One of Steam’s Most-Wishlisted Games Is Basically ‘Chivalry Collides with Gang Beasts’ (& It’s Already Viral)

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If you’re looking for realistic and exciting medieval combat, the Chivalry series is hard to beat. It throws players into large-scale, chaotic battles inspired by famous movie scenes. Now, a new game called Half Sword, coming to Steam, looks set to deliver a similar experience – the same intense, bloody action – but with a unique twist. It combines that brutality with the wobbly, physics-based fun of the popular party game Gang Beasts.

Hafl Sword Games’ Half Sword takes the realistic medieval fighting of Chivalry and adds a chaotic, physics-based twist inspired by Gang Beasts. Unlike Chivalry‘s large battles, Half Sword focuses on intense, close-quarters duels where almost anything can happen thanks to its ragdoll physics, often leading to clumsy and violent struggles. This blend of realism and humor has quickly gained attention online and driven over 600,000 wishlists on Steam, as players are finding the combat feels more like the silly physics of Gang Beasts than a typical sword fighting game.

Half Sword’s Features at a Glance

  • PHYSICS-BASED MEDIEVAL COMBAT SIMULATOR with fully simulated limb and weapon movement.
  • FREEFORM MOUSE-DRIVEN COMBAT where swings, blocks, and thrusts are controlled by your inputs rather than canned animations.
  • HISTORICALLY INSPIRED ARMS AND ARMOR from 15th-century Europe, with varied weapons and gear.
  • BRUTAL, VISCERAL MELEE that includes graphic blood, dismemberment, and intense close-quarters combat.
  • MULTIPLE GAMEPLAY MODES like Gauntlet, Abyss (wave survival), and Free Mode (open combat scenarios).
  • SINGLE-PLAYER FOCUS with rising challenges and progression through tougher opponents.
  • DEEP LEARNING CURVE where mastering physics control and weapon handling is part of the experience.

Half Sword Feels Like Chivalry Without Training Wheels

You’ll find our weapon controls feel realistic because we built the combat system with advice from experts in historical sword fighting and modern fencers.

Chivalry is known for being easy to pick up and play, but difficult to truly master. While the core combat – swinging, blocking, and countering – feels natural, becoming skilled requires understanding your opponent, carefully managing your stamina, and making smart decisions in the heat of battle. Unlike Half Sword, the biggest hurdle in Chivalry isn’t about precise execution, but about achieving a high level of strategic gameplay.

In Half Sword, simply defeating opponents isn’t the biggest challenge. The game features unique, physics-based controls where even small mouse movements affect your character’s limbs and attacks. Mastering these controls—moving beyond clumsy flailing to truly skillful play—takes significant time and practice, potentially dozens or even hundreds of hours. Players who’ve tried the game’s demo, like those commenting on a Reddit post by Subject-Cranberry-93, agree that the skill level you can reach is incredibly high if you prioritize accuracy and control over wild, haphazard swings.

The game Half Sword aims for realistic and immersive sword combat. Its mechanics aren’t just made up – they’re based on the techniques and advice of real historical European martial arts experts and fencers. The goal is to make players truly feel each sword fight, with every animation and move carefully designed to be believable. Players are encouraged to learn the game’s combat system by experiencing the details of swordplay firsthand.

Okay, so I’ve been playing both of these games, and what really struck me is how they both show medieval combat as brutal and messy. Forget those cool, elegant sword fights you see in movies – these games are more about desperate struggles than perfect technique. It’s rarely graceful, and honestly, it’s exhausting! Both Chivalry and Half Sword really nail the feeling of steel clashing and people just flailing around. Half Sword definitely takes the physics and awkwardness to another level, but at the heart of it, both games make it clear that medieval battles were chaotic and unpredictable, even if you were skilled.

Half Sword Turns Gang Beasts-Style Physics Into Medieval Chaos

Because Half Sword aims for extreme realism, players will likely experience some hilariously awkward movements and situations when they first start playing. Like Gang Beasts, the game’s combat relies entirely on physics, which can lead to clumsy and unpredictable fights. Players might stumble, lose their footing, or get tangled up – moments that break the sense of realism but create funny and memorable battles. Just like a real sword fight, encounters in Half Sword quickly become chaotic, forcing players to react to their own movements instead of precisely countering their opponents. While messy and awkward, this is intentional, as it aligns with the game’s commitment to authentic, realistic movement.

Just a heads-up: Half Sword is a very violent and graphic game. We even have someone whose official job is Chief Blood Officer, so you can get an idea of what to expect!

Okay, so the physics in Half Sword already make the fights feel incredibly impactful, but honestly, the gore takes it to another level! The developers even put a warning on the Steam page – it talks about seeing skulls crushed, limbs flying off, and, well, a lot of blood. It’s definitely not the silly, cartoonish violence you see in Gang Beasts. This is different – it’s what happens when that fun, physics-based fighting style meets a really realistic, gritty medieval world. The developers aren’t shying away from showing just how brutal combat really was, and they’re really leaning into the blood and gore to prove it!

While both Half Sword and Gang Beasts feature chaotic physics-based combat, the key difference lies in their intent. Gang Beasts is designed to be funny, whereas Half Sword aims for a more realistic and immersive experience. Though players might still find humor in Half Sword‘s fights, the game focuses on creating a brutal and authentic medieval tournament setting in 15th-century Europe, rather than slapstick comedy or parody.

As a fan, I can tell you Half Sword is exactly what I’ve been waiting for! It nails that sweet spot between the tricky, skillful combat of Gang Beasts and the gritty medieval setting of Chivalry. But it doesn’t just copy those games – it takes their core ideas and makes them hard. Seriously, the combat is demanding, you’ll mess up a lot, and it takes real dedication to get good. It’s a tough game, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s probably why it’s blown up on Steam so quickly. It’s not trying to be for everyone, but if you want medieval fighting to feel brutal, messy, and genuinely realistic, Half Sword is offering something really unique.

Half Sword launches on Steam in Q1 2026.

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2026-01-09 17:06