A little less punchy.
Beat ‘em up games have been a staple of the medium for years. Pushing through hordes of enemies while mashing buttons, and saving the day. What if a game turned that idea on its head? What if players never threw a punch? Well that is the premise of Way of the Passive Fist. A beat ‘em up game where the idea is to dodge and parry instead of punch and kick.
The premise is exactly as described. Instead of mashing buttons to knock down foes, players have to be patient and learn movements of enemies. Their timing is always the same, but there are multiple enemy types with varying combos. Learning when to dodge and parry is paramount. Doing this depletes their stamina opening them up for a killing blow. It is an interesting premise, and one that is welcome in its initial stages.
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $9.99
Stages are broken down into smaller chunks which are essentially hordes. Enemies pile out a few at a time, and mostly only attack one at a time. This is fine early on as players learn the ropes. As levels progress, though, more and more enemies attack more frequently. This creates a juggling act of memorization and monotony.
One of the cooler features of the game is the difficulty sliders. Players can tailor the game to their liking. Dialing back enemy damage or decreasing the timing window for successful parries. This creates a myriad of ways to play. I found myself focusing more on timing than health management, as some boss fights are downright frustrating due to the stiff movement of characters.
You see, the game works best when the player is stationary. Parrying moves and switching directions can cause some unwanted hits taken. With higher damage it becomes a frustrating affair. The boss fights are extremely brutal as they also include fodder enemies alongside the new mechanics. The fights are not hard as much as they are annoying. Dealing with lower enemies while trying to parry a boss flying around the screen isn’t always fun.
Sadly, even with these interesting new mechanics, the game falls into the same hole the genre is plagued with. Monotony sets in early on; as I learned the mechanics it just became an act of repetition in every battle. Combine that with the stiff movement and palette-swapped enemies and I started to wish this had just been a normal beat ‘em up.
The design is interesting with some big sprites and cool bosses. Everything feels a bit too large onscreen though. Players take up a massive amount of space, and when large bosses are tossed into the mix, it can become a mess of confusion.
Way of the Passive Fist is a clever play on words and a unique take on the genre. Sadly, the problem it attempts to solve with its unique combat starts to suffer from the same problems the games it draws inspiration from are plagued with. Still, it is a neat diversion from the norm and worth checking out on a decent discount.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
