Ironlights

Edit 4/24/2021: This review is old and is based on my first impressions on release day. TL;DR, fuck the ninja class and for the love of humanity can we [i]not[/i] have rock, paper, scissors gameplay in a "skill-based dueling game?" I want to like this, I really do, but I can't recommend it. The dueling mechanics are sound; you have to "reload" your weapon after each attack(as it "breaks" upon impact with any part of an enemy be it shield, weapon, or armor,) but some classes spawn with two or double-sided weapons; the ninja, knight, and monk. The duelist and crusader get a weapon and a shield, but they can't attack with them. The ninja and monk can therefor "spin" their weapons around, which reloads one of your weapons while the other is striking. For a defending monk, this means YOUR weapon breaks while the enemy monk or duelist is getting a free strike every other rotation of their "spin." Why? Because the defender has to "reload" his weapon after every strike, too. You're [i]forced[/i] to pull your weapon away from a defensive posture while the enemy monk or ninja is getting a free shot. Other classes, like the Crusader, get a free attack by way of cheese: They can swing their flail through the ground, under you. "So block down, dummy," you might say, but you physically can't: The game punishes you by damaging you if you duck too low, meaning your small buckler(for the duelist) or small dagger(ninja) can't block the flail before it comes out of the ground and hits your underside. The downside for the Crusader is that, since blocking with the flail is nearly impossible and the shield can't defend every where at once, the ninja absolutely shreds them by simply attacking with both weapons at once. Players have already found these tricks out, meaning multiplayer is nothing but monk, ninja, and (rarely)crusader spam. While it's entirely possible to win as a duelist or knight, the odds seem oddly skewed against you for picking these classes. I get it, it's typical "rock, paper, scissors" gameplay, but a game about sword duels shouldn't be based on this. You shouldn't be "rolling the dice" when you choose a class, hoping your opponent has chosen something you can beat. It should be about individual skill, right? As it stands, I recommend this game for the singleplayer. The bots don't think like humans, and so it's possible(and typical)to have a great, cinematic sword fight with them. Multiplayer, however, is a no-go for now, and as it is what I bought the game for, it outweighs my good experience with single-player. How would I try to fix some of this? Add physics to the ground, stopping the monk and crusader from abusing the floor to land a free shot on the "feet." I'd also completely remove the ninja and replace them with a "barbarian" type class, with a two-handed axe that can either smash through a shield, or can't be blocked unless you block the actual axehead. Or both. If we're deadset on keeping the ninja, remove the dual daggers from the ninja, and give them a tonto or katana, or something, with their swing being slightly faster than the knight's sword and able to block twice before reloading. Use the same reload as the knight; they'd have to reload twice to regain both blocks, or something. Idk, anything but dual weapons.

Best VR swordfighting game to date! Highly recommend if you're willing to not be a bitch about it and refund when you inevitably lose your first 5 games because you have yet to learn properly. Looking at you, negative reviewers.

I'm just not having very much fun. The only people I ever enjoyed playing against were players with the 2 handed sword or crusaders, probably cause I'm bad but whenever I played against people with fast weapons they were able to just do quick repetitive movements and no matter how much i try I can never get my weapon either in place fast enough or recharged fast enough to properly block, especially when someone walks up so close to me I'd probably be able to feel their breath if we were in person. I know, git gud, but it just isn't very fun for me when I'm trying my best but it appears like someones just flapping their arms back and forth and they're doing much better. I'm probably missing something but at this point I can't be bothered to put this much effort into something I'm not enjoying.

My favorite VR sword fighting game. Optimization is excellent, gameplay is fun, community is nice, and you find matches even at the middle of the night on work days because it is cross play with the oculus store.

The best VR swordfighting game i've played in a while, though it is kind of dead. But you shouldn't find trouble in finding someone to fight though, it aint that dead. I would love to see some more updates because this game has a huge potential.

I've played other VR sword fighting games, but I don't think I've seen a better execution for 1v1 real time melee fighting. The game basically exists in two states; ranges poke-ing in real time, and close combat offense/defense in slow motion. Although the slow motion takes a bit of getting used to, it allows for strikes to actually be planned, rather than just spamming your sword at your opponent. My one criticism is the lack of specific information about each class, for example I had no idea the Hammer even had a ranged attack in the first place. Great game 10/10!

