Brawler Archives - Tech-Gaming

PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe review

Robert Allen — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 16:46:28 +0000

Garbage Can or Garbage Can’t? In PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe, topsy-turvy dystopia, trash is a treasured resource. This abnormality happened after a rocket filled with waste was launched skyward. Instead of dropping its payload at an intergalactic dump, the craft malfunctioned, plummeting downward and subsequently killing off the world’s populace. Now, a quartet of playable robots ...

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Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed Director’s Cut review

Robert Allen — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 21:43:21 +0000

When fists fly, clothes will vanish. Whether it’s a metaphor for vulnerability or just old-fashioned fan service, Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed Director’s Cut lets Switch owners enjoy an expanded version of Acquire’s puckish brawler. When visitors come to Los Angeles for the first time, their expectations of the city are often influenced by the ...

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SIFU review (with Arenas Expansion)

Robert Allen — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 16:35:48 +0000

The tale of ancestral vengeance might be well-worn, but SIFU’s intense action coupled with a substantial moveset makes the game feel fresh. But only the truly committed warrior will want to walk this path. At its best, SIFU makes you feel like you’re in Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, Gareth Evans’ The Raid, or almost any of Jackie Chan’s classic Hong Kong ...

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Like a Dragon: Ishin! review

Robert Allen — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 00:37:15 +0000

A Yazuka spin-off where you’ll sing, dance, fish, farm, and adopt animals when you’re not looking for your father’s killer. Largely, the Yazuka franchise has eluded failure. The closest the property has come to disappointment was 2011’s Yakuza: Dead Souls, a non-canonical spin-off that attempted to shoehorn in House of the Dead-style gunplay where you ...

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Jitsu Squad review

Robert Allen — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:50:48 +0000

Aggressive opponents aren’t the only adversity you’ll encounter in Jitsu Squad. From fits of slowdown, intermittent crashes, and an excessive initial load time, you might want to think twice before picking this fight. Real-life street brawls are messy affairs, filled with floundering punches, clumsy grabs, and kicks that infrequently land. Tanuki Creative Studio’s Jitsu Squad ...

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Dusk Diver 2 review

Robert Allen — Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:43:30 +0000

The obvious appeal of Dusk Diver 2 is the combo-heavy, brawling punctuated by flashy special moves. But it’s the setting and characters that separate the game from its pugilistic peers. Plucky, pony-tailed Yang Yumo was the protagonist of 2019’s Dusk Diver. With an aversion for trouble, a fighting style gleaning from years of watching martial ...

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Young Souls review

Robert Allen — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 21:40:10 +0000

Beating up a battalion of nefarious goblins is one component of Young Souls trek. You’ll also encounter enough weapons and armor to rival a respectable role-playing game as well as a writing that’s a refreshingly accomplished. Describing Young Souls as a brawler is tragically reductive. Sure, there’s plenty of intense fighting, with teenaged, crimson-haired ...

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Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed review

Robert Allen — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:19:00 +0000

Hellbound and Debriefed invites players to the remastered inaugural outing in the Akiba’s Trip series. The writing is spirited, the location is delightful, but the action doesn’t quite hold up ten years later despite a few enhancements. From Steins;Gate to Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, Akihabara has served as a recurring setting in gaming, which isn’t ...

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Judgment (Xbox Series X/S) review

Robert Allen — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:28:23 +0000

The Dragon Engine makes a winning now-gen debut with Judgment, offering a stable, 60FPS framerate, almost imperceivable load times, and all the largely inconsequential DLC of the PlayStation 4 version. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza series is undoubtedly one of gaming’s most unique franchises, with a duality nearly unrivaled in any medium. Across seven main iterations, an ...

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Teratopia review

Robert Allen — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 00:00:23 +0000

Teratopia attempts to honor yesteryear’s three-dimensional action platformers. But years on, battering a button to wear down an opponent’s health can feel antiquated. Elsewhere, clumsy platforming should have been left in the last millennium. Traditionally, the difficulty of games gradually increases as you advance. And occasionally, frustrations follow a similar trajectory, with play that grows ...

