Dad by the Sword

Coming soon

Rocketcat Games

Planned release: To be announced
Platforms
Last updated: 16 Sep 2026, 16:30 GMT

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14 posts

27 Jun 2023Developer post
Public Demo: Non-Directional Parry Update + More!
We extended the Dad by the Sword Public Demo because we wanted to get some changes in! The demo will now end some time Wednesday Night (or early Thursday if I'm too sleepy) Here's a short list of changes, I may be missing some: Parries no longer require a directional input, just
We extended the Dad by the Sword Public Demo because we wanted to get some changes in! The demo will now end some time Wednesday Night (or early Thursday if I'm too sleepy)
Here's a short list of changes, I may be missing some:

Parries no longer require a directional input, just proper timing of letting go of Block right before an enemy hits
New Perfect Parries use the old directional input system, and reward you with bonus sword energy each time you do it. This also restores Sword Flaccid State
The stronger Parry Perks require Perfect Parry, with their descriptions updated to indicate if they require this or any parry works
Hotdog Dadcessory now properly applies a running speed buff to the player
Tutorial revamped to explain the new parries, now with smalls videos to show exactly how the parrying works
Slightly updated the reticle to show center-parrying
More gamepad support for tutorial menus
Easier projectile reflection in tutorial (slightly), with some other cosmetic tweaks
Some SFX updates
Fix for sword jump cancellation bug when looking upward
Bug fix for an error that could happen on the boss floor
Possible selection bug fixed with pillars and the Garage Door Opener
As always, send Feedback here, or on our Twitter (link below) or our Discord (link in-game). I'm particularly interested to hear what you think about the Parry changes!
Original post
16 Jun 2023Developer post
Father's Day Demo Starts Now!
UPDATE: We're leaving this up a little bit longer because we want to get out an update that changes the parry system to be non-directional for normal parries. Stay tuned for further news on this, and a new end time for the demo! The Dad by the Sword demo is now up! See our last p
05 Jun 2023Developer post
Limited Time Demo for Father's Day, starting June 16th
We're running another limited time public demo for Dad by the Sword for this Father's Day! It will go from June 16th to the 23rd , and have a slew of new content and tweaks, including the ability to pick a starting Dad Class! Read on for a list of details, and a summary of the si
We're running another limited time public demo for Dad by the Sword for this Father's Day! It will go from June 16th to the 23rd, and have a slew of new content and tweaks, including the ability to pick a starting Dad Class! Read on for a list of details, and a summary of the six new starting classes.
Also, read on for news on the launch date for Dad by the Sword. We delayed that a bit, short summary is that really want to get more enemies and another full biome in the game before we launch it. You can see more of my reasoning and things we're thinking about now in the bottom section.
New Demo Content
We've been really busy! Here's a short list of the new stuff you'll be able to play with in the demo:

6 new player classes you can pick from! They each have their own bonuses to different playstyles. Read the next section for some details
Revamped tutorial! It's a little longer, has real combat practice segments (with you being immortal during it), and covers more things
We revamped the mouse controls to be kind of a mix between Mordhau and Mount and Blade: Bannerlord. This actually took a lot less time than I thought it would, and feels great to me. I want a lot more opinions on this control style, as I still prefer the WASD Dark Messiah-style controls
Gamepad support! It's not in for menus as I type this, but it's in for gameplay. This was requested a lot for the first demo
The amount of possible room types more than doubled!
The amount of possible weapons that can generate about doubled
How weapon special attacks work was revamped entirely
Rare golden enemies can spawn. They're dangerous, but fragile. Killing them gives the player a bunch of bonuses right away, including a sword full repair and a guaranteed critical hit
New dadcessories!
Lots more tweaks and requests
I'm really eager to hear what people think of all the new changes, particularly the Dad Classes and the gamepad and revamped mouse controls.
Dad Classes
You can now pick a Dad Class, each with their own perks and equipment. Here are a few examples:
Left to Right:

