First Cut – Prototype Download

First Cut is a stylish little one-hit-kill sword duelling game that requires real precision timing as you to dodge, block and parry attacks whilst attempting to slice up your opponent.

First Cut has a simple seeming, but surprisingly intricate combat system that requires perfect timing to master. The current build is fairly basic, but the pixel artwork is excellent and the high stakes sword combat is great fun. It’s played in 1v1 duels against AI opponents or another player, with the first player to land a blow winning the round with some wonderfully brutal kill animations.

Mashing away at your buttons is pretty much a sure fire way to end up in a bloody crumpled heap on the floor. There are no special moves or combos to learn, in-fact you can only carry out three different types of attack (low, mid and high) – you need to learn how to dodge, block and parry these attack and time your attacks to get the best of your opponent.

You can parry attacks quite easily by just hitting the attack button, but to get through your opponents attacks requires finesse. You can block or sidestep attacks by pressing down or up and the block button. Sidesteps allow you to avoid high attacks and blocks allow you to avoid low attacks. Blocking/sidestepping leaves you more vulnerable to attacks than parrying, but they do have one big advantage – attacking straight after a successful block allows you to do a quick counterattack which will land before your opponent has had a chance to swing again. Another useful tactic is holding the attack button to charge up your attack, giving your attack a nice speed boost when you release it and getting the drop on your enemy.

First Cut is still very early in development but there’s already a lot to like about its timing based combat system. It takes some time to master (a training mode where you can slow down the combat would be a good way of teaching new players), but even if you’re terrible at the game then you’ll still get a kick out of its fantastic pixel art animation and delightfully brutal kill animations!

Download The First Cut Prototype Here (Windows)