F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch

F.I.S.T. is an arcade action game belonging to the sub-genre of metroidvania. In the game, we play as... a humanoid rabbit who wears a powerful mechanical arm on his back. The title was developed as part of the PlayStation China Hero Project initiative, an association of Chinese independent devs. TiGames is responsible for developing the title and it's the second project of the team (the first one was Ancient Amuletor VR designed for PlayStation VR goggles). The publisher was Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Plot

The action of F.I.S.T. takes place in a fantasy world, which is maintained in the convention of dieselpunk (an unusual sub-genre of science-fiction, slightly reminiscent of steampunk, but set in a later historical era - instead of the Victorian era we have here the times after the First World War). The player takes on the role of a humanoid rabbit, equipped with high-tech weapons and trying to stop an army of dangerous robots.

Mechanics

In F.I.S.T. the action is observed from the side (from a side-scrolling perspective). The game consists of exploring subsequent maps, conversations with NPCs, avoiding traps, collecting items, as well as fighting enemies - the system responsible for the latter is arcade. In combat, we face different types of opponents, among which we can find humanoid soldiers (in several variations) and powerful robots with impressive sizes and dangerous weapons (e.g. shooting lasers).

As the game progresses, we also discover the main plot. In addition, typical of the metroidvania genre, during our adventure we gradually develop our character's skills - the hero gains new abilities and special attacks, enabling him to cope with the challenges he encounters more and more easily, and often to explore the available game world more freely.

Game modes

F.I.S.T. can be played only solo. The mainstay of the game is a single player campaign.

Technical aspects

Despite the two-dimensional gameplay, F.I.S.T. features three-dimensional visuals. The game was developed using the popular Unreal Engine 4 technology, which provides a high-quality visual experience. Both character and environment models are characterized by high level of detail. Animations, an advanced lighting system, and a very original artistic style, thanks to which the work of TiGames has its own, unique atmosphere, also make a good impression.

Last updated on 20 June 2023