CYBERDAD starts with A GUN and a ~~cybernetic arm~~ a golf club (currently). His unique perk makes it so every 6th kill with a ranged dadcessory (pistols,shortguns, nailguns, etc) puts +1 CRITICAL POWER on his sword. Because this is so reliable, you could just stack Crit Power on a side sword all day without swinging it, then hit a boss for 27 criticals in a row with one swing.
LONGDAD has a long reach and a cool hairstyle. He starts with the Longish Sword, which has a lot of range compared to any of the early game swords. His unique perk gives him extra bonus range with his sword strikes the lower his health gets, and his second perk gives him one free critical hit whenever he takes damage.
FENCERDAD is for players that want more flashy technique in their swordplay. His starting sword and two starting perks all focus on bonuses with the Parry mechanic. He also starts with a pair of shoes that let him reflect enemy projectiles when kicking them, and doing so gives him a speed bonus.
The other starting classes in the demo are POWERDAD, who has weak starting equipment but two nice critical-focused perks to start, HANDYDAD, a dadcessory specialist, and DEFENDAD, a tanky defense focused class that starts with a shield. DEFENDAD gets to go to the top of the list, as I think that and POWERDAD will be the most welcoming classes for new players.
We're shooting for about 15 Dad Classes in the final game, and currently have about 12 planned total.
Dad by the Sword Launch
I'm delaying the launch. With all the things we added, we did not have enough people to also finish implementing the enemies we almost have ready to go. We also have not finished the next biome, I'd say we're about a quarter done with the rooms. After the demo, we'll be focusing on the new monsters and blasting through the new Sand Zone biome.
During the demo period, I'm going to discuss with the team what exactly the kind of launch we want to do. Originally the plan was to do an Early Access launch with just the one biome, as other games have done this in the past with a lot of success. This just doesn't strongly appeal to me as a player, I'm not sure what the general opinion of this is now. I'm guessing the time for this may have passed.
Current plans are to either do an Early Access launch with at least 2 biomes and their enemies, maybe something like 2.5 biomes if we can. Then have some placeholder quick endgame and a final boss, so the game can still be beaten. Then Early Access would be about simply making more content. New monsters, biomes, weapons and items, an extended endgame, more Dad classes, so on. We would want to launch this before the year was over, and then shoot for a 1.0 launch for around Father's Day 2024 (I really want to launch around here so we can be the "ULTIMATE Father's Day game").
Thoughts on this? Wait longer for a more full EA launch, or launch as soon as we can? Comment below, or on our Twitter @rocketcatgames. There's also our Official Rocketcat Discord, on the #dad-by-the-sword channel.
Original post
25 Feb 2023Developer post
2/23 Build: Final Updates before Public Demo is over
This should be our last big update to the Public Demo, which ends 2/27 (Monday). Lots of tweaks in here, some experimental, so let me know what you think! We also added the new Dadcessory, the Football, as promised. We may do a last mini-update to this before the demo is over. If
15 Feb 2023Developer post
2/14 Limited Time Demo Update: FOV Slider, Easier Blocking, and More
Steam Next Fest is over, but the feedback we've been getting has been invaluable so we're doing at least one more update after this one. Read on for a full list of changes, and keep sending your thoughts and suggestions! The demo will be shutting down on 2/27. Make sure to tell y
11 Feb 2023Developer post
2/10 Demo Build Update: Controls Customization Overhaul
This is a big build where we focus on being able to fine-tine controls options. There is now an easy toggle between the newer WASD-based sword swing mode, inspired by Dark Messiah, and the older controls method where swings are based on mouse movements. You can find this simply b
06 Feb 2023Developer post
Steam Next Fest Update #1: All New Dark-Messiah Style Control Scheme!
Giant revamp for the controls! Testing out an all new control scheme: Dad Dadssiah Mode This is a mode similar to the old game Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and others of that era. Both Dark Messiah and Die by the Sword were big inspirations for this game, with the previous mo
05 Feb 2023Developer post
Watch Us Play Dad by the Sword! - LiveStream Feb 12th, 1 PM Pacific Time
Join us February 12th, Sunday, 1 PM Pacific Time to watch the lead designer play Dad by the Sword during Steam Next Fest! Distract us with questions as the developer responsible for combat (ME) attempts to parry Hot Dog monsters and other Anti-Dads. By that time we should have so
31 Jan 2023Developer post
1/30 Demo Build Update - Mouse-Swing Controls Tweaks + Big Balance Changes
In this update, we've revamped the Mouse Swing controls to no longer lock the camera, by default. You can change this in the options menu. Holding down your attack button still lowers turning speed, and swinging still lowers turn speed, but to a lesser extent. Let us know what yo
28 Jan 2023Developer post
Demo Build Update 1/27
Here's an update to the demo that tweaks difficulty for each of the floors, and introduces some new Visual FX improvements and fixes. Coming up very soon, we're looking at a few major things: The controls. Lots of feedback here, and I think some experiments in fundamental changes
Here's an update to the demo that tweaks difficulty for each of the floors, and introduces some new Visual FX improvements and fixes. Coming up very soon, we're looking at a few major things:

