Deal | Best price on Steam: Innovative shoot-'em-up for high-score hunters – 95% off, now $1
In Swordship, players pilot a high-speed vessel through a dystopian water world where humanity survives beneath the surface. The goal is to steal containers, outmaneuver enemies and deliver the loot – or risk everything for a shot at a high score. At the end of each level, containers can be traded for extra lives, upgrades or more points, depending on how bold the player wants to be. The twist? The ship is completely unarmed.
Swordship does away with direct attacks entirely. Instead, its gameplay revolves around skillful evasion and the tactical use of enemy fire. By positioning the ship strategically between foes, players can trick them into taking each other out. Procedurally generated levels keep things fresh, while a permadeath system adds constant tension. The goal remains the same throughout: beat your high score and push a little further with each run.
Reviews: Innovative idea, but limited content
Swordship was developed by Swiss studio Digital Kingdom and published by Thunderful Publishing in December 2022. At launch, the German gaming magazine Eurogamer praised the game’s innovative concept and intense gameplay – particularly its reward system for high-risk moves like last-second dives, which added plenty of adrenaline. However, the review also noted the game’s limited scope – with only three levels – and the resulting lack of variety. The testers further pointed out that on higher difficulty settings, the tactical depth suffers, as dodging becomes the dominant strategy.
Despite some shortcomings, Eurogamer gave Swordship a solid 7 out of 10. On Metacritic, the Nintendo Switch version holds a Metascore of 77, although no User Score is available yet. The PC version hasn’t received any ratings at all. Steam users, however, appear more enthusiastic – 88% of the 97 user reviews are positive.
95% discount on Steam
Swordship is normally priced at around $20 on Steam. Until June 26, however, the innovative shoot-’em-up is available at a steep 95% discount for just about $1. According to SteamDB, the game has gone on sale several times before – but it’s never been this cheap.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
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