Developed By: Awesome Game Studio
Published By: Awesome Game Studio
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC(Steam), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Reviewed On: Nintendo Switch
Fury Unleashed is a game which brings together the best of Contra, Metal Slug and Mega Man 2D, a game which will make you feel addicted but yet frustrated at the same time with this retro shooting game experience.
GamePlay
The game has a living comic-book storyline accompanied by gameplay where each of the segments represents the map in each chapter of the game with a total of three chapters per comic. Players will have to restart the game all over again from chapter one every time when they run out of health, but players can just rush to the finishing line to complete the chapter without exploring the whole area every time.
After completing the three chapters, it will always be bookended with a boss fight. In total, there are three boss fights for each comic that players will have to overcome but along the way there is also a chance to encounter mini-bosses which are optional. However, by defeating the mini-bosses players will have a chance to get between a weapon or armour or even a choice between those two with a flawless victory. By killing all of the bosses, you will get to restart the game from any comic of your choice instead of starting directly from the first comic itself.
To our surprise, this whole game is procedural which is kind of impressive as the game stage map and layout will be changed every time you die or go through it the next time. Each enemy killed will drop ink orbs with the black ink orb used as experience points for levelling up our character to get a skill point which to upgrade the skill tree of the character. The gold orbs will be used as in-game currency to buy armour and weapons or even to repair your shields.
Player will gain combos by continuously killing the enemies and the combos will then generate a protection shield, but players need to be careful as the combo will be reset when hit by any enemies.
In each stage, there are a number of portals which could help the player on their adventure, such as getting new weapons, blessing, health regeneration, special ability and more. But please do note that the portal does not come free of charge as they will require the aforementioned gold orbs collected or some requires the players to exchange their health points for items or blessing. Players also can get to unlock weapons by completing quests from the portal. In case if you wish to play with a friend do not fret as Fury Unleashed does support local co-op for up to two players.
Controls
The aiming and shooting controls are simply just pushing on the right analog stick to aim n shoot at once. Players are able to sprint on the ground and also short dashing in the air. I personally quite like this kind of control set up. It enables the gameplay to be much more intense while players are able to shoot and dodge the attacks at the same time while maintaining the combo strike. Fast travelling to the previous map does come in handy for players to maintain the combo as well.
Things That I Liked
- Game mechanics look simple but can be hard to master for first-timers but feels rewarding when you do.
- The tutorial is clear and easy which allow the player to get used to the game easily.
- Customization in terms of character and tons of guns and load-outs that keep the gameplay fresh.
- Good storyline for the gameplay
- A lot of replayability due to the availability of skill tree and tons of achievements to be unlocked.
Things That I Disliked
- The fonts are too small to read properly.
- The gameplay might get too difficult but need to keep repeating the stage
- Co-op mode: One player could be lost in sight if both players did not move the same direction
- Co-op mode: Need both players to be at the same exit direction in order to proceed to the next map.
Things That Can Be Improved
- The co-op mode should accommodate split-screen action as it does limit freedom for both players having to be on the same screen to not lose sight of each other.
Verdict
Fury Unleashed is a simple, fun, and addicting experience. Even when I had to restart all the way back from the beginning every time I died I didn’t feel frustrated at all (well most all of the time). The experience just made me want to keep on playing to complete the stage and get more skill points, get powerful weapons, brush up my skills in dodging the enemies bullet to stay alive. There is also the added bonus of the list of achievements top be chased by the player. A retro 2D platform shooter game costing for USD 19.99 (approx MYR 86) is worth to be added into your game gallery.
