I really wanted to like this game. In the first few minutes I spent in En Garde!, I was intrigued. I really liked the vibrant comic style mixed with a rather unique swashbuckler / Three Musketeers setting. I also enjoyed the humorous writing quite a bit. The game's protagonist is your typical witty Zorro/d'Artagnan-inspired loudmouth who takes up arms against the mischievous and corrupt Count-Duke, fighting for justice and equality. I really liked that setup.
I also enjoyed the gameplay in the first chapter. This is a fencing game that mixes fast-paced action combat based on parries and dodges with a highly reactive environment that you have to utilize in battles to prevail. Simply fighting enemies one on one is usually not the way to go. You have to use what's in your vicinity like buckets that you throw on peoples' heads, or boxes that you can kick in their faces to stagger them. This is cool and the game gets really creative with it. Soon enough, you'll have so many options at your disposal to deal with enemies. You can drop chandeliers, throw grenades into fire pits, kick down oil jugs to make the floor slippery and so on. This approach to combat feels novel and fun, at least in the first hour or so of the game.
Maybe I'm one of the few people to feel this way but using environmental traps and objects to deal with enemies loses its charm rather quickly for me. I had the same issue when playing Dark Messiah some time ago. Yeah it's fun to kick enemies into weapon racks or drop vases onto their head but when I do the same thing 100 times, I just get bored. Even in a short game like En Garde! that I finished in 4 hours, this approach to combat couldn't keep me hooked for too long. My biggest issue with the game was how messy most of the group battles were designed. In the first chapter and parts of the second one, fighting groups of enemies was pretty fun. Running around searching for traps and throwables was cool and taking enemies apart bit by bit felt motivating. Much of that is due to the smart and open level design in these first areas. However, the game soon starts to artificially increase its difficulty in the most annoying ways imaginable. For one, it just throws you into combat situations where you have to deal with multiple elite enemies in rather cramped rooms which made it super difficult to focus on a single enemy. You see, as soon as you have to fight more than one dude at a time and can't rely on running away finding traps and stuff, the game just kinda breaks. You try to focus on one guy, dodging and parrying at the right times only to get stabbed in the back by another. The problem is, that, for elite enemies, their health/stagger bar immediately regenerates once you make a "mistake" like getting attacked by someone else. I'm sure you can adjust that in the difficulty settings but I wanted to experience this game on its intended normal difficulty.
Another thing that really bugged was some of the boss encounters. There's one in particular where you have to fight on a bridge and it was just the worst. In general, the fight is pretty tough (for me this was the hardest in the game) but I'm a sucker for tight one-on-one boss battles. I should have liked this but I ended up hating every second of it. There are two reasons for this. For one, fighting on a bridge is a stupid idea for this kind of battle. Whenever you parry or dodge, your character moves. Even if you time your actions correctly, you can easily drop off the bridge. You don't lose health but falling and respawning can mess with your timing which means that even though you were close to decreasing the boss' health, your progress is reset. The second reason is the camera. There were so many moments in which I didn't see what my opponent was doing because the camera was stuck in the wall behind me or it didn't turn fast enough. The camera itself is its own issue in this game. For some reason, the devs refrained from using a lock-on system and implemented a sort of automatic targeting system which mostly works but often doesn't. So many times, I tried to attack someone and my character would just not target that person but flail away in the air or attack someone else. I just don't get why they didn't simply use lock-on, it would have made combat so much more manageable.
So yeah, I was somewhat disappointed with this one. I still like the humor and setting which felt fresh and entertained me for an afternoon. The fighting seemed promising in the beginning but turned into an annoying mess towards the end. If this game is on sale, you can definitely check it out (I got it in a humble bundle) but for me, this is definitely not a must-play.
I also enjoyed the gameplay in the first chapter. This is a fencing game that mixes fast-paced action combat based on parries and dodges with a highly reactive environment that you have to utilize in battles to prevail. Simply fighting enemies one on one is usually not the way to go. You have to use what's in your vicinity like buckets that you throw on peoples' heads, or boxes that you can kick in their faces to stagger them. This is cool and the game gets really creative with it. Soon enough, you'll have so many options at your disposal to deal with enemies. You can drop chandeliers, throw grenades into fire pits, kick down oil jugs to make the floor slippery and so on. This approach to combat feels novel and fun, at least in the first hour or so of the game.
Maybe I'm one of the few people to feel this way but using environmental traps and objects to deal with enemies loses its charm rather quickly for me. I had the same issue when playing Dark Messiah some time ago. Yeah it's fun to kick enemies into weapon racks or drop vases onto their head but when I do the same thing 100 times, I just get bored. Even in a short game like En Garde! that I finished in 4 hours, this approach to combat couldn't keep me hooked for too long. My biggest issue with the game was how messy most of the group battles were designed. In the first chapter and parts of the second one, fighting groups of enemies was pretty fun. Running around searching for traps and throwables was cool and taking enemies apart bit by bit felt motivating. Much of that is due to the smart and open level design in these first areas. However, the game soon starts to artificially increase its difficulty in the most annoying ways imaginable. For one, it just throws you into combat situations where you have to deal with multiple elite enemies in rather cramped rooms which made it super difficult to focus on a single enemy. You see, as soon as you have to fight more than one dude at a time and can't rely on running away finding traps and stuff, the game just kinda breaks. You try to focus on one guy, dodging and parrying at the right times only to get stabbed in the back by another. The problem is, that, for elite enemies, their health/stagger bar immediately regenerates once you make a "mistake" like getting attacked by someone else. I'm sure you can adjust that in the difficulty settings but I wanted to experience this game on its intended normal difficulty.
