You probably have a few favourite sword fighting scenes from various movies or TV shows. Several Game of Thrones scenes, Troy and even Star Wars come to mind. Now try to remember the reason exactly why you love these scenes. Chances are it's down to the more unconventional moves that the characters pull off and often the way the environment and surroundings are used in the fight both as weapons, obstacles or diversions.

Games have long tried to emulate the epic fighting scenes we are accustomed to from other media. And only a handful few have succeeded in coming close to the exhilaration of a good sword fight. Why do video games fail to capture the same energy that films portray so well in these scenes? I blame the limits of controls. It's all well and nice to have a few attack types and maybe even directional combat strikes, but at the end of the day there is only so many controls a player can comfortably work with. A sword fight just doesn't seem as interesting when you can only stab, left and right slash and block. Variety is the spice of life and I want to be able to attack in any way I like.

In A Township Tale, we are constantly trying to make every process as physical as possible and the sword fighting is no exception. VR completely shatters the input limitations and gives the player the freedom to wield their weapon in every fashion, on top of this you can block in any way you could in a real sword fight. Imagine fights where you twist your body around your opponents stab to whirl around and slash their shoulder. Imagine raising your scimitar in the last moment to parry a heavy two handed broadsword and quickly pulling out a dagger, finishing your attacker with a swift stab to the side.

Each fight will fill you with adrenaline and make your heartbeat through your chest as you tirelessly trade blows with your foes. You’ll have to get creative and use your surroundings to your advantage. In A Township Tale my favourite enemy to fight time and time again has always been the other players. No CREATURE can come close to the unpredictable nature of your fellow settler who decided stealing your backpack full of loot was a good idea and now needs to pay the iron price.