Swordship – A Challenging ‘Dodge ‘Em Up’

You’ve heard of the infamous Shoot ‘Em Up genre of games (Shmups, if you’re particularly hip), right? Okay, what about the lesser known, but equally entertaining, Dodge ‘Em Up? No? Well gamers, now is your chance to get better acquainted with the release of the post-apocalyptic, action packed Swordship!

Developed by Digital Kingdom and published by Thunderful Group, Swordship turns what you think you know about fast-paced, futuristic piracy on its head. Swordship takes the ‘shooting’ out of Shmup, and replaces it with dodging, ducking, and diving to evade danger instead. Guns are way to heavy and cumbersome anyways, amirite? With no weapons onboard, your ship is lightweight and lightning-fast, all the better for beating the competition to the valuable cargo upon the water’s surface. Besides, who needs guns when you can just turn the enemies’ weapons against themselves?

We all wonder what global warming might eventually do to the world, and Swordship gives us a glimpse into one such doomed scenario, which involves humanity seeking refuge from the fallout in three megacities located deep down on the ocean floor. Any human outcast from the new underwater societies have to scrape together a fraught existence on the surface, the ‘burned lands’, while the megacities exchange millions of containers laden with prized goods every day. You play as one of the few citizens-turned-rogue-pilots that take it upon themselves to commandeer ultra-fast ships in order to steal those valuable containers and bring them to the banished.

Swordship is a creative and inventive concept, with funky cel shaded graphics and a world wonderfully reminiscent of games such as Wipeout. Running at a buttery smooth 60 FPS, the game will test even the most veteran of gamers with only one difficulty level and no continues to fall back on. Will you have what it takes to dip, dodge and weave your way to victory?

Be tactical; use your kit and reaction speeds to dodge enemy ships and trick them into destroying one another. Be profitable; steal precious containers and deliver them to earn bigger and better upgrades for your ship. Be adventurous; there may not be any shooting, but Swordship certainly doesn’t skimp on the action!

Swordship is available now across PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Score hunters and adrenaline junkies step on up – you’re not gonna want to sleep on this one!