Check out the new improved version - coming soon to Steam (and itch.io):

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2193490/First_Cut_Samurai_Duel/

Join our Discord channel:

https://discord.gg/nkA8XhJXVt

This page is for the original free version.

About:

A small fighting game started in 2017.

Face off against a friend or fight the computer.

This game can be played with a gamepad, a mouse and keyboard or just a keyboard.

Multiplayer can be played with either 2 gamepads, or 1 keyboard and 1 gamepad.

Controls:

Gamepad (xbox):

X = Attack

A = Dodge

D-pad = Move/Aim Sword

RT + direction = Shove

Gamepad (playstation):

Square = Attack

X = Dodge

D-pad = Move/Aim Sword

R2 + direction = Shove

Mouse and Keyboard:

Left Click = Attack

Right click or C = Dodge

Mouse = Aim Sword

WASD = Move

Middlemouse or V + direction = Shove

Keyboard:

Z = Attack

X = Dodge

Arrow Keys = Move/Aim Sword

C + direction = Shove

How to Play:

Attacking:

Pressing attack will perform a horizontal attack.

Holding up while you attack will perform a high vertical attack.

Holding down while you attack will perform a low vertical attack.

Holding the attack button will let you delay your attack.

Holding your attack will charge your movement speed when you release it.

You can cancel an attack before it begins by dodging.

Blocking:

Incoming attacks can be blocked by holding your sword at the correct height.

If you press attack immediately after blocking you will perform a counter attack.

When two attacks meet in the air they will be parried.

Dodging:

There are two kinds of dodge:

A normal dodge will duck under a horizontal attack, but you will be vulnerable to vertical attacks. You can block while ducking.

Pressing up while you dodge does a sidestep. You will avoid vertical attacks but will be vulnerable to horizontal attacks. You cannot block while sidestepping, but pressing down will change your dodge into a duck.

Holding the dodge button will let you stay down until you release it.

If you press attack while dodging you will attack after getting up.

Shoving:

Hold the shove button and press forward to push your opponent away. Press backwards to pull your opponent towards you.

Counters:

Blocking your opponent and pressing attack as quickly as possible will result in a counter slash that will be faster than normal.

Fatigue:

Blocking attacks, being shoved, and missing swings will build up fatigue which slow your attacks down slightly.

Fatigue recovers very quickly when you're not currently performing an action.

Fatigue can be avoided by dodging instead of blocking, aiming strikes carefully, and using footwork to stay out of range.

The first attack to connect will win the round.

More About:

This game is a prototype and is rough around the edges, especially the menu.

Let me know in the comments if you have any feedback or suggestions about the gameplay.

If you find any bugs or crashes please leave a comment so I can investigate.

Troubleshooting:

If you get this message:

FATAL ERROR in Vertex Shader compilation
ShaderName: shColorReplaceBlend

D3DXCompile failed - result

You need to update DirectX. Try this:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35&44F86079-8679-400C-B...

I've found that occasionally the game will run slowly on certain machines for no reason. If the game is sluggish try opening the options.ini file in notepad and changing the line:

SleepMargin=1

to 

SleepMargin=10

This might fix the problem.

^ This should be fixed now.

The game is running at half-speed (30-40fps consistently, feels sluggish and slow):

Try opening the options.ini file in notepad and changing 'AlternateSyncMethod' to 1.

You can also try running the exe in compatibility mode.

Also try installing Visual C++ 2012 x86 and x64.

^

READ THIS IF IT CRASHES