Steam Next Fest's first big hit is a brutal medieval combat sim where I bludgeoned three other peasants with a candlestick

Steam Next Fest is upon us once again, and this time the early breakout hit is a medieval combat simulator that might be the most brutal demo I've ever played.

After the first evening of Next Fest, one demo is sitting atop two different charts. Half Sword has taken up an enviable position on both the wishlist and most-played lists, its physics-based martial combat clearly proving a hit with players. I'd already seen earlier playtests doing the rounds on social media, so when I saw it doing so well, I immediately jumped in.

At the very beginning of the game, you take the role of a beggar thrown into the fighting pits, with the choice of whether to fight in a one-on-one boxing match, or to opt for a weaponized multi-peasant brawl. I almost always went for the latter, the tactical element of choosing how to pick off the other fighters (and often doing so while collecting a functioning weapon from the ground) proving to be a lot of fun.

It was so fun, in fact, that it was quite a while before I realized that Half Sword is entirely single-player. The physics-based combat means you use your mouse to wield your weapons, and while at the start I struggled to get my head around it, it wasn't too long before I found that a well-aimed slash across the throat can be a very effective tool in close combat. But while my early movements were clunky, so were those of my foes, and it felt like I could see the decision-making of other players as my enemies made their moves.

At this early stage - where my weapons were sometimes nothing more than a milking stool and I was lucky to find a slightly more robust hat to fit over my head - Half Sword's combat is not particularly delicate. I tended, for example, to get a lot out of throwing on some gauntlets and randomly flinging my fists at NPCs. But you quickly begin to get to grips with the different tools at your disposal, especially as you start to rank up. A six-foot candlestick quickly became one of my favorite weapons, its reach and metal structure proving a key defensive tool, but a spike on its base also giving a lot of extra offensive power if you could aim it right - a massive spray of blood the reward for your precision.

Later, as you proceed through the ranks, you get access to more arms and armor; as a peasant, rather than a beggar, I could have a hoe, and had to work out how to get inside the reach of a scythe without losing a limb. Other clips I've seen have shown more experienced players wielding their farm tools with surprising dexterity, and development footage shows some serious martial power showing up in later levels. As it is, I've not yet got beyond peasant status before being consigned to the afterlife with an axe-blade in my skull, but I think that Half Sword is going to be a major feature of my Next Fest this time around. My one concern is that this is a comparatively early demo - while there's nothing wrong with the experience, the advertised 0.5 build is further away than most of these games will be from their full release, so I just hope I'm not waiting too long for the full experience.

For a very different medieval experience that I want you to pay attention to, please acknowledge Kingmakers.