Bladesong is a combatless yet enticing sword game, and it's got a new demo

From futuristic hack-and-slashers to medieval adventures, if a videogame contains a sword, there's a 99.9% chance that you're going to use it for some slicing and dicing. Blood will certainly spill as you run through enemies with whatever saber, kartana, or longsword you have to hand. Making up the 0.1%, though, is Bladesong, a game all about the intricacy and beauty of sword crafting, rather than fighting. After recently wrapping up what was its final playtest, a new playable demo is now available on Steam, letting you play the first chapter of its campaign and unleashing its sandbox mode, too.

Of course, making your own weapon isn't exactly a novelty in some of the best sword games around - gather up your resources, find a blueprint, smush it all together, and a new blade appears in your inventory. Smashing. What is novel, though, is that Bladesong takes this concept and makes it the core of its entire experience. Giving you a huge toolbox of options, this crafting game lets you forge swords of all shapes and sizes. As you master your craft, you'll cook up some stunning, incredibly detailed weapons, with the ability to create custom patterns, blade shapes, and color schemes.

The new Bladesong demo will let you live out your swordsmithing fantasy in two ways. The first chapter of its story mode is available to play, which sees you arrive at the gates of the Eren Keep and take on your first commission. Throughout the game's story, various characters ranging from seasoned warriors to members of the nobility will approach you to forge them new swords with specific criteria or using certain materials. This demo will give you an early taste of what that feels like, and will be a chance to check out Bladesong's narrative credentials too.

The second experience in the demo is Creative Mode, which unshackles things and lets you build whatever sword you want, sandbox style. If you want to try and recreate weapons of the past with as much historical accuracy as possible, go for it. Or, if you want to forge a surreal sword from your wildest dreams, you can do that too. I'm rather keen to give Creative Mode a spin - so many games provide you with gorgeous pieces of weaponry, but here you can create your own. Plus, you don't have to worry about durability, carry weight, how it fits into a character build, or getting it covered in blood - you can just sit back and marvel at it.

The new Bladesong demo is available to download right now on Steam. You can do so here.

Bladesong is certainly an unusual candidate for our best relaxing games list, but I'm here for it. However, if you start to yearn for some sword-based combat once more, our picks for the best action games is a great place to look.

Are you going to give Bladesong a go? If you do, let us know what you think of it in the PCGamesN Discord, or recommend any other great demos you've played recently.