Completely abandoned by the dev, Who spends most his time posting cat photos on Reddit, Hes now started a new project and a new game called "IronStrike" Safe to say hes completely abandoned this game with zero intentions to do anything with it, The playerbase is all but dead and riddled with the same bugs it always has been.

It gets a bad wrap due for the fact of slow motion being involved and the multiplayer can be a bit janky but in the single player its very fun and interesting.I think a use of the gold in the game for buying weapons for each class would be really cool.for example for the dualist, the class can purchase a trident and buckler.The trident could have net as a ranged attack but it only takes away a some energy from the opponent and if blocked would destroy the blade. I've got a handful of ideas i'd love to run by the developer if i could.

Ironlights is actually a pretty awesome game. For those who have looked up the steamcharts and fear the game is dead. Most of the players are on oculus and there's crossplay. So those numbers can be misleading. The game is probably the closest I've gotten to actual fencing in a vr game (It's not super close, but it's better than the other sword games I've tried). The game prevents the wiggle wand style of sword fighting which is awesome. The singleplayer ai is fairly competent as well, so there's a lot of fun in that. There's also a seemingly great community here as well. There's ample customization for your fighter, several weapons that have their own unique projectiles (in how they function), with a singleplayer that's about to get an overhaul and fairly decent multiplayer. Well worth the 20 dollars. Only two words of caution: if you have the original vive wands, prepare for your fingers to hurt. You have to continually hold onto the grip button to hold onto your weapons. This is by no means a dealbreaker, don't get me wrong. It's still an amazing game. Just be aware of that, but the devs are active so hopefully they'll fix that soon. Other word is that for fellow fencers or people looking for authentic dueling/fencing: You most likely won't find it as you'd like here. However, the game is still loads of fun and some stuff translates. Just try keep your actual fencing and this separate. As you may develop some bad fencing habits because of how the game works if you don't. The game doesn't seek to simulate authentic combat and more of the "idea" of fencing. Which I think it does fantastically.

Waiting for discount for this game for a year already, but it never discounted since the 1st discount (that unfortunately I passed it up). At last I pull the trigger, and bought this. well, I feel sorry for myself for not buying this since a year ago. To sum it up, this is a great sword pvp game. For more detail : The solo player game is good enough and there are alot matches to cover to get it all. Though npc was not that good in that they rarely able to block so they died too easily. But the multiplayer is where this game shine. 1st try in multiplayer got me in awe as the opponent was much much harder than npc, and I felt always on edge. The gameplay ? basically it's like rpg with atb. When ur atb is filled, u can attack the enemy/enemies until they died or until ur atb empty, and then the enemies would attack u until their atb empty, vice versa. When both of ur atb empty ? Well then it's the waiting game lol. U can do range attack too, but it wont do much damage compared to melee attack, but range attack is great to disrupt the enemy's atb filled movement. When the enemy got hit with range attack, the atb stop being filled, while ur atb still move. So u will be at an advantage, but dont attack with range too much as it used ur own atb too. And the enemy of course could do that too. There're lots of customizing for the armors and helms, so for people that likes cosmetics would like it too. If u want to see what the real gameplay is like : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gguiX5eAPJU&t=7s

This game isn't perfect, but it is still really fun! It also has something that many VR games don't which is cross platform LOCAL multiplayer! This means that if you have multiple VR systems, like a Valve Index and an Oculus Quest 2, you can get the game on both of them and play together lag free given you're on the same WiFi network! Of course this kind of multiplayer also works online but I would imagine it isn't as flawless as local multiplayer is. To give an example of the above situation being put into use, I bought this game on Steam and my Oculus Quest 2 for a New Years party I was having with a bunch of friends and we were able to take turns fighting each other in this game all night! This game is awesome for parties if you have multiple VR set ups or your friend has an Oculus Quest or Quest 2 that they can bring over! I'd highly recommend this game if you're looking for a game that can do this because there are only a handful of VR games like this!

Very fun, really satisfying, good replayability. Each fight feels different, and I love how much personality each opponent you fight has. Despite the enemies being NPCs, they really do feel human. Huge recommendation to those who have VR, only issue on my end was a slight controller issue. I wish more people played this game so PvP could be an actual thing you could do, I'd play it all day

SUPER FUN VR PVP GAME, some players get really into character and go all out and its super cool to see it. unfortunately lately the game seems to be dead so theres barely any players to pvp with

This game is awesome. I have spoken. Edit: Other reviews sometimes talk about how some classes are OP in multiplayer but i beat em' just fine :\ . the complaint about the play area being too big is spot on tho.

its fun, and im going to keep playing it, but im not recommending it because whenever you play online, its just ninjas attacking you so fast you cant even defend.