Another thing that really bugged was some of the boss encounters. There's one in particular where you have to fight on a bridge and it was just the worst. In general, the fight is pretty tough (for me this was the hardest in the game) but I'm a sucker for tight one-on-one boss battles. I should have liked this but I ended up hating every second of it. There are two reasons for this. For one, fighting on a bridge is a stupid idea for this kind of battle. Whenever you parry or dodge, your character moves. Even if you time your actions correctly, you can easily drop off the bridge. You don't lose health but falling and respawning can mess with your timing which means that even though you were close to decreasing the boss' health, your progress is reset. The second reason is the camera. There were so many moments in which I didn't see what my opponent was doing because the camera was stuck in the wall behind me or it didn't turn fast enough. The camera itself is its own issue in this game. For some reason, the devs refrained from using a lock-on system and implemented a sort of automatic targeting system which mostly works but often doesn't. So many times, I tried to attack someone and my character would just not target that person but flail away in the air or attack someone else. I just don't get why they didn't simply use lock-on, it would have made combat so much more manageable.
So yeah, I was somewhat disappointed with this one. I still like the humor and setting which felt fresh and entertained me for an afternoon. The fighting seemed promising in the beginning but turned into an annoying mess towards the end. If this game is on sale, you can definitely check it out (I got it in a humble bundle) but for me, this is definitely not a must-play.
Satisfying combat and witty banter, what’s not to love?
An heart on his sleeves, swashbuckling action adventure that is fun from start to finish. The simple combat system is elevated by putting the focus on arena design and the use of environmental hazard, instead of one on one duels. This creates a back and forth between using the environment to crowd control and isolate enemies, and then engaging with the remaining ones with a parry and dodge system similar to the Arkham games.
Arenas are generally well thought out, offering boxes to push into enemies, buckets to throw on their heads and chandelier waiting to be dropped.
The enemy roster is a bit lacking but what is there works well, with weak harassers, bomb throwing area controller and aggressive melee enemies and "elites".
Bosses are not an hoghlight, being simple hit and dodge affairs. Though the fact that they almost always are accompanied by adds, at least reinforces the focus on crowd controls.
The main campaign is short and to the point, with level secrets and challenges that incentivize replaying. There are some pacing issues however, with basic platforming session that, especially in stage 2, drag down the level design and don't offer anything substantial. It almost feels that they were put in out of an obligation to have breather section between combat encounter, without thinking abou the overall pacing.
Where the game really shines however is in the Arena Mode. Here enemy compositions and crowd control options are at their best, and positive and negative modifiers push you to experiment and try different approaches. The last encounter of the higher difficulty arena being an highlight.
The game isn't the deepest action title and it has been clearly made on a budget. A better focus on pacing would have made the campaign more interesting to replay, a couple more enemies would have improved the enemy roster and some more varied hit reaction would have made the crowd control system even more engaging.
With that said what is here is solid and creates a game that delivers on his premise and is a ton of fun to play. And sometimes that is all you need.
Arenas are generally well thought out, offering boxes to push into enemies, buckets to throw on their heads and chandelier waiting to be dropped.
The enemy roster is a bit lacking but what is there works well, with weak harassers, bomb throwing area controller and aggressive melee enemies and "elites".
Bosses are not an hoghlight, being simple hit and dodge affairs. Though the fact that they almost always are accompanied by adds, at least reinforces the focus on crowd controls.
The main campaign is short and to the point, with level secrets and challenges that incentivize replaying. There are some pacing issues however, with basic platforming session that, especially in stage 2, drag down the level design and don't offer anything substantial. It almost feels that they were put in out of an obligation to have breather section between combat encounter, without thinking abou the overall pacing.
Where the game really shines however is in the Arena Mode. Here enemy compositions and crowd control options are at their best, and positive and negative modifiers push you to experiment and try different approaches. The last encounter of the higher difficulty arena being an highlight.
The game isn't the deepest action title and it has been clearly made on a budget. A better focus on pacing would have made the campaign more interesting to replay, a couple more enemies would have improved the enemy roster and some more varied hit reaction would have made the crowd control system even more engaging.
With that said what is here is solid and creates a game that delivers on his premise and is a ton of fun to play. And sometimes that is all you need.
Brisk and irreverent; my two favorite qualities in a game. And the swordfighting... let's just say that when the going got tough, I didn't lower the difficulty (as I typically am wont to do in games) but instead reconsidered my strategy and took stock of my environment. It's really fun and dynamic.
En Garde! is a fun little game! My favourite thing about it is its tone - Spanish guitars playing in the background, everything is painted in strong, bright colours, the dialogue and characters are loving stereotypes full of charm, cracking oneliners and boasting about their skills at every opportunity.
Combat is solid enough and can be split into two parts: Fighting against hordes of enemies by using your mobility and environment - Kick tables, throw turkeys, blow up cannons, spill wine - to divide and conquer, turning the tides in your favour. And fighting elite enemies by dodging and parrying what can be dodged and parried.
The first part works really well, through clever design encounters keep feeling fresh even if the principle behind every fight is the same. The fights against elite enemies are a bit more hit and miss - timing windows to dodge and parry are tight and very punishing; A mistake not only means taking damage, but also that the enemies composure bar, which needs to be depleted to be able to damage them, recharges fully.
Despite a few frustrating moments spawning off of that, overall En Garde! is a light-hearted high paced fun time for a few hours
Combat is solid enough and can be split into two parts: Fighting against hordes of enemies by using your mobility and environment - Kick tables, throw turkeys, blow up cannons, spill wine - to divide and conquer, turning the tides in your favour. And fighting elite enemies by dodging and parrying what can be dodged and parried.
The first part works really well, through clever design encounters keep feeling fresh even if the principle behind every fight is the same. The fights against elite enemies are a bit more hit and miss - timing windows to dodge and parry are tight and very punishing; A mistake not only means taking damage, but also that the enemies composure bar, which needs to be depleted to be able to damage them, recharges fully.
Despite a few frustrating moments spawning off of that, overall En Garde! is a light-hearted high paced fun time for a few hours
En Garde: O SIFU de rapieira
Esse aqui é um dos jogos indies que eu mais tava hypando pra jogar quando vi sendo anunciado, e não me decepcionei de ter crescido tanto o olho nessa obra.
