While 2020 certainly hasn’t been lacking in 2D beat em up’s thanks to the return of Streets of Rage, there’s always more room for some fast and furious side-scrolling action. In fact, let’s add an anthropomorphic rabbit and a big, honkin’ fist to the equation to get something like the newly revealed F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch, a PlayStation Indies Initiative game revealed today and from China Hero Project and TiGames. (F.I.S.T. was first announced all the way back in March 2019, with today’s announcement being somewhat of a re-reveal.) One part platformer and another big-fisted brawler, F.I.S.T. looks like what happens if you combine dieselpunk and ’90s film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. But with a giant fist.
What more is there to say? Here’s the trailer.
Revealed in a blog post today from TIGames, F.I.S.T. is an action-adventure tale of revenge that runs in Unreal Engine 4 and looks absolutely stunning if the 4K trailer is to be believed. “We were eager to tell a memorable and motivating story. Ours began with a simple concept. Supposing there was a beautiful, peaceful world, inhabited only by animals. What would happen if it were invaded by a race of machine-like creatures? Amidst the backdrop of the inevitable conflict that would erupt and consume the planet, we pictured the emergence of a lone warrior, a hero,” says Yang Xiang of TiGames.
The story of Rayton (the rabbit) going on a rescue mission against the Machine Legion is some boilerplate stuff as far as action goes, but the game’s combo system and weapon mechanics certainly more than make up for a plot that was seemingly pulled out of a hat at random… like a certain long-eared animal of some kind that gets pulled out of hats… Whatever that may be. Anyway. Despite being 2D, the game is described as an open interconnected world, so expect something along the lines of a Castlevania kind of world.
Regardless, the game is slick looking and has an immediate, undeniable hook in the form of a protagonist with a comically-oversized, weaponized fist. For now we know it’s coming to PS4, but there are few other details available, including lacking a release date, or even release window. We’ll learn more about F.I.S.T. in the coming months when additional details become available.
