Fury Unleashed Review

Share Review


I’ve played a fair few platformers lately and great ones at that. If you have read some of my reviews you may have seen that I touched on some of the SteamWorld Dig games on Google Stadia. A lot of indie developers seem to be touching on this genre a lot lately and whilst I enjoy them there is the risk that the market could get congested with mediocre clones of each other. That said though there is nothing better than indulging in a platformer just to take you away from the normality of triple A titles or endless Warzone sessions which I’ve been doing lately in Lockdown. It takes a lot to tear me away and Fury Unleashed managed just that so keep reading!

Fury Unleashed is developed and published by Awesome Games Studio and they appear to have done what it says and produced an awesome game. The game launched on Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and Xbox One on May 8th 2020 and my playthrough will be taking place on Xbox One X.

Straight away I was actually blown away at how visually pleasing Fury Unleashed was when I first commenced the game. I’ve always said the SteamWorld Dig games had some of the best visuals any indie platformer has granted us but this game gives them a run for their money. You can’t help but think of this as a comic book as you play through this and it’s one I’d love to read through if it was a product outside of the game. Because not only is it beautifully drawn out, it tells a great story within it.

The game is described as a combo driven roguelike action platformer. So if you enjoyed games such as Dead Cells, Contra and even the Metal Slug Series this will be right up your street. This game according to their website took five years of development and you can really see why and how it benefits from that time period.

So here you’ll work your way through three separate settings and comic books. And each of these comic books has a particular setting and scene dedicated to it. You’ll be playing scenes set in a military base, a jungle and also an alien invasion so it’s all a bit mad and random but it adds variety to the gameplay element well. The art style really is the most impressive feat of the game but what is the gameplay like?

We all know that historically graphics don’t make a game. There isn’t any point in having nice shiny graphics if the gameplay doesn’t live up to them. Thankfully in Fury Unleashed the run and gun element is truly satisfying as you’d expect it to be. You start the experience off armed with an SMG and a machete and you’ll be frantically picking off Nazis and shooting them in your path in any which way you choose. In turn you’ll be dodging enemy attacks, engaging in platform jumps and focusing on turning to the next page.

Now it was pleasing to see a range of different weapons here from your standard shotgun to some surprise overwhelming weapons which really light up the level. I won’t spoil these weapons for you as it really does spice up the whole encounter. What I really enjoyed was the ability to stamp on enemies heads and crush their skull with my boots. You’ll enjoy putting together combos as you work your way through enemies and what I liked about this was the better you performed the more energetic the game became. The volume of music pushes up a notch as you force your way through, the whole while the rock metal music pulsing through your eardrums. It really blends in well and almost pushes you to try off the cuff crazy killing chains, almost like being on the treadmill at the gym with some energetic music pushing you to work harder. Not only are the combinations truly satisfying, you are rewarded with orbs for your work. You’ll be able to spend these on upgrading your skills and abilities for further quests and missions. It has a skill tree to progress through like many RPG titles, you have to be wary though as permadeath is possible in this game and you risk losing everything.

Along with the mighty plethora of weapons and abilities it is possible to melee and also pick some powerups off the ground. These powerups can enable you to perform better abilities such as running faster or jumping higher. You can also do tasks for certain characters which will allow you to unlock gear upon completion. The game can become very unforgiving if you don’t get things right, you can be on the rampage all of a sudden and then something will pick you off from nowhere. You’d think being killed would be a bad thing and it normally is in most games, but it was a joy to keep attempting the run through again. There are three comic books to explore through with the opportunity for a fourth and it does become a slight addiction working through them to uncover it page by page. For a title that has been in the works for five years you can truly see why. The art style, soundtrack, story, gameplay, it just ticks every box and does everything right.

There’s a minefield of indie games on all platforms but if you have an opportunity to buy and play Fury Unleashed I would truly grab it with both hands, it is up there with the best of them. If you enjoyed games like Steamworld Dig, Spelunky and similar titles in the genre then this game is definitely for you.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Get the latest game reviews, news, features, and more straight to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing to Bonus Stage.

Something went wrong.

Fury Unleashed Review
  • Gameplay - 8.5/10
    8.5/10
  • Graphics - 9.5/10
    9.5/10
  • Sound - 9/10
    9/10
  • Replay Value - 9/10
    9/10
Overall
9/10

Summary

Fury Unleashed is a energetic, frantic, chaotic title which is aesthetically pleasing in all ways. A true indie great!

Pros

  • Visually stunning in all aspects.
  • Comic book routine works exceptionally well.
  • Story and plot hold up great.

Cons

  • The hardest difficulities are almost impossible to master.
  • Can be unforgiving at times.

Share Review