[Edit: We are getting rounds of optimization fixes and balancing changes that made the game less of a rage title, I'm very certain after these rounds of changes we will eventually see the start of content drops, hopefully we get the maps from Half Sword Gauntlet as those are some of the prettiest in my opinion, this gets my 8.5/10, great work you guys!]

First off, just like the demo, even my PC, running both a Ryzen 7 5800X3D and a Radeon RX 7800 XT, cannot run this game at more than medium, insane, because most AAA titles are 10x bigger and somehow optimized enough that I can run them on all ultra, even Cyberpunk 2077 runs on all Ultra and I still get 165 FPS.

Besides the terrible optimization and performance issues ( you know they make pills for that right? ) I have another quarrel. The players health and movement, holy cripe. In demo I was nigh unstoppable, I lost an arm and I was still in the fight, in this game, a teeny little stab WILL kill you instantly, while maiming an NPC till they're just a bloody mist is still ineffective as they can shrug off even the most lethal of injuries, I get wanting to make the game hard, but impossible is never fun. my first hour was just trying to get out of Beggar rank, it wasn't until I discovered that polearms are gods chosen weapons, the starter flail, my baby, carried me to Lord when the sickle couldn't.

Another reason to rely on such insane cheese is that the Slums map runs at a crisp 15FPS and one wrong step ( SPOILER: they're all wrong steps ) won't be very fun as you fall over moving a single inch on that map.

but REGARDLESS. My main issue, and the big reason I can't recommend this at the moment...

Screw this new weapon physics system, it's so clunky, janky, and borderline unfair, my player character will fumble around like an idiot trying to hold even the lightest of weapons with two hands, and most of the time it gets stuck in the floor. I found that I have to hold the two hand stance while loading, I really shouldn't have to do that to be honest. Sometimes I will swing the weapon and it doesn't go where I want it to, parrying is stupidly impossible as NPC weapons will phase through yours half the time, and there will be moments where the pc will lose his grip, the weapon goes behind him and he will trip, it happens if you do a wide swing, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

And getting up is annoying because you can't move once you have two feet back on the ground, giving NPCs more chances to knock you down again after you just spent a whole minute blocking attacks while downed.

Now, for less important things that are still stupid, in the demo, you can play any rank, against any rank. In EA you can still do that, but ONLY IN PROGRESSION. They dropped the ball heavy with this games free play mode, what I thought could be using my rank in the progression mode against any rank I chose like in the demo. You are always a militia rank against any rank you chose, while you can pick how ever many NPCs are in the arena (still limited to the Yard map fsfr) and even make them fight each other, even split screen! It's more limited than the demo, which is odd cause the demo was free.

Also.. Split screen, look, I know this studio is small, but an online PvP/PvE mode would accelerate this game tenfold. You and a buddy could fight through the ranks together, and spectate them on solo fights. Or you guys can duke it out in armor and see who falls first.

Now for the last and final unimportant but stupid b*llsh*te. Spoilers ahead for those who have never fought the Baron in the demo or EA: the Lords Tourney is tedious to get to and do over and over just to get mere PIECES of the Barons armor, two of which you have to buy and insure, his new weapons are cool but besides this.. What did y'all DO? First of all, love the new color scheme, they removed his original loadout of gilded grand halberd, parade great sword, gold mace, golden targe, dagger and buckler, and replaced it with a notched great sword and a war hammer/beak, they removed the plume feather from his helmet, gross! He lost his golden shoes as well, overall he lost his aura and is also easily the easiest NPC in the game to knock down despite his weight and height. Also cannot believe that not only do you have to unlock all of his pieces one by one, I'm talking 40+ minutes just for a single standart. And you don't get stronger, I'd argue his armor makes you easier to knock down and kill.

Final verdict, optimization, major rebalancing, more content, I love this game, once it's finished I will edit this review and give it what it rightfully deserves, make Half Sword great, guys.

~ Keeobe