FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch, the preview of the explosive metroidvania for PS4 and PS5
FIST
Announced during The Game Awards 2020, FIST (stylized in F.I.S.T.) - which stands for Forged in Shadow Torch - is a metroidvania developed by Ti Games featuring an anthropomorphic rabbit named Rayton. Over the course of the last State of Play, we saw a new trailer and found that it will be released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on September 7th. Admittedly, the vibes we felt when looking at FIST's gameplay reminded us of Hollow Knight: With Team Cherry's gorgeous 2D metroidvania, Ti Games shares horizontal scrolling, fast-paced action, and challenging level design that puts you to the test. the reflexes and creativity of the player. Let's take stock of everything we know.Rayton the rabbit
"When we started imagining the world of FIST we wanted the protagonist to be human, but then we realized that no human character would be universally accepted as an animal. " With these words, Yang Xiang, who represents business development at Ti Games, explained the reasons that led to the creation of Rayton, the protagonist of the game. It's a key role that can determine a brand's success, and the more successful an iconic design is, the more likely it is to remain etched in players' memory. "A long-eared rabbit is much more recognizable than a cat or a dog," Xiang explained. "Above all, there is a tendency to believe that rabbits are defenseless, vulnerable creatures. The moment you make a rabbit the silent war veteran wielding a giant mechanical fist, a memorable short circuit occurs."FIST We don't know much about the FIST storyline. It seems that Rayton will have to face the pitfalls of Torch City to close a pending account and save a former comrade of his. Six years earlier our protagonist fought in a war that still haunts him and Ti Games chose the mechanical arm that originally belonged to his combat exoskeleton as a weapon for a very specific reason. "Rayton wields one fist instead of two because this asymmetrical and imperfect shape represents the trauma he went through fighting and losing the war," Xiang explained. "We also thought of a fist rather than a sword because, in addition to being a much more violent and aggressive weapon, it is also disproportionately larger than the protagonist." The dieselpunk world of FIST will be populated by anthropomorphic animals that will help Rayton overcome the thousand obstacles that separate him from his goal and that we will learn about in the intermission cinematics that tell the story of the game.
Three weapons to fight
FIST FIST's all-action combat system is reminiscent of a fighting game, if only because our protagonist can ring a series of combos on the ground and in the air, mixing them with various special attacks that Ti Games he designed not only to damage enemies, but also to move Rayton into space. The player can then take advantage of special moves such as the mighty fiery riser to inflict a lot of damage to a target under attack, and at the same time to take advantage of its elevation and reach otherwise inaccessible platforms. The enemies are divided into two main categories: there are the normal ones, which can give some annoyance but which go down with a well-aimed chain of blows, and then there are the elite ones, which are much more demanding and fight like real ones. miniboss. Some elites shown in the trailers can hurl huge spinning blades or spin around like unstoppable tops that can take out Rayton in an instant.FIST Our rabbit, however, does not possess any defensive abilities. He cannot protect himself from attacks, so to speak, and mitigate the damage; he can only rely on his agility and motor skills, but also on a sort of instant parry that is used by moving the lever in the direction from which a possible attack comes, a bit like it happens in some fighting games. As you progress through the game, Rayton acquires new skills such as aerial dash and double jump, which are quite traditional for the genre and will be used in concert to overcome some particularly intricate platforming steps. The positional component also falls within the two modules that replace the punch is that the player will learn to swap on the fly even during combos. They are, in essence, alternative weapons that are not only used for fighting.
FIST The drill, for example, is an extremely slow but very powerful weapon, capable of inflicting a lot of damage especially when Rayton uses the special attack which turns it into a kind of human bullet. At the same time, our furry protagonist can use the weapon like the blades of a mini helicopter to lift himself into the air or slow a fall. The whip, on the other hand, is less powerful than the fist or drill, but it can inflict damage from a distance and, above all, it can grab enemies to attract them to Rayton or to use them as a hold: swinging from one enemy to another, the player can overcome very dangerous passages and reach distant platforms that perhaps hide a secret or some collectible.
FIST By mixing weapons and displacement abilities, FIST's combat system becomes an integral part of the level design that allows players to indulge themselves as they defeat robotic enemies and explore the intricate map of Torch City. However, it is necessary to understand how much the experience will diversify, that is, if it will maintain a similar setting from start to finish or if the Ti Games guys have built a good variety of situations. The trailers, in fact, show a very short underwater sequence in which Rayton fights what is probably a boss in a scene that reminded us so much of the so-called "bullet hell" shooters, so much was it full of bullets and volleys that you had to dodge by sliding into the straits. spaces between them. We don't know how frequent these gender swaps will be, or if it's an isolated case in the entire game, but we can't wait to find out when FIST releases in September - it could be a real gem.
FIST FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch could be a great metroidvania. Sure the combat system that mixes three weapons and various abilities sounds very interesting, and the artistic choices, such as the anthropomorphic rabbit plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder for protagonist, appear truly inspired. If the level design and the narrative can live up to these premises, FIST could become a title to keep an eye on.
