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Game
Game2022
Swordship
Developer Digital Kingdom
Swordship is a roguelike where dodging is your best weapon. Trick your enemies into killing each other, steal containers to upgrade your ship and unlock new ways to play. Dodge, dive, die, learn, repeat. From the Steam store page
147 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 11, 2026 · last updated Oct 12, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
84
LovedLoved
112 positive · 21 negative
95% range 77–89%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 112 | 21 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
123 of 146 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
84% recommend · 113 yes, 21 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 134 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (210 of 244 positive).
Players praise Swordship as an original, stylish arcade game that flips the shoot-em-up genre by requiring only dodging. [1][2][3] Many find it very difficult but rewarding, with tight controls and a fair challenge that demands focus. [1][4][5] Some reviewers note the game is short and recommend buying it on sale due to limited content for the full price. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
Gameplay is as fun as it looks. It's fun dodging around the enemy ships and planing out how to have them destroy each other. I also really enjoyed the sci-fi theme and art Too many of my deaths felt unfair. There's a few rare situations that can come up and are really hard to read. Dying to them sucks. Also It's kinda hard to see the ship while it's diving. This gets very annoying at a particular part of the game, …
- [1]
Difficult arcade game with great replayability. Very original gameplay with progression between runs. Feels good to play roguelite that is not another platformer or top down shooter. Starts a bit slow and extra lives could be replaced by shields to prevent extending first stages even more. After you get hang of it, you meet first boss that kills you in 500ms xD Great battery life on Steam Deck with very stable 60 …
- [2]
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31028489-Maddmike/]Steam Curator Swordship is a shmup without the shooting, and that's a decision that lets it hyper focus on positioning and dodging. Make no mistake; this is a score chasing arcade game more than it is a conventional roguelike (despite its clear infusion if roguelike elements). It's lean on what you would consider 'content', but its simple well executed …
- [4]
Easily the most visually clean, artistically sharp, and mechanically chiseled games I've ever played. Sometimes the chaos of 3 enemies triggering each other's attacks gets too much, but I've never had a death that I felt wasn't my fault for being unaware or positioned poorly. The ONLY problem I have is that it truly is a difficult game. If you are not LOCKED IN, then you are not moving past city 2. Swordship demands …
- [3]
Distilled arcade experience that plunges you straight into action with superbly fluid and consistently engaging gameplay, including randomization for lasting appeal. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3509021470 Taking away the ability to shoot elevates dynamics to another level since you not only need to dodge incoming attacks, which you can do both horizontally and vertically by briefly …
Summarised from 34 of the 149 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
84% of the 134 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Swordship. The complaint that keeps coming up: game is short, with about 2-6 hours of content. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 147 · most liked firstExtremely rad indie discount: Swordship, 95% off. Under a dollar! Super cool arcade game inspired (stylistically) by the movie Redline. A shmup where you can't attack, and have to bait enemies into shooting each other while dodging. It sold really badly, which sucks. At this price, a no-brainer.
positive · AI labelView post →Difficult arcade game with great replayability. Very original gameplay with progression between runs. Feels good to play roguelite that is not another platformer or top down shooter. Starts a bit slow and extra lives could be replaced by shields to prevent extending first stages even more. After you get hang of it, you meet first boss that kills you in 500ms xD Great battery life on Steam Deck with very stable 60 fps. Can't recommend enough.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay is as fun as it looks. It's fun dodging around the enemy ships and planing out how to have them destroy each other. I also really enjoyed the sci-fi theme and art Too many of my deaths felt unfair. There's a few rare situations that can come up and are really hard to read. Dying to them sucks. Also It's kinda hard to see the ship while it's diving. This gets very annoying at a particular part of the game, because I'd keep losing track of it and dying as a result. The progression was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Full Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/1ClRbtgGmQw Gameplay: Decent (Arcade) Graphics: Good Audio: Good PC Requirements: Potato Difficulty: Hard Game Time: 2h-6h
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of those games you will know if you like or not in the first couple runs. For me it feels like a shmup without the ability to shoot. The angled view and poor audio feedback from the enemy shots you are supposed to dodge make it frustrating and unsatisfying. Moreover, the focus on dodging while trying to collect things without being able to dish out the damage feels weak. the game's got a good look and animation is solid but a really unappealing concept and lackluster execution.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Immediately positions itself as a Big Deal in my book. An original take on a desperately underused aesthetic (think WipEout), Swordship expertly executes on a minimalist look, design and story. No time is wasted establishing rules or lore. You get what you get, and then you go. You learn how to navigate intuitively, seeing how things interact. You keep going. Then you start to realise the potential depth in the interactions between your ship, it's upgrades and the enemies. You keep going. You…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wishlisted the game at launch but hesitated due to mixed reviews. Despite a lovely look, the clunky design and lack of visual feedback create very frustrating situatuions. Recurring bugs (got stuck in main menu 2times, freezes...), and no updates, makes it a very average experience.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31028489-Maddmike/]Steam Curator Swordship is a shmup without the shooting, and that's a decision that lets it hyper focus on positioning and dodging. Make no mistake; this is a score chasing arcade game more than it is a conventional roguelike (despite its clear infusion if roguelike elements). It's lean on what you would consider 'content', but its simple well executed idea make it worthwhile if you're into this kind of game.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The controls feel clunky, the angled view feels like it doesn't fit well at all, and the enemies aren't interesting. And why is it score based and so slow with both progressions?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too modern in the wrong ways. It's visually sleek but that's where all the emphasis went, not enough on fun and approachable gameplay, it's all style and no substance. It is overwhelmingly hard due to how bad ship movement is, this is not possible to play well with WASD, there's an acceleration factor that makes precisely and quickly maneuvering around the screen impossible without 1:1 raw mouse input, which would immediately make the game trivial. If they did fix the movement by gutting…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately a case of style over substance. Many of the design choices favor looks while detracting from the gameplay. It doesn't respect your time; there are constant obstacles put between you and playing the game. There may be most of a decent game in there somewhere, but you'll probably hit alt-F4 out of annoyance before you find it. It looks great and overall the graphics are fairly easy to read, but the most fundamental part of the gameplay—your ship movement—is quite terrible. You…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing a run on Beginner had me hooked from the get-go. The presentation and arcadey feel perfectly complement the gameplay, which is extremely fun. It flips the shoot-em-up genre on its head, requiring you to dodge attacks and trick enemies into destroying each other with no offensive potential of your own. I died a few times but ended up winning the run. “Okay, I definitely see the potential with this game! But that was too easy, so let’s bump up the difficulty to Normal,” I thought to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like Luftrausers for pacifists. Gameplay is smooth and the graphics are superb. Great job to the dev team. At times the movement can feel a little outta control with how jerky the ship can be. Especially when resurfacing but thankfully this can be passed off as a skill issue. The leaderboards are primed for some great competition thus far as you can break the top 100 without breaking much of a sweat. Let's just hope cheaters and sweaty techs stay away from this one for a change. Otherwise,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easily the most visually clean, artistically sharp, and mechanically chiseled games I've ever played. Sometimes the chaos of 3 enemies triggering each other's attacks gets too much, but I've never had a death that I felt wasn't my fault for being unaware or positioned poorly. The ONLY problem I have is that it truly is a difficult game. If you are not LOCKED IN, then you are not moving past city 2. Swordship demands your full focus and attention, but uses it well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Distilled arcade experience that plunges you straight into action with superbly fluid and consistently engaging gameplay, including randomization for lasting appeal. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3509021470 Taking away the ability to shoot elevates dynamics to another level since you not only need to dodge incoming attacks, which you can do both horizontally and vertically by briefly submerging below water surface, but also to keep repositioning in ways that will cause…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would be a fun game but the controls are broken (for instance no way to quit the level until you die?) especially with a controller, which mine had inverted controls and no way to change them. Also got stuck on a tutorial part that said "bomb crates to screen wipe" but the game didn't give me any bombs to progress.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Steam] Thunderful Black Friday Bundle ($8.10 / 94% off). **Games in Bundle** - Cursed to Golf - Swordship - The Gunk - Togges - Wavetale - White Shadows
neutral · AI labelView post →Woah - a dollar for Swordship is unreal. This is a super fun game with an incredible feel
positive · AI labelView post →Art style is definitely the best part of this game and was my reason for instant buy (on good sale), but! Music is a big letdown, repetitive and nothing like in trailer Using the controller is not precise enough, it would be so much better to use a mouse here for precision, but that is not possible and was the final nail for me Gameplay could be hit or miss, for me it wasn't enjoyable at all, check demo, then decide.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am honestly shocked that this game is £17 at full price. I got it at 95% discount (<£1) and still feel that it's not very good. I am very glad I didn't buy it before this sale, as it was on my wishlist for some time before.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really really cool. I played on easy, to my surprise I finished a run through. I'm not very skilled but I felt like a stunt driver and with the electronic music felt like a rock star. Gonna give it a go again someday.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The difficulty level is just right, and the music and sound effects are amazing. You really need to concentrate to complete the game, and they've added lots of details to make your tricks look cool. However, this details and freeze frames could bother some people. It's WAAAAY easier with a controller! It made me realise that arcade-type games have potential and that I would probably like some of them. Buy it when it's on sale, 20€ is expensive for ~3.5 hours of gameplay, but it's fairly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yet another game, that mistakes 'arcade' as unfair, one hit kill jankfest, where inconvenience and time wasting is seen as a preferable thing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not sure why I got this without playing the demo. It sounds good. It's just not for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It says I only have ~30 minutes in-game so far, but I've put several hours into the demo from when it was in Next Fest. Deliriously stylish, pulse-pounding action, brutally streamlined, and polished to a dystopian cyberpunk shine. Hedge your chances by being greedy, or run lean and mean while pushing for the high score by donating your illicitly obtained goods to the impoverished survivors of a global catastrophe. This is arcade gaming at its best: Controls are impeccably tight and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/PGJx41mC3TA Imaginative, well executed and with great soundtrack, Swordship is a very good dodge'em up! I hope the genre name gains some traction. :) You do not shoot anything, you just have to wait that someone tries to shoot you, and you have to place yourself in a way that that shot kills any enemy. Clever. You will need very quick reflexes at some point, but it worths it. PROS - graphical choice helps understanding everything that's happening…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not sure where they get roguelike from in the game's description because you collect many extra lives and you only start over when you lose them all, but aside from being mislabeled, it is still a very competent ARCADE-style game. It takes a while to get used to the controls and to have the enemies kill each other on purpose, but I like the idea of you being a pacifist who makes the enemies blow each other up. The dodge mechanic feels good (you go underwater), the difficulty is fair given…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Saurian Indie Game Showcase #157! DEATHRUN TV SwordShip BapBap - @bapbapgg.bsky.social Place: www.twitch.tv/rexstrider Time: NOW And checkout some indies!~ Being joined for BapBap by friends! After more Furi/ Multiplayer stuff with Song Request ( #Kpop focused cuz mood ;3 AND -
neutral · AI labelView post →Feels like an arcade game designed to take your quarters and disrespect your time. There are lulls where nothing is happening then all of a sudden you're being bombarded. Not for me even for $1.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →EDIT: Every time you play, you have to reset the tutorial or else it soft locks you in it for whatever reason when playing a game and trying to start for the first time every time you open up the EXE. It's really short. It's good for an hour or two. There is a main problem with the gameplay missing something where it doesn't feel complete, the game is focused on dodging and making enemies attack themselves, but it feels very basic. Beginner only has the levels shorter, trying to do Normal…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would have loved to play it, but (atleast with my Razer Keyboard) the game is bricking itself since it's basically forcing me to use a controller (probably recognizing the Razer Analog feature). So sadly I am pretty much unable to play it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love everything about this game. Visuals, music, design. Gameplay is demanding but not tiresome. Runs are quick and give a nice adrenaline rush. If you die you know it's your fault. It's definietly not game for everybody but people that dig that type of games will have a blast even if they won't stay long enough to unlock everything. I hope one day Digital Kingdom will have a chance to create a sequel direct or just spiritual. I'll be waiting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Roguelike Wipeout with great music!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art style is nice, except for the not-so-elegant UI. However, the game itself is short, and have some annoying bugs. So Meh
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is certainly fun, if it was in an arcade I'd waste all my money to play it. I hope it continues to get more and more content
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Genuinely Novel And Fun Swordship feels like playing an old Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up but where you turn your enemies into weapons. It’s like if you took a comedy sketch where everyone was accidentally hurting one another but you were composer getting them to do it – and you were hyped on cocaine while doing it. Playing the Game The game spins the camera around but the enemies still come from the top: usually. Unlike the old games where you found power ups by killing enemies, you unlock them…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can read my other reviews [url=https://www.indiecornergames.com/] here! Video review: https://youtu.be/YDWThcgToxA Roguelike titles always had a special corner in the comfort of my controller. Swordship is no exception to the rule, equipped with a pack of simple but quite vibrant graphics and little-seen game mechanics. This title is yet another very positive case in a slightly different line of roguelikes. In Swordship the player controls a ship that floats on water and where the main…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are a fan of challenging fast-paced games where your reaction time is crucial, Swordship is the game for you. It fulfills one of the biggest challenges of bullet hell or "dodge'em" up to perfection: making risk taking rewarding. Getting to the ideal spot to make the perfect dodge at the last second is probably one of the best sensation there is. The graphics are lovely, with limited colors by level, allowing to read the attack patterns easily. The soundtrack is catchy, and I had no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →24. Swordship Finally managed to beat the boss on beginner level. Took some getting used to, but once you realise its a dodge em up and not a shoot em up, it clicks. Its a short game, but a lot of replay value here even once completed, and one I'll be coming back to for a quick blast!
