by In case you didn’t know, FIST: Forged In the Shadow Torch is a 2D metroidvania action platformer that combines easy but enjoyable combat with a degree of exploration. And the storyline as a flow may not claim the laurels of originality, but the protagonists and the impeccable aesthetics of the game’s steampunk world are certainly interesting.
The protagonist is Rayton, a war rabbit-veteran tired of the battles he fought in the past, but his adventure will lead him to play a decisive role in the liberation of Torch City. You see the town has been taken over by a robotic legion and the rest of the townspeople are disillusioned anyway and are slowly planning their revolution. And Rayton could be nothing more than an inspiration to start the fight for freedom. FIST’s gameplay is characterized by simplicity and efficiency. Steampunk Torch City is navigated exclusively in two dimensions, with the third dimension coming into play when performing special moves, but only visually. Being equipped with a practically enormous punch, the movements used by Rayton are more than pleasant and their animation quite imaginative. Fast and slower and of course more effective attacks are combined with each other and create combos organically, without tiring the player or requiring the skill of a fighting game.
During our exploration, Rayton acquires new gadgets from some townspeople. Like a classic metroidvania title, each new gadget allows him to reach places he couldn’t reach before, but not only. Additionally, the mechanics of the gadgets themselves enrich the battle and are invaluable tools for Rayton to complete his adventure. For example, early on Rayton acquires the ability to use walls to increase his speed, later he acquires the classic double jump, thus adding abilities to his repertoire. The acquisition of new abilities is done through a store where we spend points and magnetic discs obtained during our exploration. The pace at which we get upgrades is very satisfying, without intentionally slowing down the player or making them feel artificially confined to the game world. The title’s length is around 15 hours with enough exploration and backtracking Of course. Using the map makes it relatively easy to navigate to each objective, but it’s good to keep in mind that you have to pause to look at it. The platform, on the other hand, uses simple mechanics, combined with the upgrades we mentioned earlier.
Technically, while FIST’s design isn’t exactly radical by any means, we can say that we were particularly pleased with a nailed 60fps when playing our game on PlayStation 5. On PlayStation 4 on the other hand (whether casual or professional), the action runs at 30 frames per second but also at a lower resolution. In the rest of the graphics, the two versions are only slightly different, which is a shame since, especially in battles, it is believed that in the case of PlayStation 4 Pro some Dynamic Resolution Scaling mechanics could be used to achieve 60 frames. per second.
On the downsides of the title, we could say that the gameplay could be more varied during its duration. It’s not like we don’t see the effort from the developers, especially as Rayton’s adventure is coming to an end, but we would still like something more, to make it truly memorable.
What ultimately sets the release of FIST: Forged In The Shadow Torch apart is the flair. The detailed combination of levels, shortcuts that are unlocked by using upgrades, and battles that break up the “monotony” of exploration give the game a character that definitely sets it apart in the metroidvania universe out there. While it’s not the game of the generation, or anything you’ll truly remember, the 15 hours of pure fun we’ve had was certainly enough for us to highly recommend it to fans of the genre. TI Games delivered a really solid result, which we really appreciate, but also something that really makes us look forward to taking a look at their next effort.