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UPPERS review

Robert Allen — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 19:27:23 +0000

Resisting the serious tone of most three-dimensional brawlers, UPPERS is a spirited street fighting affair where playing to your fans is just as important as the fisticuffs. Released with the abruptness of a sucker punch, UPPERS is now available on Steam. The third-person brawler was originally released in Japan for the PS Vita back in ...

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Ogre Tale review

Robert Allen — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 19:53:53 +0000

Unrelentingly cute and enchantingly funny, Ogre Tale entertains despite simple mechanics and gratuitous repetition. It’s difficult not to impulsively fall head over heels for Ogre Tale. Within minutes of starting MAGES’ (Steins;Gate, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds) recently released beat ‘em up, you might be suplexing yōkai in front of Shinjuku’s Club SEGA arcade. Filled with ...

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The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors review

Robert Allen — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:03:17 +0000

At one time, gaming was overflowing of ninjas. Games like Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, Tenchu, The Legend of Kage, and Kid Niki: Radical Ninja all centered around the exploits of stealthy assassins. Today, the most prominent ninjas we have are Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s one-armed wolf, Naruto Uzumaki, and a Fortnight streamer with dyed hair. Seemingly, ...

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Judgment review

Robert Allen — Sat, 22 Jun 2019 14:53:09 +0000

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza series is undoubtedly one of gaming’s most unique franchises, with a duality nearly unrivaled in any medium. Across seven main iterations, an expansive cast of colorful characters have chaperoned players through the oft-seedy underbelly of Kamurocho. Filled with melodramatic declarations of fraternal valor, quiet moments of reflection, and the inevitable ...

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Lapis x Labyrinth review

Robert Allen — Tue, 28 May 2019 18:20:27 +0000

Button mashing is term to describe the act of hitting controller buttons in a wild act of desperation. It’s often used to describe a rookie trying to fortuitously trigger a combo or special move. Occasionally, it happens when players can’t control their temper. Either way, it’s derogatory. But aggressively attacking buttons wasn’t always viewed negatively. ...

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The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa review

Robert Allen — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 20:30:55 +0000

Games habitually incorporate structure. Loot-driven games like Diablo and Borderlands goad us into the incessant search for new gear. Deadlines in the Atelier and Persona games ensure we don’t dawdle. And almost any role-playing game offers a succession of main- and side-quests, leaving little uncertainty of how we should be spending our time. Even the ...

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Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal review

Robert Allen — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 18:43:10 +0000

The game industry’s fondness for reiteration is well-known and frequently criticized. But recently, publishers have doubled down, creating remakes of remakes. With two degrees of separation, these works often demonstrate a healthy amount of divergence from their source material, incorporating contemporary artistry and attitudes. Such is the case with the PlayStation 4 and PC release ...

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Override: Mech City Brawl review

Robert Allen — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:05:41 +0000

Override: Mech City Brawl demonstrates a multitude of adept design decisions, and just enough programming proficiency to pull it all off. Head into the game’s tutorial and you’ll discover a largely intuitive control scheme. While the game showcases a dozen different mechanized combatants, a basic moveset is shared by all. Play with a controller, and ...

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Way of the Passive Fist review

Robert Allen — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 13:54:53 +0000

At first glance, Way of the Passive Fist might resemble just another side-scrolling brawler. But the game’s moniker signals how an offensive takes a backseat, as the game’s protagonist fights by wearing down his opponent before issuing a single, graceful but trouncing attack. As such, the game feels like an eccentric mash-up between a traditional ...

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Penny Punching Princess review

Robert Allen — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 17:33:13 +0000

While 1987’s Double Dragon wasn’t the first beat ‘em up game (Irem’s Kung Fu Master arrived two years earlier), it did help to push the genre forward. Instead of feeling like a stiff side-scroller, Double Dragon’s fraternal protagonists, Billy and Jimmy Lee freely moved around the screen, delivering elbow strikes, throws, disarms- and using any ...

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