When you're playing in the campaign mode, it's actually quite fun and challenging. But when you're playing online, almost every player decides to move into the back of their play space so that you can't hit them at all. This is a huge problem for me as I have to use the charging cable that came with my Quest 2 to use link and play which makes it almost impossible to get a single hit on these kinds of players as I cannot move around a lot. So if you're looking to get this game while not being able to move around a lot then I'd just recommend playing in campaign mode, otherwise, it'll still be a little difficult to play multiplayer as almost everyone in this community does what I have previously mentioned. Thanks for reading!

Whether you're into PvP games or playing against bots, this game has you covered. Very interesting, fluid slow motion melee combat. Definitely an interesting way to get around the problem of lag/wiggle mechanics, and a VERY fun fighting game!

One time im fighting a guy whos taunting to suck my cock and then right after that a guy is trying to teatch me how to do combos 10/10

This game has potential but I think they need to completely rework a lot of the game. To anyone who has done any kind martial art they would know that about 70-80% of attacking opportunities come in when the enemy is attacking. That's due to a swing or slash that was too wide or a well timed parry. It's hard to enjoy a real time fighting game when you have to take turns attacking each other. I know it will be hard to implement a way to be able to both attack and defend at the same time but it would be much more enjoyable that way.

This game is great, But it hurts my hands very much, Like other games there should be a setting where you can toggle to hold your weapons, In here its hold to hold, And as I have vive controllers I feel like my bones are breaking, But other then that is the only reason I'm giving it a negative, But its a good game, Those who find this and don't have a problem gripping it for hours of playing then you should buy this game, PS: I will repurchase this game when I see that it has been fixed, Because I can't have this sitting my libray if I can't unforutantely play it.

After playing for a bit longer than before, I can say the game definitely needs a fix, it appears to be abandoned but I'm not sure, but in the current state, the game is extremely easy in PvE but PvP is just a joke, all you have to do to win is crouch and stand back, you can't be touched half the time because people would have to walk into a wall to hit you, since there is no movement system beyond the dash pulling and pushing. I do not recommend.

Amazing VR Experience. The Fighting Mechanics are quite enjoyable (except for two handed weapons but that's the same in all VR games so I overlook it). The way you progress is so fun and rewarding, the customization features are just what you would want and this games feel is just unmatched by any other swordfighting based VR game. A must play VR experience if you love Swordplay or Duels.

Very tricky and difficult to play. The challenge is fun though. This unique take on VR dueling is wonderful. Hop in and enjoy because you're gonna like this one.

I don't have a big problem with the game. The classes are fun and so is the Multiplayer. However, the game is not fun enough to justify spending £15 on it. There are no big problems with the game. I only played for 30 minutes as I didn't find the game that enjoyable. However, in those 30 minutes I did not come across any bugs nor problems. The developers are updating the game regularly, so I expect the game to improve dramatically by the next time I play it. For £15 I don't recommend this game as there are better VR games for the same price. but maybe if it was on Sale, I would re-buy it.

I don't have a ton of time in this game as of yet, but currently, I've played about 5 or so multiplayer matches. I gotta say, this is bloody brilliant, and exactly what I was looking for. The combat is slow-mo, which may be a turn off for some people, but I find it adds so much to the duel! People use cheap tactics, and you use skill to overcome them, it's great. Currently maining Knight, and I'll update my review once I go further into the campaign. Can't wait to see how this game evolves!

A very fun game if you wish to pass some time. While I do find some classes unbalanced against others, overall this game is fun if you simply want a 1v1 gladiator style fight. Matches don't drag on and using your ability to block and attack skilfully is one of the merits of this game as its almost turn based and a good defence usually leads to a good attack.

So this is a fun game but at the moment I would not recommend it. What everyone says about the spam is true but my biggest issue i'm having with players is the size of my space vs there's. I have some room to step forward but I play some matches where somehow my opponent is so far back that I can't seem to reach him. Couple that with the spam from some weapons I feel like this game has great potential but unfortunately at this time for the price I wouldn't recommend.

