During the alpha I've really enjoyed the game. The first night I had a settings problem that allowed me to only see character models and areas that were lit by fire. This caused a bit of issue because it caused me to skip the practice at the beginning which left me feeling like I may have missed some tips that could help me in the multiplayer.

The next morning I played with the settings and found that the shadow enhancing option in the graphics setting is what the problem was, other then that I was able to run the game on full settings with almost no lag for FPS drops.

Game play is fun and engaging, it can really pull you in to pay attention to other players and bots. It is clear that some classes outpace others, but they can all be counted with another class. I tried all 6 at least a little. The knight classes I found fun, a good mix between speed and damage. Once I got the morningstar under control it was much easier to deal damage, I like being able to control it fluidly. The Vikings were also fun to play as, the battleaxe felt like it should big and menacing and deals a lot of damage when it should. The dual wielding berserker was quick, but felt he might deal a little too much damage per hit. They can quickly get past defenses and then do a ton of damage fast. Their throw range seemed a bit further then other classes, but using the end of the axe to throw people is clever and I can see this being the cause of a larger throw distance. The two Samurai classes felt very similar, many of their attacks seemed to be a like and I had a hard time realizing at times which one I was fighting. Honestly these classes I used the least, but maybe some kind of change to make them look different could happen, maybe make one more ninja?

I started using the keyboard controls and though I felt they worked well. The mouse buttons all seemed to have a purpose, and flowed well together. After the second day I decided to switch to a Xbox 360 controller I use for my PC. The controls on the controller felt like they transferred over well and the game seamlessly allowed me to switch back and forth between the xbox and the keyboard. I did have issue finding the button on the xbox control that allowed me to change people, causing two on one fights to becomes very difficult.

No pause during bot fights was also frustrating. I wanted to use bot fights to get used to learning the attacks and skills the different classes had, but when I paused the bot would run up and attack me, leaving me no time to get used to the moves besides what I could glance and then try to get to work in game. And though it could have been me, I also couldn't get most of the moves to work, especially for the samurai classes. I tried doing as the move set said but nothing but normal or heavy attacks occurred. A training area that you could go back to try new moves or have it teach you how to do them would also be a nice add on.

Leveling up during the fight is a cool idea, I never made it far enough to try out all the different feats, most games ended around the time that I had unlocked the 3rd. But they were helpful when I remembered they were there. Another idea I had seeing that a lot of people get mad when someone kill steals and such, is to give a take down to whoever does the most damage. Maybe a challenge option at the end of a game, choose a player in the match during the wrap-up and issue a 1 v 1 challenge, setting any grudges that could start in game, maybe allow other players from the match spectate.

All in all I found the game fun and engaging, reading the defense of another player and trying to get past it was a lot of fun, it made me feel like I was trying to have a sword fight, watching the animations move as you change stances is enjoyable, can't wait to try it again!