MeinMMO author Ody has spent more than 50 hours dueling with knights in a game on Steam (though, getting beaten up is a more accurate description). And that was just the demo! The actual game has only just been released.
When I downloaded the tech demo for Half Sword on Steam in June 2025, I had no idea what I was getting into: I didn’t know that it was being played extensively by streamers like Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe, nor that it was landing at number 10 on Steam’s most wished-for games (according to steamdb.info, as of January 30, 2026, at 2:13 PM)
Before I knew it, I had already put over 10 hours into the demo – and that number has now grown to over 50. We’re still talking about a tech demo that is quite limited in content. However, that is about to change.
On January 30, 2026, just over two years after the demo’s release, Half Sword actually launched – albeit only in early access for now. Even this promises a lot of new content and improvements compared to the demo in the trailer.
You can watch the trailer for the early access launch of Half Sword here:
Three game modes, now with even more variety
In Half Sword, you face your opponents in the arena, where it’s a bloody battle with historically accurate weapons and armor from 15th century Europe. Compared to the tech demo, there are now significantly more different scenarios for these fights.
In the demo, you drew cards before each round in two of the three game modes, the Gauntlet and the Free Mode. These determined the type of the next contest, such as a one-on-one fight, a 3vs3, or “every man for himself” with four fighters.
With the early access come new maps like “First Blood” (whoever bleeds first, loses) or “Traps”. The latter sends you into a room full of dangerous traps. New weapons, armor, and maps are also available.
The fighters (affectionately called “Willys” by the community) are no longer clones: They now have different faces, some of them even have hair! The early access release also adds significant visual improvements.
The core gameplay captivated even as a tech demo
What captivated me about Half Sword is the actual gameplay: The physics-based fights, where you influence the exact hand movements of your character yourself, offer a high replay value. No fight plays exactly the same, and more often than not, how skillfully I use my weapon is more crucial than the weapon itself.
At the beginning, I flailed my hands wildly just to hit anything, but over time, I learned more and more – and it feels great every time to end fights with a quick slash of the longsword.
HandOfBlood himself is a big fan of the game and has streamed a lot even as a demo. Currently, he is part of the Sauercrowd event, spending a lot of time back in WoW Classic. You can see the biggest winners of this event (of which he is one) here: 10 big winners of Sauercrowd – these Twitch streamers have already benefited from their adventure in WoW Classic Hardcore
