En Garde is swashbuckling fun, and even though the game doesn't evolve beyond the first impression, it still shows that you don't need to be mechanically complex or focus on variety to make a worthwhile experience. At about 4 hours long, the game hit a sweet spot of offering a substantial experience without getting in its own way (though some of the late-game challenges were a little more demanding than they needed to be).

The pulpy latin adventure flavor and sense of humor, makes this game stand out in a great way, and the sharp presentation made a lot of the game's weaknesses more forgiving. Even if there were only 5-6 enemies repeated, the fun came from dropping chandeliers, throwing buckets on people's heads, tossing a lantern onto a stack of gunpowder, etc. While the corridors didn't do much to distinguish themselves, I did find myself enjoying the platforming and moving through the space. I think the game shines with how it handles crowd control, battling 4-5 enemies at the same time with someone in the back throwing bombs is hectic fun. My biggest gripe is that the boss battles turned into kind of tedious chases once all the destructable elements were used, and the game really requires you to nail the parry mechanics, which is not as fun as laying traps for your enemies. Still this is some of the most fun action swordfighting I've experienced in a game, which forgives a lot of the game's rougher edges.