Shadow Duel: Blade Mastery
By @Gastro
Duel against shadowy enemies in a 2D fighting arena by managing your stamina, executing combos, and timing perfect parries to survive endless rounds.
How to play
- Move left and right to control the distance between you and your opponent.
- Press the attack button to perform sword strikes and build up a five-hit combo.
- Hold the guard button to block incoming attacks, or tap it right before impact to parry.
- Use the dodge button to quickly dash away from heavy attacks and guard breaks.
- Spend your earned coins between runs to upgrade your health, stamina, damage, and parry window.
Controls
- Touch
- Tap the on-screen buttons to move, jump, dodge, guard, and slash.
- Keyboard
- Use A and D to move, Space to jump, and J, K, L for actions.
- Mouse
- Not supported for combat, but can be used to navigate the menus.
More about this game
Your goal is to survive as many rounds as possible in 1-on-1 combat against shadow warriors. You must balance attacking, blocking, and dodging while managing a limited stamina bar. Every action drains stamina, forcing you to time your strikes carefully. The difficulty increases each round, with powerful bosses appearing every fifth round. A run ends when your health drops to zero, rewarding you with coins to permanently upgrade your stats.
Tips
- Watch your stamina bar closely. Dodging costs 28 stamina and attacking costs 14, so avoid mashing buttons or you will be left defenseless.
- Try to time your blocks perfectly. A perfect parry within the 0.11-second window stuns the enemy and multiplies your combo score.
- The fifth consecutive strike in a combo is a powerful finisher that deals extra damage and pushes you forward, but leaves you briefly vulnerable.
Questions
How do I unlock new character skins?
You unlock new silhouette skins by defeating specific bosses, like the Shadow Samurai or Phantom Knight, while playing on the Insane difficulty setting.
What happens when my guard is broken?
If an enemy uses a guard break attack while you are blocking, you lose 48 stamina and become stunned for nearly half a second.
How do I get more coins for upgrades?
You earn coins by winning rounds. Standard enemies grant 8 to 10 coins, while defeating a boss every fifth round awards 25 or more coins.