En Garde traz cenários bem estruturados e bonitos de se ver, o jogo de cores e iluminação se encaixa perfeitamente no ambiente, sua jogabilidade então é gostosa demais, porém bem simples, só focando em esquivar, parry e atacar, não confundam isso com souls like pois o jogo não é deste gênero, achei ele mais parecido com o SIFU desde que vi o trailer
A protagonista e os personagens que aparecem são bem carismáticos e não tem la tanta fala, afinal o foco do jogo aqui é a gameplay, até mesmo seu desenrolar de história é bem rápido, combinando com seu tempo de jogo que é extremamente curto, finalizei ele em 2 horas no fácil então no normal deve durar ai umas 4 horinha.
O que me levou a dar 3 estrelas pro En Garde é justamente o tamanho dos seus episódios e a falta de um sistema que te aplique progressões pra te fazer sentir que ta evoluindo no jogo, ele tem ali um sistema que habilita automaticamente umas habilidades novas, mas não é disso que to falando, to dizendo mesmo é de um sistema que te dê uma árvore e você possa selecionar os pontos pra desfrutar de mais habilidades, pois ao decorrer do jogo eu dei uma certa enjoada de usar as mesmas técnicas sempre.
Me satisfez, porém, poderia ser melhor :/
Esse aqui é um dos jogos indies que eu mais tava hypando pra jogar quando vi sendo anunciado, e não me decepcionei de ter crescido tanto o olho nessa obra.
En Garde traz cenários bem estruturados e bonitos de se ver, o jogo de cores e iluminação se encaixa perfeitamente no ambiente, sua jogabilidade então é gostosa demais, porém bem simples, só focando em esquivar, parry e atacar, não confundam isso com souls like pois o jogo não é deste gênero, achei ele mais parecido com o SIFU desde que vi o trailer
A protagonista e os personagens que aparecem são bem carismáticos e não tem la tanta fala, afinal o foco do jogo aqui é a gameplay, até mesmo seu desenrolar de história é bem rápido, combinando com seu tempo de jogo que é extremamente curto, finalizei ele em 2 horas no fácil então no normal deve durar ai umas 4 horinha.
O que me levou a dar 3 estrelas pro En Garde é justamente o tamanho dos seus episódios e a falta de um sistema que te aplique progressões pra te fazer sentir que ta evoluindo no jogo, ele tem ali um sistema que habilita automaticamente umas habilidades novas, mas não é disso que to falando, to dizendo mesmo é de um sistema que te dê uma árvore e você possa selecionar os pontos pra desfrutar de mais habilidades, pois ao decorrer do jogo eu dei uma certa enjoada de usar as mesmas técnicas sempre.
Me satisfez, porém, poderia ser melhor :/
This is an action game about cheating above all else: Adalia de Valador's direct moveset is very limited, with most of the depth existing in how she can use her environment to double-cross her foes... And these arenas and environmental details are just RIPE with opportunities for her to do so.
The game does rarely falter when it pits the player against certain enemies in rooms with little more than Adalia's direct moveset to work with, but otherwise its fight is noble in a modern action game landscape often terrified of making encounters featuring anything besides a flat circular arena.
And don't sleep on Arena Mode; it kicks ass!
The game does rarely falter when it pits the player against certain enemies in rooms with little more than Adalia's direct moveset to work with, but otherwise its fight is noble in a modern action game landscape often terrified of making encounters featuring anything besides a flat circular arena.
And don't sleep on Arena Mode; it kicks ass!
I was burned out of single player games for a while, how classic this game feels brought me back to loving single-player gaming. You don't need a massive 80 hours open world game to have fun, even a four hours game can do the trick. But unfortunately, I felt like they had a good foundation, a solid gameplay, a solid game, and they just didn't bother to create more episodes/missions. I hope DLCs can come out in the future because I wanna be in Adalia De Volador's shoes more!
thoroughly enjoyed this game where you play as silly swashbuckling swordswoman Adalia who has to defeat a cartoon villain with a handlebar mustache. my initial verdict upon beating the story mode was that it was too good, too short, but then i stumbled on the excellent arena mode, which pits you against up to 6 arenas of enemies with wacky (but horribly balanced) modifiers being added to the mix with every escalation. and it just revealed to me how well the game's mixture of spectacle fighter gameplay and slapstick comedy works even outside of the context of linear, scripted sequences. adalia and the count-duke's henchmen slinging a never-ending supply of dynamic one-liners, banter and occasional compliments back and forth while trading blows somehow always stays funny, and watching a lackey teeter on the edge or blowing a duelist across the room by luring him into the path of a cannon never gets old. some games can't even be funny with carefully controlled cutscenes and dialogue, but "en garde!" can do so without
oh and the music! can;t forget the music!
oh and the music! can;t forget the music!
En Garde! é quase tudo o que um character action tem que ser. Ele é divertido, é clichê na medida certa, tem personagens muito carismáticos e possui um combate bem competente. Eu fiquei realmente impressionado com os visuais, o setup e o trabalho de voz, o game é absolutamente perfeito nesses quesitos.
Como eu disse a pouco, o combate é competente, trazendo muitas interações com o cenário e fazendo com isso seja o core da gameplay. Essa última parte acaba se tornando uma faca de dois gumes, já que isso implica que os jogadores não consigam desenvolver o próprio estilo de jogo. Falando em combate, há uma pequena variedade de inimigos que acabam aparecendo, cada um com características diferentes que trazem um pequeno nível de complexidade aos confrontos. Quando eles vêm pra cima todos de uma vez, o jogo fica realmente difícil e a única forma de sobreviver é fugindo e afunilando.
A maior fraqueza do jogo é exatamente o que não torna a baixa variedade de inimigos um defeito: a curta duração. Eu demorei 3,5h pra fechar o título, sendo que morri uma boa quantidade de vezes e tive que recomeçar alguns combates. São só 4 capítulos que podem ser fechados em menos de 30 minutos cada (tem até conquista disso), me deixando com um tremendo gosto amargo de quero mais. Eu queria mais daquele universo, daqueles personagens, e foi me oferecido pouco. Se os desenvolvedores lançarem DLCs com mais capitulo por um preço acessível, não veria com maus olhos, mas só isso de conteúdo por R$ 59,99 (preço cheio) é bem lastimável.
