When an evil king destroys the clan guarding the Heavenly Sword, players must take the role of Nariko and begin a long journey to revenge. Featuring in-game cinematography and real-time story involvement, Heavenly Sword is designed to look and feel similar to an action movie and stars Andy Serkis as the invading king. To complete her quest, Nariko must take up the sword and fight her way through miles of enemies.

The sword itself is deadly to mortals who wield it, so Nariko must find and kill the king before her life is taken by the powers of her weapon. Players can create their own fighting style by switching between three different stances, and when a meter at the bottom of the screen is filled, players may execute visually stimulating and deadly combos. Besides using the Heavenly Sword, gamers can also lay waste to their enemies with spears and bazookas, and a counter system allows players to perform reversals by successfully blocking an opponents attack. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide