DaRmaZat On February 6, the cooperative action-roguelike game Sworn will launch in Early Access on Steam, developed by Windwalk Games and published by Team17. The full version will be released later for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Before we continue, here’s a small warning: the word Hades will appear quite often in the text below. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem for Sworn itself. Have I sown enough confusion now? Then the right tone has been set for this preview.
“Yes Man” won’t work here
In Sworn, which can be played with up to three others, you take on the role of a so-called Soulforged: a squire who must fight against the dark forces that have taken over Camelot and even all of Avalon. But to succeed, he must first become a full-fledged knight. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have all gone rogue and serve as your arch-enemies in this game, with Arthur as the ultimate final boss. Along the way, you’ll encounter some familiar figures from the legend of King Arthur, such as Merlin, Guinevere, and Nimue, though further exploration of the lore remains quite limited.
In terms of lore and story, the game stays fairly surface-level.
The introductory cutscene is beautifully done. From the very first second, Sworn impresses with its unique art style and sublime soundtrack. However, the rest of the game feels like a complete clone of Hades—though that doesn’t take away from the challenge. Especially in the beginning, aside from the rewards, you’ll want to avoid doors that hide so-called Legendary Beasts and Major Foes. The same goes for the random events you sometimes encounter. If you act like Jim Carrey in the movie Yes Man and say “yes” to everything, things will often go very wrong. Especially if you’re not yet strong enough to take down the overpowered enemies that will inevitably spawn.
Just roguelike as we know it, no freebies
As expected in this type of game, the environment does not work in your favor. Traps, spikes, arrows, and bombs come flying at you as soon as your movements are detected. And water, which you must always slide over using a dash, forms a constant obstacle. The rooms—simply called “rooms”—are compact and contain either multi-phase arena battles, encounters with special characters, or a shop. Just like in Hades, each door leading out of a room shows in advance what dangers and rewards await you.
The more runs you complete, the more avatars, characters, magical powers, and weapons you can unlock in the Carmathen Tower, the hub where each new run begins. At the center of this hub is a magical object: The Source. Here, you can trade Scrying Stones for permanent growth through various skill trees, using the Crystal Shards you’ve collected. But even if you unlock something, you’ll still need enough Grail Water or gold to actually use the upgrade. New avatars and equipment also aren’t handed to you—you have to buy them with Bobbins.
No gods and goddesses this time, but kings and queens
Every weapon, even the bow, has a light and a heavy attack. I especially liked the visor function of the heavy bow attack, though its range is quite limited. Melee weapons, like the sword and the Bo Staff, have a third attack option when executed perfectly at the end of a dash. But the complexity of the mechanics doesn’t stop there—they are actually well thought out.
For example, if you manage to meet Nimue, she can enhance aspects of your weapons using Fairy Embers, making them more efficient, faster, and more powerful. Additionally, you have a super-powerful Spell Attack, which can also be enhanced with various special effects, though it is limited by a cooldown timer. The upgrades for your abilities, called Blessings, can improve both your light and heavy attacks and are granted by Fae Kings and Queens. Indeed, replacing the gods from Hades.
The mechanics are well-designed.
Usually, you get to choose between two (often opposing) sets—such as fire and ice—each containing three skills for your weapon, spell, or dash, from which you can select one. Sometimes, you can also pick special buffs, which vary in rarity (Common, Uncommon, Rare, etc.). Occasionally, you’ll even get companions who temporarily aid you in battle against Arthur’s minions. Aside from combat, you can unlock additional bonuses that you’ll encounter while clearing the many rooms of Camelot. This is done by trading collected Obsidian with Guinevere.
Solid combat, but there are other issues
It’s true that the controls in Sworn feel a bit less smooth than in Hades; the dash, in particular, is noticeably less fluid. However, this improves as your squire gains more upgrades. Enemies also have unique and varied attack patterns, and their telegraphing works well. So, combat isn’t just brainless button-mashing—you can actually think about the best strategy depending on your opponents. This makes the gameplay more challenging and satisfying.
One downside is that none of the characters have voices—not even your own hero(ine)—and as mentioned earlier, the lore is minimal. This makes everything outside of combat feel less engaging, and in my opinion, not enough effort is made to enhance immersion in other ways. Compared to Hades, which heavily leans on mythological references within a humorous framework, Sworn feels a lot more superficial.
Additionally, the always-online aspect cannot be ignored—a design choice that means you can never pause the game. Sometimes, you’ll briefly see a “waiting for 0/1 players” message, even when playing solo. Lastly, I noticed that after dying, the controller is not automatically recognized again, forcing you to grab the mouse to click “Continue”.
Preliminary Thoughts
Yes, Sworn is arguably just a shameless Hades clone, but for some reason, that didn’t bother me in the slightest. Even though the plot—if you can even call it that—offers much less immersion due to your squire lacking personality and the absence of voice acting, the game delivers an enjoyable and even addictive roguelike gameplay loop. The mechanics are cleverly designed and build upon each other nicely. Over time, the Carmathen Tower starts feeling more alive, and your build increasingly bulldozes through multiple rooms. In short, I’m very curious to see how this game will evolve!
Additional Information
Release Date: February 6, 2025 (Early Access)
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency via BeyondGaming.
Developer: Windwalk Games
Publisher: Team17
Official Website: https://www.sworngame.com
Relevant links: Sworn on STEAM
