Nidhogg 2014

Is it still worth playing?

Two fencers duel across a side-scrolling row of screens in this 2014 game for two players, and the first to fight through to the far end of the other's side wins. The winner is then eaten by Níðhöggr, the Norse serpent that names the game. A kill gives the right to advance, and the fallen fencer comes back a few seconds later in front of the one running, so a single kill can turn the run back the other way. In the duel itself the sword is held low, middle or high, and moving it into the other blade knocks it out of the opponent's hand. It can also be thrown, and a fencer without one fights on with fists, and both can dive kick and wall jump. There are four arenas, a mode against the computer, local and online matches, an eight-player tournament and variants such as boomerang swords. A way forward that passes to whoever killed last still makes each match a tug of war to the last screen.