The controls. Lots of feedback here, and I think some experiments in fundamental changes for new players is really worth checking out. More details on this soon!
Slightly increasing the length of some of the weapons, including the starter sword!
Some tweaks to spawns in some of the rooms that really stick out as overwhelming.
Keep the feedback coming! It's been immensely helpful so far, both positive and negative.
List of Changes for the 1/27 Demo Build
- Made it easier to stab objects onto the sword, especially when pointing at something further from the center of the screen.
- Broken swords can no longer stab objects
- Fix the Stockman's jump attack hitbox lingering during its recovery animation
- Fix a collision issue with a particular room where you could fall through the floor near the entrance
- Misc VFX improvements and additions
General Monster Changes
- Made Wizzards a lot more expensive in the monster generator, they are 33% more pricey at a minimum
- Higher tier enemy versions are now more expensive than they in the monster generator, so less will spawn
Changes to the Floors
Floor 1
- +1 healing items, now up to 3
- Kobolds now half as common as Ribs (Kobolds now weight 2, ribs 4, hotdogs 5)
Floor 2
- Moved Pipes and Pits and JumpbackBridge to this floor
- 1 Extra treasure room (Now 3)
- No more Wizzards
- Kobolds don't start getting their advanced armor yet, similar armor to floor 1 now
Floor 3
- Moved SpringElevators room to this floor
- Kobolds are armored like they were in the previous builds on Floor 2
- A shop now spawns on this floor
- Wizzards still spawn, but are half as common as they were before
Floor 4
- Kobold armor toned down to what it was like in floor 3 in previous builds
- Wizzards half as common as they were before
Original post
27 Jan 2023Developer post
Demo Build Update - 1/26/23
Likely the first of many! We've been reading your feedback in the Discord and other places, wherever we see it. It's already helping a lot. List of Changes - Updated the music in the dungeon with an all new theme! - When Your Dad is low on health, the music now changes to Prog Ro
26 Jan 2023Developer post
Limited Time Public Demo + Dad by the Sword Kickstarter!
Public Demo up! Kickstarter up! Early Access launch release date plans for the week before Father's Day! Kickstarter link here! Limited Time Public Demo - Ends February 25th It's finally here! Play the Dad by the Sword public demo for yourself and see what we've been up to! There
12 Nov 2022Developer post
Big Dadveloper Commentary Video + Upcoming Public Demo
With Dad by the Sword, we're shooting for a pretty unique take on a first person swordfighting game. Here's a 10 minute video with commentary from our lead programmer as to how the combat works, what we're up to in game development, and what we're planning next: At this point we'
19 Jun 2022Developer post
Dad by the Sword Father's Day Teaser
Happy Father's Day! We've been working on Dad by the Sword for a long time now, and we're planning on releasing a public playable demo before the year's over. This will likely be scheduled for a festival, maybe Steam Next Fest. Until then, we're going to be releasing a lot more n

Dad by the Sword

Updates & announcements

Public Demo: Non-Directional Parry Update + More!

Father's Day Demo Starts Now!

Demo Notes

Limited Time Demo for Father's Day, starting June 16th

New Demo Content

Dad Classes

Dad by the Sword Launch

2/23 Build: Final Updates before Public Demo is over

List of Changes for 2/23 Public Demo Build

2/14 Limited Time Demo Update: FOV Slider, Easier Blocking, and More

2/14 Demo Update Changelog

2/10 Demo Build Update: Controls Customization Overhaul

List of Changes for 2/10 Demo Build

Advanced Controls: WASD Mode

Advanced Controls: Mouse Mode

Steam Next Fest Update #1: All New Dark-Messiah Style Control Scheme!

Dad Dadssiah Controls Changes

Full List of Update Changes

Watch Us Play Dad by the Sword! - LiveStream Feb 12th, 1 PM Pacific Time

1/30 Demo Build Update - Mouse-Swing Controls Tweaks + Big Balance Changes

Full List of Changes for 1/30 Build

Weapon Length Buffs

Dungeon Layout Changes

Demo Build Update 1/27

List of Changes for the 1/27 Demo Build

General Monster Changes

Changes to the Floors

Floor 1

Floor 2

Floor 3

Floor 4

Demo Build Update - 1/26/23

List of Changes

Limited Time Public Demo + Dad by the Sword Kickstarter!

Limited Time Public Demo - Ends February 25th

Dad by the Sword Kickstarter

Big Dadveloper Commentary Video + Upcoming Public Demo

Dad by the Sword Father's Day Teaser