Innovation is something that many strive for, after all, there is no better way to separate yourself from the pack then by truly being something unique. At PAX East 2019, my experience with One Finger Death Punch 2 is a truly unique and stand out experience, that must be recognized. Along with this brawler’s originality, I can honestly say Silver Dollar Games is making one of the coolest game experiences I have ever had.
One Finger Death Punch 2 is a fast-paced 2D stick figure brawling game, which includes tons of actions, and sweet Kung Fu movie style and feel, all with just the push of two buttons. Brawl your way through a massive number of levels and bosses on a classic mission of vengeance. This game is a true test of your speed and coordination that Silver Dollar Games has executed perfectly.
When enemies enter one of the two zones around you, players must push the corresponding button to make the character attack. As enemies start coming in faster succession, it’s tempting to want to button mash, but you do not want to do that. If you make an attack when an enemy isn’t in the required zone you will receive a miss. Misses lower your end of round score and if an enemy is nearby and they will hit you.
As the tutorial progressed, numerous enemy types were introduced. Some had to be hit multiple times to be brought down and some as the demo went on, dodged my first attack, rolling to the other side of me and would have to be struck again with the other attack button.
Before long, I was sliding beneath throwing knives and breaking enemies apart with gleeful ease, and all with just two buttons. I played on an Xbox One-style controller for my demo, but any controller interface would be just a fluid. The simple controller scheme, pressing X to attack if the enemy was above or pressing B to attack in another area made it intuitive to pick up.
I played the entire 16 round tutorial which lasted about 15-20 mins. I never once felt like I had been hit with a cheap shot or had been given an unfair miss. For a game that is still in early access on Steam, this was an awesome showing of polish.
This game had me cackling with glee as my onscreen avatar bounced from enemy to enemy like a glorious pinball of death. I can not recommend it enough as I plan to be doing a lot of Kung fu fighting when the game lands on my consoles of choice.
With 400+ levels, and various skills the player can level to customize their gameplay experience in a number of ways. from making weapons procured on the battlefield hit harder, to negate some of the special types of enemy, the player has the ability to help strengthen their character to play to their preferences.
With all this going for it the Kung Fu fighting should last long after the April 15, 2019 Steam launch. Silver Dollar Games is also shooting for a fall release for Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, with PlayStation possibly following later.