Capes, Swords, and Urban Jungles
There was a time, long ago, when medieval beat ‘em ups were all the rage. We not only had Capcom making some awesome ones like Knights of the Round and Dungeons and Dragons, but we also had IGS with its Knights of Valour series, and let’s not forget, Castle Crashers, the game that reminded a lot of people that beat ‘em ups can be fun.
Nowadays, we can say the central theme of the genre is games in an urban setting. We can’t really complain about that because this is how the genre started and, no matter where you look, you will always find devs inspired by Streets of Rage, Final Fight, and Double Dragon.
It is not a coincidence that the three games have the same setting. Well, first because the last two were inspired by Double Dragon, but we can’t deny that this urban setting is a perfect match for a brawler. The so-called urban jungle with its neon signs, streets flooded with car lights, and the sound of police sirens in the distance, all of this brings us this “beat ‘em up feeling”. The iconic opening of the original Streets of Rage by itself is proof enough of that.
But also it is not a coincidence that some of the best beat ‘em ups ever created are set in medieval times. Who can deny the greatness of a game like the original Golden Axe, Knights of the Round, or King of Dragons? Walking past castles, fields, dungeons, and villages while fighting hordes of monsters, rebels, imperials, or whatever is always fun. The medieval setting also brings the opportunity to use weapons in a continuous manner, instead of just a temporary item. Magic, upgrades, quests, side quests, while they are not strangers to urban-themed beat ‘em ups, they always look more at home in medieval ones. It just feels right.
A Modern Cape and Sword Adventure
Enters, Sir Galgano, a modern take on the Medieval Fantasy sub-genre, that brings not only this often overlooked theme to the table, but also adds some interesting spices to it. The game, loosely based on the legend of Sir Galgano Guidotti, also known as Saint Galgano in Italy, will put you in the boots of the titular character and here you will have to face hordes of enemies using your sword and real-life techniques. The combat in the game is being created to be the most precise possible and simulate every aspect of a sword fight.
The weight and type of sword you carry are being considered and every swing is a replica of real-life movements. Sir Galgano will be able to handle a single short sword, a sword and shield, or a two-handed long sword, each one with its pros and cons, and each one with its own skill tree. As you can imagine, the single-handed sword will grant you more mobility and speed, while when holding a shield give you a chance against archers and will drain less of your stamina when blocking, and finally, the long sword, that will surely slow you down, but can cut through enemies like butter.
And after you pick your favorite style, you can stop in the many in-game stores to upgrade your equipment or buy new and better ones. Being a medieval game you can bet you have magic in the mix. You won’t find anything too much out there, but the spells you can unleash are very helpful and, as with everything in this game, also comes with their own skill tree. You can also buy potions in these stores, although in the version we played we only saw health potions. The game seems to lay heavy on some RPG mechanics and it suits everything here very well. The demo we played had only three levels, but with multiple playthroughs, we were able to see everything that was possible. This means that later upgrades were out of our reach for now.
It is Pre-Alpha and It Shows.
But not everything was perfect in our time with it. The game is not very well optimized and even on our best machine here we had problems reaching the 20FPS in the first level, a lush forest with mist and lots of trees. The other two levels were peaking between 45 and 60 fps, depending on what was in the background, but we need to be fair and say that this was a very early build. Another thing that may put off some players is the difficulty. We managed to beat the game, but this wasn’t an easy feat. The main goal of the developers seems to be reproducing a real sword fight, within the limitations of the game and without letting the fun be cut into pieces, but we think that some concessions should be made or, at least, an easy mode should be implemented for those interested in the game, but not up to memorize each and every inch from the levels. You can get around the game learning how to parry and dodge properly, but some moments will get you unprepared and you will die very, very quickly, leading to some frustrating moments.
You will all be able to check the game next week since the pre-alpha build will be available on Steam for everyone to download. It was a turn of events since the pre-alpha was expected to be a reward for their Kickstarter campaign but it seems they want more people to try the game before going after some funding.
Where and When?
Sir Galgano is a game with a lot of potential. The combat is fun and engaging, especially when you get the gist of it, and even the excessive challenge can be easily faced with some practice and patience. There isn’t anything like it when it comes to combat thanks to the carefully thought balance between realism and fun.
The pre-alpha version with 3 levels will be out on the next 29th and you can download it on Steam by clicking on this Link. The minimum and recommended specs are down below.
MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: R7 370 2 GB
RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 7 64-bit or higher
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6000 series
Comentarios