Half Sword News

Hello everyone,

Here's a small update addressing some of the frustrations you mentioned in the previous build:

• Falling down is now harder
• Getting up is faster
• Rebalanced damage, more damage to vital organs, less to non vital,
  
• Improved stabbing with polearms, they don't fly away from your hands now
  
• Slightly rebalanced certain weapons, nerfed warstaff's damage against armor (sorry, it was way too overpowered)

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About Fatal Crashes:
We’re aware of the fatal crashes, especially during the Baron fight. These issues stem from a third-party Unreal Engine plugin we’ve been using for some of the blood and gore effects.
While we initially tried to debug it, we’ve hit its limitations. That’s why we’re now developing our own in-house solution, which will be ready for the Early Access release — offering both improved stability and next-level wounds for you to inflict on poor Willie.
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Thanks again for the tremendous support, we still can’t believe how big Half Sword has gotten, and it’s not even out yet!

Half Sword Games & Game Seer

Hello!
Let’s be honest with you: having two separate test versions on Steam ended up being more confusing than helpful for most players. That’s why we’ve decided to shut down the Playtest and merge its content with the Abyss into a single, unified Demo.

In addition to that :
• Added a new Gauntlet Mode, where you earn points to unlock new Ranks. Dying in that mode sends you to the Abyss. Dying in the Abyss deletes your current character and you lose all your progress in Gauntlet Mode.
• In Free Mode you can play all the Ranks (just like in Playtest) except the final one, the new Barron tier.
• Abyss has been updated with new physics, combat, armors and weapons. We are aware of performance issues and we're already working on them as we speak.
• You can also access Abyss from the main menu by killing your character in main menu.

Now, yesterday, we decided to shadow drop an early version of this update as an April 1st joke, without explanation or patch notes. We genuinely thought it would be a fun surprise and something you'd enjoy.

Clearly, some of you didn’t see it that way. If we annoyed or frustrated you, we’re genuinely sorry.

Making a game is tough, bugs happen, things break, and sometimes we misjudge how something will land. That said, part of this update was also a way for us to test how players respond to different experiences: the intensity and challenge of Gauntlet, the chill, rewarding flow of Free Mode, and the strange, unsettling charm of Abyss, which has always been part of our DNA.

We’re still fully committed to delivering a compelling, satisfying game for everyone, and your feedback always helps us get there.

Half Sword is an ongoing experiment, and you're a vital part of it. We're incredibly grateful for your presence, your playtesting, and your support. We'll keep working hard to earn your trust, your time, and your attention, every step of the way.

Half Sword Games & Game Seer

For further details and more join our Discord community!

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Dear friends, Dear Willies,

As Christmas approaches, we thought to reflect on everything that has happened this year and also to shed a bit of light on what you can expect from us in 2025.

2024 has been a pivotal year for both Half Sword Games and Game Seer. What started with a mere business meeting in Stockholm in February has blossomed into a real studio, strong friendship and unwavering support for the arduous task that is making a video game.

We hope that Half Sword feels as special to you as it feels to us, because it is made by an extremely tight-knit & independent team of game developers, many not yet 30 years old whose sole aim is to up the ante as far as what players can expect from a physics-based experience.

We humbly submit the goal of making something that feels as fun to play as it is to make while we relentlessly keep an eye on what to improve. We constantly throw new ideas to each other in the team and abide by an open-minded approach to constructive criticism, be it from within, or from our now over 3 million Willies.

As far as timeline, Half Sword will release into early access towards the end of 2025 on PC on Steam. Along the way we will provide you with a progress presentation towards the second quarter of 2025, we will celebrate the game with you with a strong on-site presence at Gamescom 2025 (18+ booth) and we will showcase a compelling early-access version for Steam Next Fest shortly before commercially releasing the game.

We plan to obsessively build, expand, fix & polish the experimentation with Half Sword upon and after its release and cannot wait to show you elements that are not yet public. While combats are central, we are hard at work to build deep systems on top and around of them.

We are a discreet bunch, our studio is around 10 people and Game Seer’s publishing team is 2 persons and one crazy jester. However trust us when we say that if you like what you have now, you will definitely love what we prepare for you.

If we do things well with Early Access, we will potentially have the strength to keep the game alive for the years to come as we will move into other platforms, formats & will seek the technical ability for players to challenge each other with high stakes consequences.

2025 will be a crucial year where we put our fate in your hands. In Half Sword, yours will always be decided by the blade.

''When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you''

Merry Christmas,

Half Sword Games & Game Seer