In between penning the epic Saga of Urist Redbeard, I’ve managed to find a little time to continue my indie game stint. Having finished LIMBO and Bastion, the next game on my list was Hammerfight, a game by Konstantin Koshutin and KranX Productions.
I’d actually played a demo of Hammerfight several years ago, back when it was called Hammerfall. I presume the name was changed to avoid any confusion with Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games, in which there is a province called Hammerfell. Anyway, I was impressed by the core mechanic in Hammerfight which is, as far as I know, completely original. A 2D side-view game, Hammerfight puts the player in control of a flying machine, which is moved around the screen by moving the mouse. Strapped to said machine is some manner of melee weapon: a flail, hammer, sword or similar. By flying the machine around with the mouse, the player must swing the weapon, gather momentum, and then strike enemies with it. It makes more sense in motion, and can be seen much more easily in a gameplay video like this one.
I finally got a copy of the full game as part of the Humble Indie Bundle 3 (sadly no longer available, but you can still buy Hammerfight on Steam) and played through it. Here’s what I think!
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