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Reviews spoke highly of the player community. Uhl noted how the "sense of honor" between players was unheard of in other games. Meunier described the community as a "dedicated and intriguing bunch", whose unpredictable and unusual strategies could lead to "plenty of humorous and interesting fights";
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Meunier felt the game was still incomplete, giving the example of the tutorial which abruptly ends half-way through with only the promise of future chapters. He found the character choices "painfully limiting" and the process to unlock customisation options sluggish and poorly explained. Uhl too
212:. The game does not aim for an "authentic representation" of swordplay and instead features "acrobatic, fantastical combat" with "flashy animations". Players can choose from different characters, styles and blades and compete in different modes, such as deathmatch or 2 vs 2. The game uses an
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446:, Nathan Meunier noted how this depth was neatly contained in a streamlined control scheme, allowing players to "unleash a wide range of unique dizzying assaults" with "no shortage of variety killer moves". Will Uhl, in his review at
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highlighted the community's culture of etiquette, such as the practice of bowing before a duel, citing "the combination of this collective roleplay with direct competition" as making the game so compulsive.
482:, wrote a player diary detailing his experience learning the game, his interaction with the community, and his rise through its online ranks. He went on to recommend the game as part of the magazine's 2014
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452:, instead found the depth shining through in the gaps between the action, where players stand off in the tense "psychological war of baiting, reacting, and examining the opponent" before the engagement.
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304:. In 2008 his friend dropped out, but Chang continued to work on the project while trying to recruit others to join him. Eventually, the developers behind the Source engine modification
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began in 2006 when lead designer
Michael Chang and a friend needed "to scratch the sword fighting itch" they had. Chang had been a fan of
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took notice and joined Chang to form the independent game developer Puny Human. Chang continued to work on the game even while taking
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believed this lack of variety in characters and weapons is a weak point, though he found it mitigated through the game's support of
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294:, but by 2006, its player community had dispersed. So to scratch that itch, they had to build a new game themselves.
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campaign to raise $ 15,000 for a commercial Source engine license, the campaign was successful, raising $ 19,058. A
504:"Sword-fighter 'Blade Symphony' is now officially on Linux, free to try for a few days with a big sale (updated!)"
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feature, describing his rise into the game's top 100 players as his most gratifying gaming moment of the year.
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praised the depth of gameplay, believing the game is deep and original enough "to stand up as a
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their "cordial and polite" nature comparing favourably to other multiplayer communities.
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had a mixed critical reception, generating a score of 72 on reviews aggregation website
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182:. The game focuses on sword-based duelling, it is reminiscent of and inspired by
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features multiple characters, weapons, and modes, such as deathmatch or 2 vs 2.
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version was released in April 2013, followed by the full game in May 2014.
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is a sword fighting video game similar to the multiplayer element of
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release in April 2013, the game was officially released in May 2014.
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Chang and his friend worked together on the game in the form of a
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590:"Blade Symphony: What sound does a successful Kickstarter make?"
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473:, where one could even download an enhanced tutorial.
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170:developed by American indie studio Puny Human for
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442:in its own right". Reviewing the game at
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804:"2014 Personal Pick — Blade Symphony"
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777:"Mastering Blade Symphony: part two"
560:"Mastering Blade Symphony: part one"
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325:In June 2011, Puny Human launched a
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476:Chris Thursten, deputy editor at
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885:Kickstarter-funded video games
1:
802:Chris Thursten (2014-12-20).
775:Chris Thursten (2015-02-16).
748:Nathan Meunier (2014-05-16).
558:Chris Thursten (2015-02-08).
719:. 2014-07-04. Archived from
291:Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
209:Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
185:Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
588:Charlie Hall (2013-12-06).
469:through integration of the
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900:Source (game engine) games
615:Puny Human (2011-07-30).
530:"Developing by the sword"
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880:Early access video games
680:"Blade Symphony reviews"
528:Rick Lane (2014-05-05).
895:Video games about ninja
890:Multiplayer video games
875:Crowdfunded video games
750:"Blade Symphony Review"
711:"Blade Symphony review"
651:"Blade Symphony review"
649:Will Uhl (2014-05-21).
467:user-generated content
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318:'s similarly themed
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920:Windows-only games
364:72/100 (5 reviews)
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331:Steam Early Access
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127:September 27, 2018
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216:for matchmaking.
214:Elo rating system
172:Microsoft Windows
168:action video game
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925:Puny Human games
870:2014 video games
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617:"Blade Symphony"
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484:Game of the Year
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346:Aggregate score
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316:Neal Stephenson
284:Development on
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188:. Following a
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915:Windows games
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723:on 2014-09-05
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61:Michael Chang
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813:. Retrieved
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725:. Retrieved
721:the original
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512:. Retrieved
510:. 2018-09-27
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193:Early Access
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47:Publisher(s)
37:Developer(s)
930:MacOS games
854:Video games
621:Kickstarter
376:Publication
327:Kickstarter
261:Development
165:multiplayer
151:Multiplayer
123:Linux, OS X
119:May 7, 2014
89:Platform(s)
71:Tom Stoffel
67:Composer(s)
57:Designer(s)
864:Categories
815:2015-02-18
788:2015-02-18
761:2015-02-18
727:2015-02-18
691:2015-02-18
685:Metacritic
662:2015-02-18
626:2015-02-18
601:2015-02-18
571:2015-02-18
541:2015-02-28
514:2024-01-18
490:References
428:Metacritic
360:Metacritic
351:Aggregator
51:Puny Human
41:Puny Human
535:Eurogamer
342:Reception
337:Reception
809:PC Gamer
782:PC Gamer
755:GameSpot
656:PC Gamer
565:PC Gamer
479:PC Gamer
449:PC Gamer
444:GameSpot
410:PC Gamer
398:GameSpot
314:work on
312:contract
307:Dystopia
199:Gameplay
136:Genre(s)
595:Polygon
147:Mode(s)
115:Windows
108:Release
94:Windows
840:Portal
416:85/100
178:, and
141:Action
82:Source
77:Engine
379:Score
354:Score
320:CLANG
190:Steam
180:Linux
163:is a
98:Linux
716:Edge
458:Edge
435:Edge
412:(US)
403:5/10
391:8/10
386:Edge
176:OS X
102:OS X
302:mod
866::
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736:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.