En Garde!

Swash that buckle!

This game serves you UNFAIR fights that feel impossible to overcome...and I couldn't be happier! You are regularly expected to fight groups of enemies that will interrupt your attacks with unblockable strikes, use their better run speed to crowd completely around you, and can frequently heal themselves. These are all the traditional marks of a really poorly designed hard mode but En Garde subverts these tropes into new interesting challenges during combat. The only truly unfair fight is the one you allow to build around you. This game encourages repositioning and using every item in the room for a thrilling, chaotic, improvised fight! Innovative environmental combat at it's finest. The rewarding nature of repositioning yourself, pulling off acrobatic movements, and weaving between enemies creates a thrillingly engaging gameplay loop that defeats the tropes of modern dodge roll combat with grace! You are constantly given new challenges that change the fundamentals of combat, slowly building towards a pure flow state of horde management that is incredibly satisfying. Chapters have a fun lighthearted arc that showcase lovable characters with decently funny moments. The story driven missions are a great excuse to traverse the parkour filled terrain which naturally guides you into unique combat arena locations. Level design is very well managed with lots of variety in verticality, enclosed spaces, and access to special environmental props like chandeliers and weapon racks. Enemies navigate terrain with finesse and properly challenge you to utilize your surroundings. Main content can feel slim but I think it's a matter of quality over quantity. If you want more from En Garde there's a roguelike Arena Mode that forces new modifiers (both positive and negative) into each round you play. You won't find blanket stat upgrades here; each modifier directly plays with the environmental/acrobatic mechanics in a satisfyingly cohesive way that enables chain effects when set up right. Multiple difficulties and achievements will give you tons of extra hours without asking you to do arbitrary tasks or grinding. En Garde is my GOTY and I can not recommend it enough if you're interested!