Nidhogg

Nidhogg's sword-fighting is exhilarating and exquisitely balanced. Against friends, its appeal is perhaps limitless.

Nidhogg isn't too satisfying alone, but it offers frantically enjoyable sword-dueling action with local friends.

Besides, there are worse things in life than being encouraged to get your money's worth from Nidhogg; to put the TV somewhere everyone can see it, to get some pads linked up and throw a local multiplayer party. Rounds of Starwhal: Just the Tip and Samurai Gunn, leading up to a Nidhogg tournament? That evening would be priceless.

A brilliant marriage of mechanics, level design and music that will be played and talked about for years to come.

Nidhogg manages originality in an often tired genre

Pleasure from the single-player is derived entirely from your appreciation of time-based speed running. Multiplayer is where the game fulfills its potential

As a singleplayer game, rushing towards completing its series of AI fights at faster and faster speeds is a pleasing diversion, sustained by the AI which seems as silly and quirky as any person. As a multiplayer game, it's destined to be brought out late at night, whenever you've got friends around. Don't worry, you'll say. Nidhogg is easy to explain.

Regardless of all that, Nidhogg stands as one of the true kings of competitive gameplay, and that doesn't need to be patched one bit.

Nidhogg is a fun and simple fencing game that's sure to get your competitive juices flowing, despite an unstable netcode leading to a slew of online issues.

Nidhogg is a polarizing game. Experiencing it the way it's meant to be played (via local multiplayer) is a fantastically fun event.