Nidhogg, also referred to as Fencing Simulator 2014 (by me, at least), is an excellent example of what a casual, multiplayer indie game should be. Be prepared to engage in very fast-paced swordplay, with friends of course.
The objective in Nidhogg is very simple: reach the end of the map on the enemy’s side before he/she can reach your end of the map. Upon reaching the end of the map, you’re promptly eaten by an Alaskan Bullworm. No idea why, but that signals your victory. However, a lone enemy stands in the way, ready to commence fencing at any given moment. This is where the real fun in the game lies, the fighting. Well, that’s basically what the game is, so there’s a plus.
There are three stances that one can take whilst wielding a sword in Nidhogg: Low, mid, and high. If your opponent attacks you low, and your stance is low, then you block their attack. This applies to the other two stances as well. There’s also a stance that you can take if you just hold your sword up high. This stance is only used to prepare for throwing the sword, which, when thrown, can be deflected if your opponent has a mid or high stance active. Once you’re without a sword, you must revert to your fists, which don’t always help out much. However, you can pick up a fallen sword.
The game has a very minimalistic style to it. The characters are very low-res, solid-color sprites. This is an interesting style for such a game and it does add to the fun a bit on a certain stage, the Cloud stage. Because of the game’s style, it is very difficult to see where each character is on this map, which is both a good and bad thing! All that said, the game does have one massive flaw. That flaw being the complete lack of content. For a game that has been in development for several years, I would at least expect more than four maps. Four years and only four maps? Very disappointing.
Nidhogg, overall, is just an excellent game. Highly recommended if you have a friend to play it with!
cublikefoot 