Off The Fence: Nidhogg Finally Releasing (!!!)

We gave Nidhogg a trophy once. We said, "Nidhogg old friend, you're an absolute joy to play and it sure is great that you'll be coming out eventually and not just surfacing at events in musty, magical arcade machines and letting your delightful flavor briefly linger on our lips before receding back into a fog of uncertainty." But then you never showed up. YOU NEVER CAME TO OUR PIANO RECITALS. NOT EVEN ONCE. Tears have been spilled. Tears that run hotter than blood. I'm not sure if we can ever forgi--

Oh, Nidhogg's coming out later this year? Sweet!

Indiegames/Gamasutra bring the good word, having checked out the game and spoken with creators Mark Essen and Kristy Norindr during the recent EVO fighting game championship in Las Vegas. Here's the most exciting bit:

"NIDHOGG is slated to be released later this year, with hopes to be available through Steam. It's going to offer not only multiple stages, but a single-player component against AI fencers. The biggest surprise of all is the inclusion of an online multiplayer component, the details of which are still being worked out. Mark expressed his desire to include different weapons as well, such as a battle axe, 'something with momentum,' but that likely won't be seen with the initial release."

Also interesting: there's apparently a leaping dive-kick attack now, which evens the odds when one player's flung their sword in favor of fisticuffs. Rolling, meanwhile, serves a similar function, but on the ground. The race-to-the-finish fencing simulator's also been spruced up with wet, meaty sound effects and "moans of anguish". Videogames, eh? Aren't they pleasant?

It all sounds more magnificent than ever, and I'm sure Messhof's fined-tuned each and every pixel to a disgusting degree of balance and accuracy. And of course, it'll be out (relatively) soon! But still: I WANT IT NOW. Whatever. I'm just gonna go compose laments on my piano.