I spent a bit of time with Punch Club on PC this weekend, after its early release stemming from a successful ?Twitch Plays? marketing run last week. So far I?ve found it to be pretty unique, generally charming, and at times a bit frustrating. It?s a little too grindy for my tastes, but I think I?ll stick with it since it really doesn?t take a great deal of concentration to get through. This isn?t a review, per se, but more a collection of my thoughts after dumping a handful of hours into the fighting sim.
That?s right, Punch Club is a fighting simulator. If you?re like me when I heard this term, you?re probably thinking, what the hell is a fighting sim? Well, I?ll attempt to explain. In Punch Club you?ll guide your character?s actions throughout the day, which can consist of working out, eating, sleeping, working and fighting. There?s some side activities thrown in, but these are the major activities you?ll be focused on.
This all revolves around when your character?s next fight is scheduled, which is generally over the span of three or two in-game days. Ideally, at fight day, you?ll want to have pushed your strength, agility, and stamina stats as high as possible before the fight, so you?re performing at peak levels. It?s unrealistic to focus on all three stats when working out, so generally you try to build up one, and maintain some sort of decent level for the other two. This becomes challenging since those stats degrade when a day completes, so there?s always some sort of push and pull going on, which is again where the time management aspect becomes important.
While the plot of Punch Club is a bit light, it?s ability to send up just about every major action movie of the 80?s and 90?s is almost unparalleled. Honestly, the only thing missing here is a Cannon logo when the game boots up. You?ll have obvious references to stuff like Rocky, with slightly more obscure references tossed in, including a nod to Steven Seagal?s character from Under Siege. Other somewhat familiar faces, including a unique send off of TMNT, pop up throughout, which certainly adds to the nostalgia factor here. Add to that the charming blend of chiptunes style music, and 16-bit style graphics, and I think Punch Club certainly nails the time period aesthetic it?s going for.
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