Fury Unleashed
An indie gem that has recently released on the Switch Eshop is a game called Fury Unleashed, a game that was developed by Awesome Game Studios. I love being able to review these types of games for you, because these are the titles that are not highly advertised and are normally swept under the rug, and eventually disappear amongst the thousands of other great indie titles located in the over populated Eshop game catalogue.
Fury Unleashed released on May 8, 2020. This fast paced roguelike platformer, not only delivers a different element to the genre, but also is a game that is highly addicting and draws you in to keep wanting to play another go around to see if you can progress further in the story.
Fury Unleashed is based on a comic book with the main character being none other than Fury himself. From the very beginning you are able to pick from a male or female character with limited customization to change the look of your playable character. There are also unlockable character skins throughout gameplay by achieving certain tasks in game. This title also offers Co-op play which is a nice addition to this game, being as there are few to little Co-op platformers that offer this kind of fun, along with fluent and smooth gameplay for both partners. This game also keeps a list of achievements and leaderboards which is only be able to be tracked by playing the game on Hard mode. There are four different game modes that are able to be played, and the only way to unlock the last two modes, which are Incredible and legendary mode is to beat your way through the Hard mode first. There is an easy mode as well which is great for newcomers to get the feels for the controls and understand the combo system.
Even on Hard mode this game is brutally challenging. You will make your way through multiple Chapters of the comic book, with each chapter having its own number of procedurally generated platforms. You’ll defeat enemies, as well as bosses trying to 100% the whole chapter. The reasoning for wanting to 100% the whole chapter is because each panel on that Chapter can contain certain upgraded items that can strengthen your character. Your character starts off with a base weapon such as a sword for melee attacks, a gun for range attacks, as well as a throwable item, alongside a certain ability. These items you can find throughout the different panels can be any of these types of equipment.
There is an abundance of weapon varieties that contain different statistics that you will be able to swap for when finding these item boxes throughout these panels. They also contain different types of armor which can be equipped for certain boosts during your gameplay, such as higher chance of drop when killing an enemy, or decrease in damage taken from an enemy. These boosts vary for each piece of equipment found. If you are happy with the weapon or armor that you currently have, you are able to absorb the item for ‘Ink.’
Ink is one of the most important aspects of the game. You are able to collect ink from the enemies that you kill, as well as mini challenges that are spread throughout the chapters. The Ink that you collect is transferred into experience points, and when enough are collected you will receive skill points that can be used to permanently upgrade your hero in the skill tree menu on the main screen of the game. Fury Unleashed is a soft permadeath type of game, for those of you who are fans of games such as Dead Cells or Enter the Gungeon will not only love this gam, but understand the concept as well. The items I mentioned previously that you will find during your runs will only benefit you for that current run you’re on. Once you die, you will lose all the items you collected . You’ll still be able to keep your ink, though, which can be used to permanently increase a skill point of your hero upon your choosing.
Another feature you will need to know about this game is the combo system. It plays a large role in having an advantage over your enemies. The higher the combo grants the player different gameplay-related boons. It’s pretty straight forward but can prove to be difficult trying to avoid enemy fire while trying to keep your chain going. There is a skill that can be upgraded for your character that can lengthen the combo time, as well as other various items to help. Fury Unleashed was a spur of the moment buy for me after seeing some footage of it from some sources. I was a big fan of Dead Cells and, for only the price of $19.99, I figured I would give this title a shot. This game may have some repetitiveness to it, but with the character building, weapon variety, and Co-op the game proved to be pretty addicting and well worth the money. I would also like to mention I have only played this title in handheld mode on the Switch, and had absolutely no issues with frame rate or any kind of technical issues.
