Sword With Sauce

It is such a shame that the developer of Sword With Sauce has pretty much abandoned the game at this point. This is something that showed a great deal of promise and with just a little bit more polish, I think this game could have been a pretty big hit. Still, even with that being said. As you can get this game for only a couple of bucks, I still think if you like over-the-top first-person action/shooters that you should take a closer look at this game.

Slay Your Way To The End

There is no story for you to worry about in Sword With Sauce. You are a badass, you want to get to the end of the level and there are a bunch of bad guys that are standing in your way trying to stop you. That is all there really is to this game and in all honesty, with you, I am fine with that. In some ways, it reminds me of the awesome Super Hot.

Slaying Or Shooting?

You have a selection of weapons that you can pick from which will dictate the way you play the game. My personal favorite is the sword. You just run in, hacking and slashing and just trying to get to the end, killing as many enemies as you can before they take you out. There is a shield that you can use to deflect enemy bullets which is cool, even cooler is the fact that you can throw it around like you are Captain America!

If you want to take a more “stealth” approach to getting through each level, then you will probably want to use the bow. This lets you kill enemies from a distance so you can take them out before they even knew that you were there. If you want to just go in all guns blazing, then I suggest you use the machine gun!

A Gallery of Gadgets

One cool thing about Sword With Sauce is that as well as choosing a weapon, you also have a great selection of fun gadgets that you can use. There are over 20 different gadgets and they range from your more predictable item such as grenades and throwing stars. However, you can also get some more “extreme” gadgets in the form of things like a mini black hole generator and crabs that like to blow up!

Sticks With Style

I have to say that the art style is very simple here. It clearly has a similar design to Super Hot, but the characters are black instead of red. Also, they tend to be like these Stick Bot toys that you get. They have a very interesting design to them and the way that they flay around when shot and killed is pretty amusing.

The thing with the way the game looks is that it can sometimes be deceiving as the hit detection can vary and when you think you have a direct hit, something will happen and it will not register.

Pros:

• There is a fun selection of weapons
• I loved how crazy some of the gadgets were
• The game is very easy to get into
• There are multiple levels to fight your way through

Cons:

• The hit detection can feel way off sometimes
• The game is abandoned and it is not getting any more updates

A name like Sword with Sauce is an instant giveaway that it will be an indie title. Only independent developers have the tenacity to name a game like a fast-food offering and then dish out gameplay that has no respect for the common market. Well, that's actually the beauty of indie gaming - no boundaries, just code and carve whatever you're thinking. Plenty of these minimalist shooters are striking irons lately. They go into alpha early to refine the game and get some bucks for its further development. There often is a lot of backlash against funding these games early - offering the bare minimum to cash in at its inception. The critical review has dictated, otherwise though - that Sword with Sauce is actually an entertaining game.

Sauce, Please

Like most indie titles of this caliber, there isn't much of a narrative behind it. That oddly seems to work in the theme of the general game, however. Sword with Sauce is an open-ended action-stealth shoot 'em up - play how you want to achieve completion of each level. Sneak around with subtle prowess or go all guns blazing - whatever your personality type, the gameplay can adapt.

Being open-ended in this regard does bring the developers to a decision. Do we focus on visuals or put energy into diversifying ways to slaughter enemies? The latter was chosen - and probably for the best. The various ways to neutralize your foes build up the majority of entertainment in the game. You can grapple, jump, chop, shoot and sneak up for the kill - combining a million different options in the process.

The interfaces, character models, and environment assets do suffer as a result of that focus. They are as elementary as they possibly can be. The combat is so engaging, though - you start to believe that you just are a secret agent in a stickman-filled universe. The variety of inventory, the speed at which you can change assault types, and the difficulty create a sublime trifecta of fun.

Extra Sword, Hold the Bow

For all the simplicity incorporated into the game, Sword with Sauce delivers as an excellent indie offering. First glances and the explanation of gameplay wouldn't really do it justice. You wouldn't understand how much fun there is to be had without playing it first. All of its visual shortcomings and comical interfaces can be overlooked through its laid back combat mechanics. That alone triggers your imagination for the missing narrative and objectives.

Pros

• Magnificent combat mechanics - play the way you want
• High replayability value
• Good difficulty curve

Cons

• Visuals are very basic
• The interface looks like something from MS Paint