You can block. In fact the whole system is based on blocking mechanic. Also... The system in Heavenly forces you to change your weapons more than God of War does. Not to mention that in the game you acquire the 3 stance sword later and the stances effectively serve as different weapons. The demo is not really representative of the final product. Heavenly sword is a very good game. It is shorter and the mechanics are not as refined as GoW, but essentially it is very good. The only problem for me was the repetitive puzzles and the fact the second hit button and counter button is the same.