En Garde! is short, sweet, and honestly, I'm kind of just wishing there was more.

A classic swashbuckling tale equal parts The Three Musketeers, Zorro, and The Princess Bride, players step into the shoes of Adalia de Volador, intrepid swordswoman and adventurer. Across four mostly unconnected chapters, players will duel, leap, and connive their way to victory against swathes of the evil Count Duke's soldiers in a plot that's as cornball as it is charming.

Combat's the meat and potatoes of this little title, but before even touching on that, I want to give some special praise to the presentation of En Garde!, which is shockingly robust given the title's scope. The music is especially charming, invoking the adventurous stories of the cavalier era and the films and media inspired by them, while the voice acting is rock-solid. Everything is rendered in a lovingly illustrative style, with distant details taking on the characteristics of an impressionistic painting. Every enemy has a distinct silhouette, making them easy to pick out in combat, too, which I have to praise because like the game's combat itself, it's easy to read and deceptively deep.

On the surface of it, En Garde!'s primary rhythm is a mode of combat not unlike FromSoftware's Sekiro where parrying and dodging attacks is the bulk of the experience; enemies even have "posture" bars of sorts that must be broken before they can take damage, meaning that the game rewards precision gameplay. But that's only half the equation. What gives En Garde! its unique charm is the way that the environments are absolutely littered with tools to turn the tide of battle to your advantage. Enemies never attack one-on-one, often swarming Adalia in groups; to turn the tides, the swashbuckling protagonist comes equipped with a dedicated kick move that can stun enemies, knock them down stairs, and set off environmental hazards like exploding barrels. What's more, the game offers a variety of environmental tools like buckets, guitars, and fine glassware that can be "yeeted" at enemies to give you a momentary advantage. The result is a flow of combat that feels less like a noble duel and more like a chaotic free-for-all in which the player must nimbly dance around danger to the best of their ability.

The game's not entirely perfect, mind. The short length and disjointed plot mean that the game ends, thought satisfyingly, on a bit of an anticlimax, and the lack of some animations can be a bit distracting. However, these are nitpicks. If anything, I'm reminded of the Bill Watterson quote, "It's always better to leave the party early." En Garde! leaves me wanting more, and if the developers are able, I'd simply adore a follow-up adventure with these characters, or at very least some sort of DLC should the opportunity present itself. Some may feel that the $20 price is a tad too high, and while I respect that point of view, I'd encourage you to try En Garde! regardless. It's not every day something with so much promise crops up, and I'm eager to see what Fireplace Games creates in the future.