Half Sword Early Access Plagued by Technical Problems and Mixed Reviews

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Half Sword, a physics-based medieval combat simulator developed by the small team at Half Sword Games and published by Game Seer Publishing, recently entered Steam Early Access. Priced at €23.99, with a discount bringing it down to €19.19 until mid-February, the game arrived with significant expectations. Its earlier demo had been a surprise hit during Steam Next Fest, drawing tens of thousands of concurrent players and building a passionate following. Now, with a full Early Access release, Half Sword is facing the difficult transition from viral demo to sustainable full game.

The Early Access version expands significantly on what made the demo popular. Multiplayer arenas allow players to engage in group battles and duels, while new game modes introduce more structured competition. A progression system and deeper customization options have been added, including historically inspired 15th-century European weapons, armor, shields, and heraldry.

At the heart of Half Sword is its unique control system. Players swing swords, hammers, scythes, and other weapons entirely with their mouse, translating physical movements directly into in-game attacks. This design produces exaggerated ragdoll physics, where characters stumble, collapse, and collide in often absurd ways. Combat regularly results in decapitations, severed limbs, and massive pile-ups of defeated fighters.

However, the transition to Early Access has not been smooth. Despite strong initial interest, Half Sword currently holds a “Mixed” rating on Steam, with only around 42 percent of reviews marked as positive from more than 3,600 total. This reception stands in sharp contrast to the overwhelmingly positive response the demo received.

Many negative reviews point to serious technical problems. Players report frequent stuttering, noticeable input lag, and dramatic frame rate drops, sometimes falling as low as 20 frames per second even on systems equipped with recommended hardware such as RTX 4060 or 4070 graphics cards. Crashes are common, and multiplayer matches often worsen these issues. Some users have also noted that the full release feels slower and less responsive than the earlier demo, adding to the frustration.

To their credit, the developers have been transparent about these shortcomings. In Steam updates, Half Sword Games has acknowledged the technical issues and promised a hotfix in the near future. The studio has also shared a preliminary Early Access roadmap spanning six to twelve months. This plan focuses on improving performance optimization, refining multiplayer stability, expanding maps and arenas, enhancing gore and blood effects, developing forge mechanics for crafting equipment, and polishing both single-player and multiplayer experiences.

Despite the negative reviews, player interest has been strong. On launch day, Half Sword reached a peak of over 21,600 concurrent players, confirming that the demo’s popularity translated into real sales. While player numbers dropped in the following days, they remained in the thousands, indicating a dedicated core audience willing to stick with the project.

This situation makes Half Sword particularly interesting to watch. On one hand, it captures something rare: a form of combat that feels genuinely physical, unpredictable, and entertaining in ways traditional fighting systems cannot replicate. On the other hand, its technical problems highlight the challenges indie developers face when scaling up a viral prototype into a full product.