Yet another “quake with swords” without footwork that is bound to ultimately fail. You cannot run around and swing away independently and call it swordplay or melee combat. All cold steel weapon techniques drive their power from the fighter’s contact with the ground, and for a cut or thrust to be powerful and effective, it must be accompanied with proper footwork – lunge or step forward, and in defence, backstep of lunge backwards.

That creates a specific “back and forth” rhythm characteristic for sword encounters – when the attacker spends his energy, he is forced to defend, and vice versa.

Since Mordhau does not implement footwork, it does not feel authentic – it’s just Quake with swords instead of guns. As such, it could be hardly interesting for true fencing enthusiasts.