En Garde Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · August 24, 2023

For this En Garde Review, where we play a swashbuckling action game! Battle graceless guards and nefarious noblemen in fast-paced fights full of spectacle. Use the environment, your wit, and your blade to teach them all a lesson! Play as Adalia in her daring escapades full of sword-fighting, satire, and shenanigans. Challenge the cruel Count-Duke and oppose tyranny with panache!

En Garde Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
8.08GB download size.
Steam achievements.
Full controller support.
Boot-up options – play the game or play the DX12 version.
Graphics settings – resolution, window mode, v-sync, framerate cap, gamma, sharpness, 3D resolution scale, anti-aliasing, textures, global illumination, bloom, reflections, fog, shadows, object detail, motion blur, and motion blur intensity.
Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, sprint mode toggle, Xbox or Playstation buttons, and rebind controls.
Can rebind controls for the keyboard controls.
3 difficulties – Easy, medium, and hard.
Accessibility options – Hud scaling slider, enemy ui scaling, subtitles, subtitles scaling, and accessible font.
Assist mode options – invincibility, automatic parries, camera autofocus, and camera auto turn.
Cutscenes are a mix of in-game and still art.
Opening and ongoing tutorial prompts and video pop-ups.
A 3D world with full 360 camera control.
Combat is based on fencing so it’s a case of countering and learning patterns, you can riposte and parry.
The environment can be used like swinging on poles for traversal or kicking boxes and crates into enemies to stun them.
Clear parry marker.
A lot of parkour and platforming.
Excellent voice work.
The game feels like a good comedy film.
You can kick enemies into the water, into walls/racks, or off balconies.
Lore and little tidbits can be found and read.
Auto lock on for combat.
Pick up and throw pots at enemies to stun them or throw them off guard.
Each enemy has a fatigue meter and depleting, leaving them open to massive damage.
Combat arenas can trigger which locks you into a location with many enemies.
Enemies can fall down stairs, into fountains, and all sorts.
The game feels like a Men in Tights or Princess Bride we never got.
Panache is where you build it up with fancy moves and combos, allowing you to pull off special skills for kills.
Throw buckets on enemies’ heads to distract them.
Good looking locations.
The combat is very fluid and fun once you get to grips with it.
Big boss encounters.
A lot of funny one-liners and quips as you fight.
You still earn achievements even with invincibility on.
End of episode breakdown.
When the parkour is flowing then it really makes the game feel and look cool.
Slight puzzle elements throughout.
New enemy types bring new strategies needed to kill them.
Challenges and secrets can be found as you play and explore.
You can pet a chicken!
Captains are stronger enemies and act like elites with Shields.
You get told the secrets and challenges after you finish the episode.
Has some replay value.
The arena mode is a run-based mode where you choose a difficulty, how many arenas, and the boss. What happens next is all randomised and at the end of every encounter you pick one good and one bad modifier.

En Garde Review Cons:

Groups of stronger enemies are a steep learning curve.
The kicking of people and boxes is not great, The tutorial just says press a but that’s jump so it’s actually double tap a, and make sure you are a kick’s distance away beforehand.
Weaker enemies can be just button-mashed to death.
The markings are not always clear.
The areas are pretty narrow and this causes the camera to be a bit clunky in terms of dodging enemy attacks.
A lot of loading screens that breaks the flow.
Whenever the parkour flow breaks the game just stops dead and is usually followed by a long walk back to start the parkour run again.
Challenges seem to be hidden until you have done them which is a bit of an odd choice.
Never sure when you have hit a checkpoint.

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