Sworn is a dark medieval version of Hades that you play together with friends

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We ventured into a darker version of Camelot at gamescom 2024 and sharpened our knives together with the developers

This game feels like GlobalESportNews bingo come true: dark atmosphere, medieval times with a dash of fantasy, grim-looking dudes and dudettes in armor and the option to play either together with friends or completely alone.

In short: I’m sure thatSwornwill pique your interest if the wordRoguelikedoesn’t make you leave the virtual room in a hurry.But is there a cool game behind the cool facade?

I wanted to find out for you at gamescom 2024 by sitting down with the developers from Windwalk Games and playing a round or two of Sworn.

Four fists against Camelot

What kind of game is Sworn? In this action roguelike, it’s King Arthur’s turn. The dark king behaves about as kindly as his almost namesake Arthas, the Lichking from World of Warcraft, and must therefore be brought down.

So you set out as a nameless warrior to kick the ass of the Knights of the Round Table and their king. Youcan do this either alone or with up to three other players You will be supported by well-known characters from the Arthurian saga, such as the wizard Merlin or the woman from the lake Nimue.

You shouldn’t expect too much story in Sworn, however, as the focus is clearly on the gameplay and its mechanics. Over the course of the game, you will unlock a total of four different characters: Vigilante, Monk, Rook and Spectre. Each character has four different unlockable weapons as well as advantages and disadvantages. While the Rook is a real slugger, the Spectre prefers to attack from a distance.

Each weapon can be improved and customized using a node system and your character also has an upgrade system. Thanks to the high level of customizability, you can create different builds and focus your character more on frontal attacks or supporting spells and tools, for example.

No room for loot goblins

How does Sworn play? &nbspOnce you have set up your base accordingly, you enter the battlefield. Here everything works in a similar way to the genre pioneer Hades: You clear the area of monsters and then have to decide which door you want to go through in order to bag the upgrade or a valuable resource behind it.

From time to time you will also find individual items in the area where you can decide whether to accept the challenge in exchange for more loot or move on. You’ll also have enough time to do this, as you can only go through a gate together as a group when all players are standing in front of it.

You are also protected from loot goblins, i.e. friends who bag every item regardless of whether they can use it or not. Because all players receive the same rewards. Friendly fire, i.e. taking damage from allied players, does not exist either. So (hopefully) no arguments will break out in your co-op round.

The enemies and bosses are varied depending on the area and are sometimes easier, sometimes more difficult to eliminate. Especially when ground effects slow you down, a room is particularly twisty or the boss attacks cover a large area, you will quickly break into a sweat. However, beginners to the genre won’t be left out in the cold thanks to the adjustable difficulty level.

Between material battle andCome on, one more round

In total, there will be ten bosses, various mini-bosses and other special opponentsto keep you on your toes during your tour of Camelot. All three of the bosses I faced together with one of the developers had their very own fighting style. However, you shouldn’t expect a phase system like in Hades.

Despite all the praise and confidence I have for Sworn, I still have some reservations about the upgrade system. You’re literally bombarded with resources, materials and systems, so it quickly becomes confusing, especially at the beginning. The release version will have to answer the question of whether this wide spread will really lead to different builds or just unnecessary complexity in practice.

For now, the motivational spiral ofjust one more roundhas worked really well. If you’ve always wanted to play a Hades with friends, you like the dark look and you like tinkering with characters, Sworn should get a place on yourSteam wish list