O resultado é muito mais positivo do que negativo e a experiência valeu a pena.
Como eu disse a pouco, o combate é competente, trazendo muitas interações com o cenário e fazendo com isso seja o core da gameplay. Essa última parte acaba se tornando uma faca de dois gumes, já que isso implica que os jogadores não consigam desenvolver o próprio estilo de jogo. Falando em combate, há uma pequena variedade de inimigos que acabam aparecendo, cada um com características diferentes que trazem um pequeno nível de complexidade aos confrontos. Quando eles vêm pra cima todos de uma vez, o jogo fica realmente difícil e a única forma de sobreviver é fugindo e afunilando.
A maior fraqueza do jogo é exatamente o que não torna a baixa variedade de inimigos um defeito: a curta duração. Eu demorei 3,5h pra fechar o título, sendo que morri uma boa quantidade de vezes e tive que recomeçar alguns combates. São só 4 capítulos que podem ser fechados em menos de 30 minutos cada (tem até conquista disso), me deixando com um tremendo gosto amargo de quero mais. Eu queria mais daquele universo, daqueles personagens, e foi me oferecido pouco. Se os desenvolvedores lançarem DLCs com mais capitulo por um preço acessível, não veria com maus olhos, mas só isso de conteúdo por R$ 59,99 (preço cheio) é bem lastimável.
O resultado é muito mais positivo do que negativo e a experiência valeu a pena.
Very fun romp of a swashbuckler. Fencing is very fluid and reminiscent of the Arkham series with how you soft-lock onto targets, weave between blows with a mix of parries and dodging, and execute your simple combo or special moves - but with a touch of Dark Messiah in how you can freely kick enemies and objects around to stagger, stun, and knock them around into eachother and other hazards. The stagger mechanic makes for tense fights as you try keep pressure applied to specific foes to wear them down, all the while managing the rest of the crowd too.
It's camp in a fun way, never taking itself too seriously and maintaining a tone of playful silliness throughout, with some really beautiful environments and good music too.
It's camp in a fun way, never taking itself too seriously and maintaining a tone of playful silliness throughout, with some really beautiful environments and good music too.
The combat in this game is so freaking fun. Its unique as far as character action games go because it's less about stringing fancy combos together and more about using the environment to your advantage: kicking enemies down stairs, spilling liquid on the ground for enemies to slip on, ect.
It's such an innovative concept and I wish more games would do it, because it's really fun here. Unfortunately the game is a bit short, but it makes the most of that time with great fights, some fun, but easy platforming challenges, and an enjoyably silly tone throughout.
It's such an innovative concept and I wish more games would do it, because it's really fun here. Unfortunately the game is a bit short, but it makes the most of that time with great fights, some fun, but easy platforming challenges, and an enjoyably silly tone throughout.
Great little arena fighter. The enemies team up on you so you need to scurry around the room throwing shit at them like a little chaos gremlin which is very fun. About 4-6 hours of gameplay depending on how much time you wanna put into the roguelike mode. I recommend.
Fun game. It's a student project and is about 4 hours long. The best part about the game has to be the artstyle. Absolutely gorgeous. Combat is simple but fun - you can attack, parry and dodge - with a mix of some special attacks - pretty standard. However, the combat can get repetitive since there are very limited types of enemies, and they all have 1 or 2 moves. I played it on hard, and the difficulty is a lower health bar. The fights aren't that difficult - hell the parry window is really long and you are barely punished for spamming stuff. The levels are what add the challenge. When you are in a room with 10 people trying to attack you, you need to use stuff around you to space out the enemies and take them out 1 by 1.
I didn't really care for the story at all tbh. I just skipped everything, it felt really boring. Also, the chatty protagonist seems entertaining at first quickly gets monotonous. I turned down the audio cause I didn't care too much about every single thought she had.
Overall fun game, don't expect too much. I mainly played this as a "in-between" game, since playing too many serious or long games gets tiring.
I didn't really care for the story at all tbh. I just skipped everything, it felt really boring. Also, the chatty protagonist seems entertaining at first quickly gets monotonous. I turned down the audio cause I didn't care too much about every single thought she had.
Overall fun game, don't expect too much. I mainly played this as a "in-between" game, since playing too many serious or long games gets tiring.
Bonitinho, mas ordinário.
En Garde! é definitivamente um jogo. Um jogo bom? Não! Um jogo ruim? Também não! Em suma, ele tem ideias legais, mas não executa de uma forma que o destaque no meio da multidão.
En Garde! aposta principalmente no humor, sendo quase uma sátira (proposital) ao Zorro, mas não é algo muito bem desenvolvido aqui. Quando derrotamos um inimigo (por exemplo), ele fica estirado no chão, e se você ficar perto dele, provavelmente ele vai mandar cochichando algo como “Da próxima vez será diferente” ou “Eu poderia ter ouvido minha esposa, e não ter saído de casa hoje” e por aí vai. Por mais que eu goste desse tipo de humor, já que me lembra os grunts de Halo, não é nada muito incrível. Piadocas do tipo ocorrem ao longo da história e em outras partes da gameplay, mas morrem na praia, tal qual as demais piadas.
Falando em história, ela existe, e é só isso mesmo. No primeiro episódio, eu até me esforcei para me importar, mas do segundo para frente eu só larguei a mão, porque não tem nada aqui que seja memorável ou diferente de qualquer coisa já lançada.