Well this is crazy fun, get into multiplayer matches very quick and the combat as far as i've seen it seems easy to learn but hard to master there is also a really great replay function that lets you save and watch back previous matches from a 3rd person perspective and you can take clips and save them as gifs, great touch. monk class seems a bit opop but maybe i just dont know how to fight it yet. cant wait to see how this game evolves. if you have the money and are looking for a fun pvp game this is a great option.

the game itself is amazing and fun no jank the physics in the weapons are comparable to blade and sorceries mechanics for weight and there's always a match in no less than 12-20 seconds definintally aspects that need change slightly - health and mana regen is a little too slow (specifically mana regen.) - wish there were different types of online play such as unlimited mana! 2 VS 2, free locomotion or no slow motion - movement in the hands? (its minor but a little immersion breaking - last thing I wanted to say is that the games are amazing and I can't tell you enough the developer truly knows what VR players want and that's multiplayer melee showdowns.

honestly a pretty cool game but good luck finding a lobby because the servers got killed harder than the japanese imperial forces did after receiving two nuclear fission bombs

Game is more about abusing the balance mechanics of each weapon rather than your own skill and athleticism. The game slows you down so much to try and balance it. This takes out half the fun in fighting Its stupid how you can see an attack coming and try to block it but you cant because the game refuses to go past a certain speed. This game is more about dancing than fighting.

its a good game but me and the other htc cosmos users cant play we can swing but cant attack

i'd like to start off this review by saying two things first: i'm actually underspec for the headset i use, being the Oculus Rift S, and at low graphics can play this game without a single drop in frames second: i don't like fighting games, but i LOVE this game! let me get into why in traditional fighter/brawlers, you press buttons to form combos. i pretty easily fail to successfully perform or just entirely forget these specific button combos. in vr, however, you have your thumbstick, grip, trigger, and two buttons. and those two button already have functions. all your combos are based off of your real strategies in the heat of the momeny, and how you move your body and hands. the way combat works in this game is the first thing that sets it apart from games like blade and sorcery: each fight takes turns, when a player has enough energy they can hold a button and pull to move themselves towards their enemy. when in this state, the game goes into slow-motion and they can attack, but the defender can only defend. each attack the player's weapon lands on either the opponent's weapon or shield or the opponent themself will "shatter" the player's weapon, meaning the player has to swing the weapon back around their body, either to the side or on their back to "reload" the weapon. with a flail, this is easy, but with a greatsword or a polearm this is easier said than done. defenders have a similar system, where they have to defend against the attacker's weapons by blocking and reloading with their weapon, or by using a shield if their class has one. the shield gradually gets smaller with each hit it sustains, and regenerates over time. these systems combined make for both satisfying and difficult to exploit combat, easily making the game more skill-based than wrist wiggle-based. with this energy-based turn based combat, there's also retreating by pushing away from a target when holding A, ranged attacks by doing certain motions and pressing/holding trigger, and regenerating energy by making yourself sustain extra damage and holding both of your pull/push buttons i've played a fair bit of the campaign as most classes, and done abt 5 rounds of pvp multiplayer and so far i am utterly addicted. my arms are killing me, my feet are sore, but i can't stop playing for the satisfaction of successfully blocking an entire 12 second attack if you're used to vr, comfortable with playing standing (or sitting, but it's not suggested due to how much less mobility you get) and enjoy competitive vr games and duels, this is a must-have without a doubt in summary, a competitive skill-based vr class based dueling game with solid mechanics and incredibly satisfying combat

As you may notice most reviews that are not recommending have less then 2-3 hours, and most of these are super old. This game is HARD, you may see slow-mo and think it ruins the game but I can assure that when you get to mid ranks you'll think things are too fast. I love this game and the community

Amazing game for being in the early stages. The game is addicting and if I'm being honest I wasn't too intrigued by the trailer as it looked so simple but in the end that's what makes it so fun. The amazing combat system is unique and very fun to get to learn. There are so many things to do like the simple campaign where you work your way up the leagues, quick play to get into a game with an online opponent, or simply just a private game where you can fight against your friends. Customization leaves a lot of options and I can not wait for more updates to come out as it will make the game even better.

