We’re living in a renaissance of the PlayStation 2 style of action-platformer.

Recent releases like Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Hi-Fi Rush have been working to revive this genre, but I wasn’t completely sold until I played En Garde!

The colourful world, cartoony characters and simplistic yet satisfying gameplay transported me back to an era when Jak and Daxter and Sly Cooper were all the rage and I welcome that nostalgia with open arms.

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Combat

When En Garde! dropped its reveal trailer in June, there was plenty of excitement about the fluid fighting on display, and this game’s focus is definitely on its elaborate combat system.

The basics are straightforward. You have an attack, a parry and a dodge, very reminiscent of the Batman Arkham series. Additionally, you have a kick to create space, projectiles you can throw and a ‘Panache Meter‘ that builds towards special attacks. Where this game shines is how it carefully arranges the thoughtful level and enemy design to force you to use all these elements in tandem.

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Let’s say a group of five unique enemies are backing you into a corner; you might choose to surprise your opponents with a quick parry and dodge, jump to higher ground, throw a spice bag to stun the group, drop down, kick away the underlings to reduce the threat, smash a crate into a Captain to reduce their shield and then use a special move to finish them off. All this might all take place in less than ten seconds!

Sequences like this sound complicated, but the simple controls in En Garde! make the game approachable for anybody. With that said, it can sometimes feel a bit too basic.

Enemies are targeted by moving towards the person you want to strike and hitting the attack button.
In larger groups, it would occasionally aim at the wrong enemy, putting me in a vulnerable position.
Health is limited and taking hits during a big battle can be quite punishing, leaving me frustrated at the inaccurate targeting system.

For the most part though, the game makes good on the free-flowing swordplay spectacle it promises, making players feel like they’re actively participating in the action stunts on display.

Story

In En Garde!, players take on the role of Adalia de Volador, the swashbuckling star of a narrative that feels halfway between The Three Musketeers and a Saturday morning children’s show.

The main story is spread across four levels, or ‘episodes’ as the game refers to them. The tone remains silly throughout with attacks usually resulting in slapstick falls complete with comical sound effects and quippy one-liners.

The first episode involves Adalia chasing down the ‘mysterious’ El Vigilante, a rival who is very clearly her brother in a bad disguise. As the story progresses, we are introduced to a larger cast of lovable characters as Adalia sets about taking down the villainous Count-Duke.

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The plot is certainly nothing groundbreaking, but it doesn’t aspire to be. En Garde! is charming family-friendly popcorn entertainment. The game retains its sense of humour throughout and is better off for it. This is one you can easily play with the kids watching along.

Gameplay

The main campaign in En Garde! revolves around tackling increasingly difficult combat scenarios, separated by relatively simple platforming areas, until each episode concludes with a final boss fight.

Players can expect to finish the story mode in around five hours. This felt spot on as the cycle of fighting and platforming doesn’t really have the variety to sustain much more than that.

The game does extend its running length with the Arena Mode, which unlocks about halfway through the story. In this mode, players will find themselves in the middle of a level with a randomised set of enemies to defeat to progress to the next stage. What makes this more interesting is that you have one negative and one positive gameplay modifier per level that stack as you progress through the arenas. These might be that certain enemies are no longer affected by crates you kick into them, but you heal each time you damage an enemy.

The end result is almost like a mini rogue-lite campaign where you’re developing a specific combat build for your character. It forces you to adapt new fighting strategies that you may have never considered during the campaign.

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I found this mode to be the addictive dopamine rush that kept me coming back for more.

On top of this, the story mode levels have specific challenges to accomplish, secrets to find and a timer to race against; there’s plenty on offer to extend your playtime beyond your initial run-through.

Graphics

The game’s graphics sell the cartoonish aesthetic really well. Characters animate with exaggerated movements, the bright colourful palette of the world is always pleasing and the simplistic art style keeps your attention focused on your next point of interest.

I did find the levels to look a bit repetitive and, with only four episodes, I wished that each one could have been punctuated with a little more variety to the environments. Furthermore, the cutscenes that precede an episode have a static comic book panel presentation, the contrast doesn’t fit well with the vivid animation during gameplay.

But the game is mostly a delight for the eyes. For those of you curious, I spent half of my playtime on the Steam Deck and, while it isn’t officially verified, the game performed consistently well for me.

Sound Design

I was perhaps more immersed in the world of En Garde! through the outstanding sound design.
Despite being a small studio, the musical score led by Jean-Claude Charlier delivers a rousing cinematic punch that feels straight out of a Zorro film.

The voice cast are excellent overall, but I was particularly impressed with Clara Cantos’ performance in the central role of Adalia. She believably imbues our hero with a cheeky wit and adventurous spirit, creating engaging relationships with the entire cast of characters and drawing the player in as she valiantly embarks on her quest.

Conclusion & Score

En Garde! is the sort of game that leaves you wanting more, and I mean that in the most delightful way. The combat system stands out as a great framework to build upon in future games and while the main campaign is short, the game is priced accordingly and there’s plenty of extras for achievement hunters to dig into when all is said and done.

Fireplace Games is clearly a talented studio and I’d like to think that this is just a small slice of what this team is capable of, and maybe a more fleshed-out sequel will prove to be a cut above the rest.

Quest Daily scores En Garde!:

8/10

Quest Daily was provided access to En Garde! with thanks to the publisher.