Forged in Shadow Torch

Pretty but no personality

Why

• Much more realistic graphics than most (any?) Metroidvanias
• Tries to differentiate itself with combos/multiple weapons

Why Not

• Combat is going for weighty but lands on clunky
• Story/characters do nothing for me
• Never felt any desire to play it

Impressions

FIST (what a name) stands out with its impressively realistic graphics compared to others in the genre, but falls down more or less everywhere else. Despite being fully voice-acted the story is ham-fisted and formulaic, exploration is there but basic and the combat just feels bad. There are plenty of optiona available between multiple weapons; each with different attack modes, but it feels too clunky and the enemies are too spongy to be enjoyable. It's a pity because there are some cool ideas here like the skeuomorphic menus and steampunk-with-anthropomorphic-animals aesthetic, but if a game isn't fun to play and its story doesn't pull me in I'm out sorry. Maybe there are people this lands for but for me it feels like a tech demo with some cool ideas that's a chore to play.