Partindo para as reclamações, vamos falar da gameplay. É até legal, nada muito complexo, nem muito profundo e muito menos ruim, e pra ser sincero ele num GERAL é bem ok… O problema vem da execução nas lutas mais avançadas do jogo. Fazendo uma comparação direta, em Batman Arkham (qualquer um dos quatro), quando estamos cercados por vários inimigos, cada um ataca de maneira cadenciada, ou seja, um de cada vez (mesmo nas dificuldades mais difíceis). Já em En Garde! todos os inimigos atacam junto quando estamos cercados, e isso gera a situação mágica de enquanto um te bate com um ataque defensável, o outro usa um indefensável. E ok, existe o botão de desvio além do parry nesse jogo, mas se você está em um canto ou perto de um monte de barris (por exemplo), seu desvio não acontece porque o jogo entende que você está desviando em direção a um obstáculo. E o problema é que isso é EXTREMAMENTE comum, já que as arenas ou são muito pequenas, ou têm muitos desníveis ou têm muitos elementos no cenário que se tornam obstáculos indiretos. Se isso não bastasse, o jogo, durante os combates, não sabe equilibrar a quantidade de inimigos em tela. Em lutas de bosses vai ser comum você, além de enfrentar o chefe, ter que lidar com minions simples e inimigos de armadura/patente mais alta enquanto o chefe vem querendo enfiar a espada na sua barriga, e isso na luta final é intensificado ao quadrado, já que nesta, enfiaram mais inimigos especiais que exigem uma luta mais cadenciada pelo jogador contra os mesmos. Resumindo, vai ser comum você perder uma luta porque o jogo foi MUITO mal equilibrado no combate.
Outro ponto crítico para mim é que esse jogo é mal otimizado. No Steam Deck (onde eu joguei 95% do jogo), mesmo com o indicador de frames interno da Valve me mostrando que estou jogando a 60 FPS, até eu me acostumar, o jogo parecia estar rodando em 40 FPS. Mesmo reduzindo as specs, era muito claro que a movimentação da Adalia estava mais lenta do que deveria ser. Na luta final, mesmo no low, vira um slideshow hediondo no portátil da Valve, me forçando a realizar essa luta em específico no meu PC.
Falando em otimização, eu não entendo como esse jogo é pesado no Steam Deck. Enquanto eu jogava Hades ou Outer Wilds no médio ou até ultra, mesmo que a bateria fosse drenada como se fosse água escoando, era difícil o videogame esquentar de forma perceptível ou ouvir a rotação das ventoinhas, mesmo jogando por mais de uma hora. Com En Garde!, mesmo jogando no low, o Steam Deck parecia estar fazendo um cosplay de drone e levantando voo, de tão barulhento. Não só isso, mas em menos de 20 minutos, o “videogame” esquenta de maneira assustadora, não é algo insustentável (que dificulta o jogador a tocar no portátil), mas é algo extremamente perceptível.
Por fim, eu particularmente acho criminoso esse jogo não ter áudios em espanhol. Como eu disse, esse jogo meio que é uma paródia/releitura do Zorro (que é um personagem criado nos EUA), e como a história se passa em um lugar similar ao México ou Espanha, ter os bonecos falando em inglês (com sotaque) tira um pouco do capricho da história e a torna menos crível, pelo menos para mim. Tá certo que o Zorro em si fala em inglês com sotaque tal qual aqui (pelo menos a versão do Antonio Banderas que é a minha referência sob o personagem), mas já que eles fizeram uma releitura moderna (ou algo do tipo), na minha visão, eles poderiam ter abraçado o idioma e não ter ido por uma linha genérica…
En Garde! (2023) é interessante (eu acho), mas nada de mais. Sua direção de arte é ótima, mas não consegue relevar os demais defeitos do game. A gameplay é genérica e não tem nada de mais. O humor é bobo e divertidinho (no máximo) e também não sobressai sob os demais pontos do game. Eu gosto (e muito) que o jogo seja linear e curto, mas nem isso salva.
Eu vi uma galera comparando esse jogo com Souls, e eu não tenho ideia do quanto daqui foi tirado da franquia da FromSoftware (muito por nunca ter jogado um Souls), mas eu acho bem injusto essa comparação. En Garde!, por mais que tenha parries e lutas de espada tal qual souls, não parece ter em seu conceito a proposta de se comparar ou inspirar diretamente em Dark Souls, Sekiro ou Elden Ring, parece mais um projeto indie em que seu criador estava experimentando conceitos e tentando dar um passo maior que a perna, do que algo maior que isso.
En Garde! é definitivamente um jogo. Um jogo bom? Não! Um jogo ruim? Também não! Em suma, ele tem ideias legais, mas não executa de uma forma que o destaque no meio da multidão.
En Garde! aposta principalmente no humor, sendo quase uma sátira (proposital) ao Zorro, mas não é algo muito bem desenvolvido aqui. Quando derrotamos um inimigo (por exemplo), ele fica estirado no chão, e se você ficar perto dele, provavelmente ele vai mandar cochichando algo como “Da próxima vez será diferente” ou “Eu poderia ter ouvido minha esposa, e não ter saído de casa hoje” e por aí vai. Por mais que eu goste desse tipo de humor, já que me lembra os grunts de Halo, não é nada muito incrível. Piadocas do tipo ocorrem ao longo da história e em outras partes da gameplay, mas morrem na praia, tal qual as demais piadas.
Falando em história, ela existe, e é só isso mesmo. No primeiro episódio, eu até me esforcei para me importar, mas do segundo para frente eu só larguei a mão, porque não tem nada aqui que seja memorável ou diferente de qualquer coisa já lançada.
Partindo para as reclamações, vamos falar da gameplay. É até legal, nada muito complexo, nem muito profundo e muito menos ruim, e pra ser sincero ele num GERAL é bem ok… O problema vem da execução nas lutas mais avançadas do jogo. Fazendo uma comparação direta, em Batman Arkham (qualquer um dos quatro), quando estamos cercados por vários inimigos, cada um ataca de maneira cadenciada, ou seja, um de cada vez (mesmo nas dificuldades mais difíceis). Já em En Garde! todos os inimigos atacam junto quando estamos cercados, e isso gera a situação mágica de enquanto um te bate com um ataque defensável, o outro usa um indefensável. E ok, existe o botão de desvio além do parry nesse jogo, mas se você está em um canto ou perto de um monte de barris (por exemplo), seu desvio não acontece porque o jogo entende que você está desviando em direção a um obstáculo. E o problema é que isso é EXTREMAMENTE comum, já que as arenas ou são muito pequenas, ou têm muitos desníveis ou têm muitos elementos no cenário que se tornam obstáculos indiretos. Se isso não bastasse, o jogo, durante os combates, não sabe equilibrar a quantidade de inimigos em tela. Em lutas de bosses vai ser comum você, além de enfrentar o chefe, ter que lidar com minions simples e inimigos de armadura/patente mais alta enquanto o chefe vem querendo enfiar a espada na sua barriga, e isso na luta final é intensificado ao quadrado, já que nesta, enfiaram mais inimigos especiais que exigem uma luta mais cadenciada pelo jogador contra os mesmos. Resumindo, vai ser comum você perder uma luta porque o jogo foi MUITO mal equilibrado no combate.
