To Carry a Sword

To Carry a Sword, developed by We Three Nouns and published by MAGIC Spell Studios, is a narrative-driven RPG that deliberately shifts the focus of the genre away from heroic power fantasies and toward something more grounded, reflective, and human. Instead of casting the player as a legendary warrior destined to save kingdoms, it places them in the role of a caravan guard—someone whose responsibilities are as much about people and relationships as they are about combat. This subtle but important shift defines the entire experience, giving the game a tone that feels more personal and introspective than most fantasy RPGs. The structure of the game revolves around guiding caravans across a procedurally generated map, making decisions about routes, managing limited resources, and responding to a wide range of events that occur along the journey. Each trip unfolds differently, shaped by the paths chosen and the encounters that arise. These events are presented largely through text, and they form the backbone of the experience. Rather than serving as simple obstacles, they function as narrative moments that explore the lives, struggles, and personalities of the people traveling with yo…

"To Carry a Sword" is I think at least partially an academic exercise, which might have been "Will people pay nine bucks for a 2D browser tier game in 2022" and the answer was no. But the game itself is an interesting idea implemented poorly. It's basically FTL meets Oregon Trail, RNG encounters backed by a lightweight RPG system/stat survival backdrop, and set in the medieval era as you take a role in a trading caravan. What do you do in the game? This plays more like an RNG stat grinder (hence the FTL/Oregon Trail comparisons) than a fully fledged RPG. I don't really like RNG punishment games all that much and combining that game design philosophy with a weak technical delivery is probably what caused this to fail. The game features really lacklustre 2D visuals (does the developer not know 3D graphics became mainstream in the mid-1990s?). Gamers don't spend thousands of dollars on gaming rigs and the latest 3D graphics cards to play 2D games. Even mobile phones and game consoles can do 3D graphics now. There's no excuse. The developer chose not to do the job of a real game developer and create meaningful bespoke levels, narrative based gameplay progression and so on. …

A bit like Oregon trail. Not bad for a free game. I can't complain.

It's a good game for an hour, after that it gets repetitive, grindy and goes no where. The mix of 2d combat along with text heavy works well and will inspire me personally if I ever work on a fantasy game. Thank you for that.

VERY fun so underrated i see almost no videos on this its so fun though

A mostly text based adventure game with some pixel animations like "Oregon trail", it's pretty cool. Game play is basically being in a town and picking which job you want to take. one that pays little but takes you to a bigger city, or a job that pays more but will definitely have challenges and takes you to a town with little resources.