Oathblade
A one-boss sword duel on a moonlit bridge. Deflect the Oathblade's strings at the last instant, break his posture, and land the killing blow. Jump his sweeps, step into his thrusts, survive his second vigil.
Oathblade is a single, hand-tuned sword duel by Blendi Bylygbashi, built on the combat of his game Ashen Vigil.
Walk out onto the Drowned Bridge and face the Oathblade, last warden of a crossing that leads nowhere. He fights in strings with a drum-like rhythm. Guard just before his blade lands and you deflect it: steel rings, sparks fly, and his posture cracks. Hold guard instead and you only block, and your own posture wears down. Mash the button and the window shrinks.
When the broken-bell sigil flares above his helm, the strike cannot be blocked: jump his low sweep, roll into his thrust to pin it underfoot, and get out of reach of his grab. Break his posture, or wear him down, and strike the deathblow. He rises once more for a faster second vigil.
Every hit is decided by the real blades sweeping the real bodies, judged at the moment of contact, so a deflect is exactly as early or late as it looks. After a death you are back in the fight in under two seconds.
Controls: WASD move, left mouse or J strike, right mouse or K guard (tap to deflect), F or L heavy, Shift dodge (hold to run), Space jump, mouse look (click to capture), Esc pause. Controllers: RB strike, LB guard, RT heavy, B dodge, A jump, Y rise again, Start pause. Difficulty: Story, Standard or Hard on the title screen.