Outro ponto crítico para mim é que esse jogo é mal otimizado. No Steam Deck (onde eu joguei 95% do jogo), mesmo com o indicador de frames interno da Valve me mostrando que estou jogando a 60 FPS, até eu me acostumar, o jogo parecia estar rodando em 40 FPS. Mesmo reduzindo as specs, era muito claro que a movimentação da Adalia estava mais lenta do que deveria ser. Na luta final, mesmo no low, vira um slideshow hediondo no portátil da Valve, me forçando a realizar essa luta em específico no meu PC.
Falando em otimização, eu não entendo como esse jogo é pesado no Steam Deck. Enquanto eu jogava Hades ou Outer Wilds no médio ou até ultra, mesmo que a bateria fosse drenada como se fosse água escoando, era difícil o videogame esquentar de forma perceptível ou ouvir a rotação das ventoinhas, mesmo jogando por mais de uma hora. Com En Garde!, mesmo jogando no low, o Steam Deck parecia estar fazendo um cosplay de drone e levantando voo, de tão barulhento. Não só isso, mas em menos de 20 minutos, o “videogame” esquenta de maneira assustadora, não é algo insustentável (que dificulta o jogador a tocar no portátil), mas é algo extremamente perceptível.
Por fim, eu particularmente acho criminoso esse jogo não ter áudios em espanhol. Como eu disse, esse jogo meio que é uma paródia/releitura do Zorro (que é um personagem criado nos EUA), e como a história se passa em um lugar similar ao México ou Espanha, ter os bonecos falando em inglês (com sotaque) tira um pouco do capricho da história e a torna menos crível, pelo menos para mim. Tá certo que o Zorro em si fala em inglês com sotaque tal qual aqui (pelo menos a versão do Antonio Banderas que é a minha referência sob o personagem), mas já que eles fizeram uma releitura moderna (ou algo do tipo), na minha visão, eles poderiam ter abraçado o idioma e não ter ido por uma linha genérica…
En Garde! (2023) é interessante (eu acho), mas nada de mais. Sua direção de arte é ótima, mas não consegue relevar os demais defeitos do game. A gameplay é genérica e não tem nada de mais. O humor é bobo e divertidinho (no máximo) e também não sobressai sob os demais pontos do game. Eu gosto (e muito) que o jogo seja linear e curto, mas nem isso salva.
Eu vi uma galera comparando esse jogo com Souls, e eu não tenho ideia do quanto daqui foi tirado da franquia da FromSoftware (muito por nunca ter jogado um Souls), mas eu acho bem injusto essa comparação. En Garde!, por mais que tenha parries e lutas de espada tal qual souls, não parece ter em seu conceito a proposta de se comparar ou inspirar diretamente em Dark Souls, Sekiro ou Elden Ring, parece mais um projeto indie em que seu criador estava experimentando conceitos e tentando dar um passo maior que a perna, do que algo maior que isso.
Really liked this one, but it has obvious holes that keep it from entering the upper tier of action games; it’s sort of a riff on the Arkham-style counter based combat against groups of enemies, the main distinction being that you’ll be faced with overlapping attacks you can’t simply defensively bait out, and so you have to use props in the environment to whittle down groups and make certain high-value targets vulnerable. While it is possible to fight enemies with just your sword and defensive kit- it’s suboptimal, and the best moments here are when you blend the environmental takedowns with the more traditional forms of combat: knocking them down stairs, kicking boxes at them, and dropping chandeliers on their heads to name a few.
The result is a combat system that ends up being much more playful than its influences, where the toughest enemies aren’t necessarily meant to be fought honorably, but tossed around with some swashbuckling gusto. Was also very pleasantly surprised to see that this extends to the major bosses as well, the majority of which are just as susceptible to environmental hazards and throw regular enemies into the mix as well- nicely avoiding the “boss as rhythm game” design that’s made many parry-centric games feel so rote. This means that the big, climatic moments here end up as some of the biggest highlights, as they push the combat into its wildest and most improvisational moments, and the few times you do fight an enemy one-on-one being so rare and novel that they feel like a genuine break from the rest of the action.
Over the course of its four-chapter campaign, it introduces a lot of ideas and a number of bespoke maps, and I was really excited when I saw that there was an “Arena” mode in the menu, something I expected to be a straight shot of action if the running through the story proved to be too diluted, but instead of chasing high scores and really learning each of the individual arenas, it’s a weird roguelike mode. The randomness here comes from the positive and negative modifiers you’ll get after completing each map, with the negative effects being pretty negligible and the choice of buffs being game-ruiningly powerful. Winning the last challenge had less to do with any accumulated sense of crowd control or map knowledge, and was far more a result of constructing a busted build that let me heal constantly and stun enemies whenever they tried to attack. Feels like a waste of a mode, especially since the basic gameplay hook seems like it would lend itself so well to something where you had to consider the ramifications of every stunned guard and hurled piece of cutlery.
Lots of room for improvement and expansion in future, but it’s wonderfully breezy tonally and solid enough mechanically that it should satisfy for the moment. (And consider going for a no-death clear of the campaign on Hard if you really want to get some extra mileage out of it.)