I Only Played This Game For Four Hours, But I Loved Every Bit Of It, The Classes Are Quite Fun To Play (Favorite By Far Is Crusader) The Campaign Is Really Nice, The Map Is Really Cool, Even Subtle Touches Like The Lighting And Shadows Are Quite Nice. At The Moment I Only Played One Game Of Multiplayer And Got Destroyed, But I Still Loved It Since There Wasn't Any Lag, No Delays, It Seemed Pretty Smooth In General. It's Also A Nice Touch That They Have Cosmetics, Not Just For Each Class, They Have Some Cosmetics That Aren't Used By Any Of The Default Classes! Overall I Love This Game Already, And I Feel It Has Alot Of Potential Moving Forward. I Wonder What The Coins Will Be Used On Aswell!

this game is kinda fun for the most part playing with a friend, but go online and find an onslaught of cheap exloits such as striking behind the player with with the character with the mace, spamming cruisaders, or just playing the crusader. it has a rock paper scisors dynamic that doesn't care how good you are. hell, go online and find only maces and hammers. they don't even have to try. just use the same move over and over and win. this game is fun, but in need of serious repair. This game is BROKEN. B-R-O-K-E-N. if you like fair games DON'T GET THIS!!!!!!!!

Very fun game, involves strategy and has fun cosmetics.

[h1] Totally recommend this game! [/h1] This is pretty much what I've been looking for when it comes to Knights and Sword fights. Not only does this give me a mid evil vibe but when the match starts it also gives me like a Tron like vibe in the games. Updates are understandably slow, but I get it. I will still continue to play this game and hope that more and more new features will be added to this game.

Very fun combat only problem is people who are scared to fight you and back into the corner when you approach

this game is very fun and with some classes you can just become darthmarl

its a fun arcady sword fighting game its not fun to watch but its very fun to play

After reading a few other reviews i was skeptical about buying this game. I was mostly interested in this game to duel my friend, so we both took the leap and bought it, and it was definitely worth it. We agreed on gentlemen's rules where we try not to cheese the game with its current exploits. Connecting with each other was simple and fast, and we played 2 hours straight dueling each other to the death. Will play many more hours and haven't even tried single player yet. I have no opinion yet for random multiplayer matches, but if you want to play with your friends and gain bragging rights then buy this game.

IronLights is a fantastic game. When you're in VR with those glowing weapons, you feel so powerful. My favourite class to play is the monk with his staff. Spinning that bad boy around is so cool. The gameplay is really fun as well. You have to be careful when you're charging up your stamina, because you become more vulnerable to attacks when you charge up. The only issue I have with this game is that I'm too tall to play standing up. When I stand up straight, I get hit by the out of bounds damage that you get if you step too far away from the play space. There is no way to fix this in game as of yet, so I either have to bend down a bit, or play via seated mode. 10/10 game, it just needs a height adjustment!

I tell you i havent played a more fun and enjoyable VR fighting game since gorn! I love the fighting mechanics and the death animation is so satisfying. and the multiplayer is so fun and competitive I dont even care if I die because its so fun! I do hope they add more classes in the future tho.

Great game with pretty good combat, would like to see the locomotion be more free so the arena can be a bit better, but my main wish is for them to add a voice chat so you can talk to your opponent if you feel like it.

love the game! its almost everything i would want in an online VR melee game. finding games takes no more than 20 seconds and each class has balanced gameplay . that being said theres a few things that i think could improve gameplay such as game settings in private matches, 2 vs 2 or possibly 3 vs 3, faster mana and health regeneration, and maybe a setting in private matches to control the slow motion. besides that id say this is by far the most fun game ive played in vr.

I tried the game out and it is fun, but there is one problem with it every time you hit someone in the head if they have high ping or not the game just lags and counts as a miss and I don't mind that but it keeps happening and i don't like it.

personally with the short time ive had (currently in a sweat cause had some decent multiplayer games) i find it incredibly fun but i do hate the stamina bar i understand its mechanics but dont like how if your low health you cant charge past how high your health is. leaving you a sitting duck when low health tbh that should of been you still lose defense if you charge but can still charge full so makes the person winning think fast to charge and get in on the attack cause i did have an intense 1 hit will end all agianst one guy and was intense. just please make it so you aint sitting thier stairing at each other waiting to charge ya stamina when both low health it really does slow down the game alot or at least add an option to turn it off didnt do much campaign just the tutoral for each fighter so i could jump straight into the multiplayer the knight is pretty crap not gonna lie rated: hard but so easy to block his attacks and can be extremely punished to i had to dodge most attacks instead of block otherwise their is a simple strategy to this game mixed with sword play its not a realistic sword fighter more ARCADE but a fun one