You can’t escape the comparisons, so let’s not bother trying. Yes, Sworn, the new Arthurian action-roguelite from Windwalk Games, is quite a lot like Hades. But you know what, that’s ok…
So, Sworn is like Hades, what of it?!
Normally, it would be an exclamation point in a review like this, maybe a reference or two in the body text, but the gravity of Supergiant’s chthonic roguelite is impossible to ignore, what with Hades II launching just two days after Sworn. It’s a tough break, no doubt about it, and Sworn’s sales are going to take a hit because of it.
In its favour are a few things, however. First of all, Sworn is pretty good. Second, there’s the fact that the game is out now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, where Hades 2 is not (yet). It’s also on Game Pass. Third, the devs picked an interesting subject matter that, while vaguely similar to Hades, is different enough to be genuinely interesting. Fourth, and this is the big one: it has four-player co-op.
Co-op aside, it follows the Hades script closely. I don’t blame them, to an extent, because Supergiant’s effort is the best in the business (in my opinion). As a result of that, however, the novelty and sense of discovery are rather muted; you have been here before. Kind of.
I’ll give you an example of how similar they are. The arenas in both are small, packed, and full of traps. Within this framework, Sworn and Hades both have portals that are added to certain rooms over time. These portals cost health points to unlock. Jumping into said portals takes you away to another realm in a different dimension.
As you can imagine, my lovely, long-suffering wife has been around hundreds of hours of Hades and Hades 2 gameplay over the last few years, and she has frequently commented on the visual and structural similarities as I’ve been playing Sworn again over the last few days.
Less character, still characterful
While there isn’t a leading character like Mel or Zag, there are four playable classes in Sworn, and this gives you options. I’ve tried them all and, while I probably prefer the standard archer build, I did rather enjoy some of the Monk’s weapons and spells. While the characters themselves are somewhat empty of personality, there are still plenty of opportunities for players to stamp their style on each one.
The first thing you’re greeted with when you beam into the castle hub world is Merlin and a giant ball of crystalline magic. It’s here that you’re going to level up and increase your base stats across five different trees, and these skills are then shared across all four classes.
Each of the four characters has four of their own weapons, which you can unlock over time, first by completing enough rooms with that character’s starting weapon and then by using an earned resource to fully unlock the new axe or whatever. Each of these weapons can also be individually upgraded via incremental stat boosts.
There are also four different spells for each of the classes. Once again, you unlock these over time, and so as you work further into the game, more tactical options open up to you, and your potential pool of play-styles will broaden.
But wait, there’s more! Not only can you tailor your favourite class and weapon combos to make them look good and stand out during co-op, there are various in-game altars and shops (including the new potion counter added in 1.0) that are also unlocked as you play.
God-like powers
Once you’re on your journey, you will quickly start to encounter the fae gods. Banners drop after completing challenges out in the British towns and countryside, and you’re typically offered one of two different gods to favour. Pick one and you’ll get a special power or upgrade to one of your core attacks or abilities. You know the drill.
There is a solid number of gods to choose from, and some of the abilities are a lot of fun. They are also distinct enough from one another that they can gel well with specific play-styles, so you can push a build in a certain direction. In fact, as you unlock more options, you have the chance to start changing things mid-run, giving you even greater build autonomy.
Similar to Hades, there are duo powers and ultimates on cooldown timers, and like Hades 2, there are companion pets that join you in battle. Once you consider these options alongside your various pre-game choices, the full extent of Sworn’s gameplay comes into focus and demonstrates plenty of potential for experimentation.
You’ll need to experiment if you’re going to build a collection of powerful attacks, because this corrupted world is brimming with monsters, both melee and ranged. The combat is slower and the enemies are less responsive than they are in Hades, but it still has a good flow.
As well as mythical mid-stage monsters, the boss battles are drawn from Arthurian lore: entrer the infamous Knights of the Round Table.
Apparently, the plan was to have alternative boss battles, but I’ve not experienced any yet (although there is an alt-ending to the Arthur battle), and I’ve not seen any mentioned in the patch notes. The devs are promising post-launch content, which is where we will hopefully get more stuff like this, to boost variety. At the moment, it doesn’t feel quite as deep as it could be, so I’m speculating that maybe we’ve got the game as it is, mostly so Sworn could get out ahead of Hades II on console.
Style and structure
We’ve established that there are loads of similarities between Sworn and Hades, but I think it’s fair to say that Supergiant doesn’t get to call dibs on everything that it does in Ancient Greece. In this case I’m referring to the visuals; both look great, but both are heavily inspired by the artistry of Mike Mignola, rather than one by the other.
Structure-wise, Sworn doesn’t bring too many original ideas to the ol’ round table, apart from some interesting mission objectives thrown in to spice up the flow of missions, and of course, the multiplayer. In fact, co-op is the feature that makes the best argument for Sworn, as it’s the one thing that it does well that Hades doesn’t even try. I haven’t played multiplayer post-launch, but I did really enjoy this part of the game when I tried it in Early Access.
Summing up, then, after having played dozens of hours of Hades 2 and now 10+ hours of this since it hit 1.0, I have to admit that I am impressed by the execution of Sworn. That said, it does feel like it’s missing a bit of finesse and much of the polish that helps Hades set the standard that it does.
There’s no doubt about it, Hades and its sequel are two of the best games ever made, and Sworn is always going to have to live in that shadow. Yes, Windwalk has done a good job of mimicking enough of its features to the extent that it almost feels like a sequel made by a different studio, yet the fact remains that this is a derivative game that sticks very close to a formula perfected by another team.
If you’re on PS5 or Xbox, and there’s no Hades 2 release date in sight, I wouldn’t blame you for being tempted by Sworn. If you’ve got friends, that pull will probably feel even stronger. This new Arthurian game and Supergiant’s modern classics have a lot in common, true, but you will be a little bit disappointed if you’re expecting a game as good as Hades, but with co-op.
This is still a really decent game, and if you are going to borrow, you should always borrow from the best, which is exactly what has happened here, largely to good effect. As such, it’s not going to dethrone Hades as the best of the isometric action-roguelites, although Sworn does just enough to earn its place at the high round table.
Sworn is out now on PC (Win), PS5, and Xbox Series, and I played on PC with access provided by publisher Team 17 and their PR knights. There’s a Switch version still in the works, too.