The result is a combat system that ends up being much more playful than its influences, where the toughest enemies aren’t necessarily meant to be fought honorably, but tossed around with some swashbuckling gusto. Was also very pleasantly surprised to see that this extends to the major bosses as well, the majority of which are just as susceptible to environmental hazards and throw regular enemies into the mix as well- nicely avoiding the “boss as rhythm game” design that’s made many parry-centric games feel so rote. This means that the big, climatic moments here end up as some of the biggest highlights, as they push the combat into its wildest and most improvisational moments, and the few times you do fight an enemy one-on-one being so rare and novel that they feel like a genuine break from the rest of the action.
Over the course of its four-chapter campaign, it introduces a lot of ideas and a number of bespoke maps, and I was really excited when I saw that there was an “Arena” mode in the menu, something I expected to be a straight shot of action if the running through the story proved to be too diluted, but instead of chasing high scores and really learning each of the individual arenas, it’s a weird roguelike mode. The randomness here comes from the positive and negative modifiers you’ll get after completing each map, with the negative effects being pretty negligible and the choice of buffs being game-ruiningly powerful. Winning the last challenge had less to do with any accumulated sense of crowd control or map knowledge, and was far more a result of constructing a busted build that let me heal constantly and stun enemies whenever they tried to attack. Feels like a waste of a mode, especially since the basic gameplay hook seems like it would lend itself so well to something where you had to consider the ramifications of every stunned guard and hurled piece of cutlery.
Lots of room for improvement and expansion in future, but it’s wonderfully breezy tonally and solid enough mechanically that it should satisfy for the moment. (And consider going for a no-death clear of the campaign on Hard if you really want to get some extra mileage out of it.)
Liked this overall, the lighthearted swashbuckler tone with Adalia playfully dueling with guards of a “nefarious” Count-Duke has charm and the parry mechanic’s fun for the most part
It’s split with 4 levels that are each fairly quick so not much of a long game, though that said it’s one of those that despite how short it is kinda wears thin a bit quickly. Combat’s pretty simplistic and the difficulty’s less to do with the dueling itself and more how many enemies are thrown at you at once that you’ll need to constantly run around to keep stunned them using the environment. At first this is fine but eventually gets overwhelming in an annoying way for me
It’s split with 4 levels that are each fairly quick so not much of a long game, though that said it’s one of those that despite how short it is kinda wears thin a bit quickly. Combat’s pretty simplistic and the difficulty’s less to do with the dueling itself and more how many enemies are thrown at you at once that you’ll need to constantly run around to keep stunned them using the environment. At first this is fine but eventually gets overwhelming in an annoying way for me
perhaps the pirates of the caribbean game ive been needing, in terms of buoyant swashbuckling anti-authoritarian escapism ofc but also just the Physicality of ecstatic and yet inherently comedic action spectacle. so many combinations of actions and fast reversals of fortune that are just Inherently Amusing!!! and the written jokes aint bad either, on the whole they give the game a much more lighthearted and breezy tone then the movies im comparing it to and it works perfectly well for this,,,i can easily picture a worse version, but its all exuberant action movie giggles completely sold on the gravity of how Awesome ur character and her accomplishments are. just pure joy!!! and one of the best swordplay games ive yet come across, as fantastic as the main crowd control stuff is i was always happiest to just sink my teeth into a good one-on-one duel...lots of promises fulfilled here
By far my favorite part of this year's Steam Next Fest, En Garde! originally began as an award-winning student project that blossomed into a fully-fledged game by then-newly formed Fireplace Games in Montpelier, France. Having finished it, I can proudly declare that their hard labor in expanding the original concept into a completed work has paid off well, and En Garde! is a charming swashbuckling romp through 17th-century Spain as the incredibly charismatic Adalia de Volador.
Combat is obviously the main draw here, and the foundational elements of it are fun throughout. There's a much greater focus on dueling than in most other games like it, and you often have to rely on trickery or your immediate surroundings to deal with large groups of foes and split them up. The basic combat loop involves striking, parrying, and dodging, with some of the tougher enemies mixing those up in quick succession to try and throw you off. It all feels very intuitive and fun to experiment with.
That being said, enemy variety and a lack of smoothness in the animations can hold it back a bit at times. What helps with variety, however, is that the enemy types require different strategies to deal with and aren't just palette swaps of the same ones over and over, so when you're faced with a big room of them all, it feels like a test of what you learned, thus making the victory much more rewarding.
Given that it's an independent project, the quality of the voice acting is stellar, much more than you might be used to. That's, of course, helped by a strong, genuinely funny, and charming script that feels very reminiscent of an 80s cartoon with all the cheese and awful puns to go along with it. As stated, Adalia de Volador is a wonderful character, and her banter with the various guards and lackeys you encounter is super endearing, as you can tell she has a genuine respect for anyone brave enough to cross swords with her.
Though, yes, En Garde! could have done with a couple more of her adventures to pad the game out some more, as although there's good pacing, more Adalia is surely nothing but a great thing. That being said, I'm sure there are updates and DLCs that can handle that.
En Garde! might fly under the radar for many people, but I strongly encourage you to check it out, especially if you're hankering for the kind of colorful platforming antics usually reserved for a mid-2000s PS2 game. It's a fantastic debut from a clearly very talented studio who should be immensely proud of what they've pulled off here.
8/10
Combat is obviously the main draw here, and the foundational elements of it are fun throughout. There's a much greater focus on dueling than in most other games like it, and you often have to rely on trickery or your immediate surroundings to deal with large groups of foes and split them up. The basic combat loop involves striking, parrying, and dodging, with some of the tougher enemies mixing those up in quick succession to try and throw you off. It all feels very intuitive and fun to experiment with.
That being said, enemy variety and a lack of smoothness in the animations can hold it back a bit at times. What helps with variety, however, is that the enemy types require different strategies to deal with and aren't just palette swaps of the same ones over and over, so when you're faced with a big room of them all, it feels like a test of what you learned, thus making the victory much more rewarding.
Given that it's an independent project, the quality of the voice acting is stellar, much more than you might be used to. That's, of course, helped by a strong, genuinely funny, and charming script that feels very reminiscent of an 80s cartoon with all the cheese and awful puns to go along with it. As stated, Adalia de Volador is a wonderful character, and her banter with the various guards and lackeys you encounter is super endearing, as you can tell she has a genuine respect for anyone brave enough to cross swords with her.
