end of each run, everything resets and you start back at zero.

Swordship has a gorgeous and minimalist art design with it’s cell shaded art style consisting of primary colours only, which creates tones that pop off the screen and makes for easy understanding off the massive amount of information that the game can throw at you. It forces you into a flow state similar to Tetris.

Swordship can be beaten in around two hours on beginner but with most games in the genre, the challenge is being able to complete the harder difficulties.

At around 20 bucks the value is a little thin when compared to some of the other options around the same price point but with ultra tight controls, great visuals, almost non existent loading screens and an addictive gameplay loop that demands just one more run, Swordship not only incorporates rogue elements into a new genre but creates the best Dodge ‘Em Up ever because its the only one but its still loads of addictive fun.

8