positive · AI labelView post →It's interesting and unique but that don't mean it's good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR - looks like it should be great but suffers from that artificial difficulty BS that plagues low content roguelikes to pad out the experience. I want to like this game, the art style and simple game play is all up my street, the game is incredibly short, 3 x 3 levels and then one final boss. The only variation besides colour is that the 1st set has no environmental risk, 2nd set you can crash into the sides and 3rd set left and right barriers appear. It seems like this lack of content…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is awesome and dripping with style. It's like a reverse bullet hell in that you cannot shoot, but must use enemy attacks against themselves, and your actual objective is to “catch” packages delivered to you as projectiles, and deliver them at a drop point, while dodging explosions and the like. Quick to play, and difficult to master, what’s not to like?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The action puzzle game Swordship is currently selling at a huge reduction. store.steampowered.com/app/1804270/...
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is left for dead, not worth getting unless it is on sale, however it frequently goes on -95% sale. That being said If you catch it on sale it's worth getting. Extra: however don't expect more than 3 short worlds from this game, while it is replayable it's still a very short game that can be beaten on "Normal" difficulty in less than a hour, but there are difficulties and achievements alongside new squadrons that breathe some life into the replayability
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is pretty fun. It's fast-paced, and I appreciate the idea of "No, you can ONLY dodge". You can unlock some power-ups, but to have to strictly dodge everything is neat. It's difficult for sure, but I don't think it's insane. You as the player have to make some choices on "Well I'll probably die if I go for that...... But maybe I'm that good" and then finding out: No, you weren't that good. All that said: Not for full price. I don't think there's enough content to justify that much. I got…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fight by dodging. Simple concept, good execution. If I had one very minor complaint it's that I'd want to be able to reset my run a little quicker than you are able to in the current UX.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a very fun and polished experience that won't last you long enough for the $20 full price. It's discounts are incredibly steep however, so make sure to pick it up on sale. It is honestly a pretty dam good breath of fresh air for the bullet hell genre, js not a lot to it outside of many difficulty options and fun achievements. The idea that the only way to get rid of enemies is to trick then to hit each other is honestly an amazing core gameplay idea for a bullet hell adjacent
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is challenging but also rewarding in a fun way. you have to stop the attackers and avoid all the attacks I only completed beginner mode but it took a bit I am looking forward to going into harder difficulties. I could see me spending so much time on this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →With a name like swordship, you would think there were swords in this game, there are not. There's no combat in this roguelike. The genre known for diverse combat. This would be a good game if were a racing game. honestly better off as a mobile game you play for 10 mins. Not made for engaging gameplay or long term play at all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like it! Here’s what I’d say if you don’t like/are really bad at the undertale dodging you probably wouldn’t like this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its fun but inraging dont play with a short temper great game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game when you want something fast-paced that will test your reflexes! Very smart game design, slick and clear graphism (desactivate dynamic camera if that bothers you). Not very long lifespan, except if you want to chase the high score but great experience still, I recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice and polished arcade game, thank you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not my usual type of game but I end up wanting to play "just one more run" every time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Swordship is a great game that left us wanting much much more. Check out our video review and critique! https://youtu.be/cptWut_a-JM
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most unique and interesting games I have ever played. Definitely worth playing. 5/5.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good graphics, good music/sound design, good gameplay. What more do you want ?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had a lot of fun playing this fast-paced game. It's challenging, but in a good way. Very addictive. Feels polished and very neat. Would recommend to anyone who likes arcade games, a real hidden gem!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Swordship is an absolute blast to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got this game with the intent to try it out for 10 minutes and ended up going for over an hour. Super fast-paced, tricky, and lots of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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