Though, yes, En Garde! could have done with a couple more of her adventures to pad the game out some more, as although there's good pacing, more Adalia is surely nothing but a great thing. That being said, I'm sure there are updates and DLCs that can handle that.
En Garde! might fly under the radar for many people, but I strongly encourage you to check it out, especially if you're hankering for the kind of colorful platforming antics usually reserved for a mid-2000s PS2 game. It's a fantastic debut from a clearly very talented studio who should be immensely proud of what they've pulled off here.
8/10
um dos piores souls like/sekiro like q eu ja joguei
It's pretty good, but I really don't care about any of the exploration or points of interest (there are like 100 of these, really?). It's a shame that's almost half the game. It still has a few bugs, and I crashed in the exact same place as the demo twice, so I guess they needed a bit more time. Arena mode was nice to get rid of the fluff, but the random aspects in it just make it worse.
Makes me really want a video game adaptation of cinematic masterpiece The Mask of Zorro (1998).
"i am the greatest swordfighter ever!"
runs away and kicks barrels at you
runs away and kicks barrels at you
Great game. En Garde! is full of charm, fun, great environments, good humour and sweet music. It's a blast to play. The combat is so creative and fun, but I wish the game was longer. Definitely one I'm going to replay. I'm surprised its score isn't higher here, but I guess that's because it's so short. Better short and sweet than long and boring, I say!
A short but sweet action adventure full of charm, funny dialogue and a unique combat system where you need to be quick on your feet and use the environment to defeat your enemies.
The games does a great job of having unique enemies where you really have to prioritize your targets correctly to get through encounters. The different enemy combinations used really make for unique feeling encounters, despite there not being that many enemy types. The items and rooms themselves also make a huge difference in terms of how the encounter feels.
That said, this game is being held back by a few things.
Firstly, there isn't much incentive to explore. While there are plenty of secrets to find, they do not really offer anything, not are the ones I found particularly difficult to get to. They do not offer additional platforming challenges, rarely unique encounters, but instead a little reference or funny joke.
While the platforming (and movement in general) is pretty good, the game doesn't do a whole lot with it. Sometimes you will have an opportunity to swing from a rope or grab a pole in the battle arena, but it rarely offers utility mid battle, just running is almost always better as you still have access to your full moveset that way. I wish this aspect was explored more.
While this game has been very enjoyable, I wish they explored the movement system a bit more, and I wish there were more enemy types. That said, everything that is in the game is delightful, and the game had me smiling throughout the entire experience.
The games does a great job of having unique enemies where you really have to prioritize your targets correctly to get through encounters. The different enemy combinations used really make for unique feeling encounters, despite there not being that many enemy types. The items and rooms themselves also make a huge difference in terms of how the encounter feels.
That said, this game is being held back by a few things.
Firstly, there isn't much incentive to explore. While there are plenty of secrets to find, they do not really offer anything, not are the ones I found particularly difficult to get to. They do not offer additional platforming challenges, rarely unique encounters, but instead a little reference or funny joke.
While the platforming (and movement in general) is pretty good, the game doesn't do a whole lot with it. Sometimes you will have an opportunity to swing from a rope or grab a pole in the battle arena, but it rarely offers utility mid battle, just running is almost always better as you still have access to your full moveset that way. I wish this aspect was explored more.
While this game has been very enjoyable, I wish they explored the movement system a bit more, and I wish there were more enemy types. That said, everything that is in the game is delightful, and the game had me smiling throughout the entire experience.
tô bem hypado com o que mais pode sair de devs se inspirando no combate de sifu
I think the combat has a lot of great ideas but is kinda clumsy execution wise, I mean the 1v1 combat is perfect, until 3 enemies it's still very fun, but when you have 5 enemies or more, it's just hard to get out of some situations and you can be stunlock pretty easily. The very sekiro idea of having to deflect or dodge is great but sometimes two enemies do a different attack, and it becomes very confusing like what input do I use ? BUT the game is very pretty, the voice acting is really fun and it feels really great most of the times. I was just too frustrated to finish it. Maybe I'm playing it wrong though not sure
A splendid little game that I hope does well enough to earn a sequel. Shockingly more interesting than it original appears with a really challenging and engaging core design. I recommend all fans of action games at least give it a shot!
Like a thief in the night, "En Garde" will swoop in, steal your heart and vanish in a flash.
The energy feels like a perfect fit for a Saturday morning cartoon, with its charisma and over the top nature. Combat is snappy, quick and begs you to just kick every person you see into whatever hilarious obstacle they happen to be standing next to. Presentation is pretty good overall. Cutscenes are rather stiff and lifeless but the voice actors give it their all and the environments you fight it are great set dressing.
This is a game where I recommend the harder difficulty setting. It feels very tuned for that mode and the more aggressive enemies make them feel really eager to be kicked down the stairs by a strong women. I can't blame them of course.
Overall a pretty solid experience that I just wish was longer. That should be taken equally as a compliment and criticism. If you go into the title knowing that it's short and you want a goofy thrill, then I think you'll really enjoy yourself here.
The energy feels like a perfect fit for a Saturday morning cartoon, with its charisma and over the top nature. Combat is snappy, quick and begs you to just kick every person you see into whatever hilarious obstacle they happen to be standing next to. Presentation is pretty good overall. Cutscenes are rather stiff and lifeless but the voice actors give it their all and the environments you fight it are great set dressing.
This is a game where I recommend the harder difficulty setting. It feels very tuned for that mode and the more aggressive enemies make them feel really eager to be kicked down the stairs by a strong women. I can't blame them of course.
Overall a pretty solid experience that I just wish was longer. That should be taken equally as a compliment and criticism. If you go into the title knowing that it's short and you want a goofy thrill, then I think you'll really enjoy yourself here.
When it works as it should, the game is really fun. Unfortunately the targeting system is really janky which makes the game frustrating and unfun. If I kick a box at a guard and stun him, I usually don't want to attack the other guard standing next to him, and yet!