The fabulous folks at Awesome Games Studios have a new run ‘n gun in the form of the blast-tastic Fury Unleashed. It is more than just your standard move and shoot with added RPG elements and a cracking comic book style story mode. The love and care put into this games development is obvious from the start and we have been loving playing through it. It is available for Steam, Xbox, PS4 and Switch.
You play as a lone soldier looking to uncover a mystery surrounding the fictional comic boook Fury Unleashed. Explore the pages of a living comic book where ink is your most valuable resource and each room is a comic panel. Find out why is John Kowalsky, author of acclaimed Fury Unleashed series having a creativity crisis and see if you can help him deal with it. As you progress through each comic panel more of the story unfolds. It is not particularly deep but it is certainly different and we could not help but think of Comix Zone for the games inspiration.
The first time you play Fury Unleashed it feels like a strange world where you are scrambling to find out what you are meant to be doing. You move from room to room blasting enemies with ranged and melee attacks. The platforming sections are solid and the controls feel tight. As you explore further and die the first time the game opens up. Each game only lasts for one life and you must try to get through as many levels as possible.
After you die you are able to level up your character from ink you have collected from the comic pages. Fury Unleashed uses a simple but vast tech tree to slowly your build your character up. You never lose your upgrades or added strength so each time you play you should feel a little stronger. It may sound like a game that requires grinding but the actual game is so much fun that it does not feel repetitive at all. Each play through a new map is randomly generated and you can explore as much or as little as you want.
Everything about Fury Unleashed gels well and this is a truly high quality indie title. So much has been thought about from the combat and jumping, to character progression. Even the added sections tallying up the enemies defeated and weapons picked up is a lovely touch. Nothing here is rushed or added as an after thought. All the weapons are different and allow you to create different tactics. There is a huge amount of pick ups from armour and speed boosts to extra energy and ink.
The added challenges found throughout the stages all help to mix up the gameplay. You may be tasked with defeating some strong enemies or killing 20 foes just with your melee attack. Completing the challenges unlock special items that all add to your overall power. The sense of progression starts to build after the first hour or so of play as you start to string combos kill together that grant extra health to keep you going. The attention to detail in the gameplay is astonishing and Fury Unleashed is a joy to play.
The graphics and overall presentation of Fury Unleashed is beautiful. The animation is incredibly detailed and enemies stand out against the lush backgrounds. The weapon fire is bright and bold and platforms are distinguished which makes bouncing around a breeze. The art style fits in well with the comic theme and the little details spread throughout the levels are gorgeous. It is a pleasant world to explore even if it is so dangerous in places. The only niggle we had is the lack of variety. There are only three settings of levels although they are very distinct to each other.
The music in Fury Unleashed is quite minimalist but was composed by Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz, the creators of music for The Witcher, Bulletstorm and Shadow Warrior 2. You will not fins anything ground breaking here but it serves it purpose and compliments the action. The sound effects have taken a leaf out of Metal Slug. You can feel the homage to the SNK classic bouncing around your lobes as you play through. The blast of your guns are clear and the bosses make some awesome roars.
The best of Fury Unleashed is not realised until you start reaching the bosses. The game boasts 40 boss battles and although a few feel similar they all have their own attack pattern and look. The aim is to defeat all the bosses on each section of levels so you can move into the next comic book that has a whole new setting. The bosses are huge beasts and some are easier than others. But each one will grant you a rare item once defeated and seeking these out are worth the risk of losing your singular life.
It is not very often we are treated to such a well put together indie title but we could easily put this in the same category of Xeno Crisis and the just released Streets of Rage 4. We would not be surprised to see this in the running for indie title of the year. Fury Unleashed needs to be on your list if you’re a fan of old school run ‘n gun games but want more depth to the basic gameplay. We seem to be in a purple patch for indie releases the last year or so and long may it continue.