AirMechanic
Jake   Phoenix, Arizona, United States
 
 
Turner of wrenches, wisher of do-overs. Glass cannon with a one-year charge time and 0% accuracy.
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3.7 Hours played
This is probably the weirdest fighting game I've ever seen. Built on a mechanic that seems preposterously simple and full of humor that takes heavily from martial arts, fighting game, and anime tropes before mixing in an appropriate dose of stupidity. I'm not disapproving at all, but it wasn't quite the game's tone that had me laughing so hard I had to stop playing for a minute and collect myself amid a raucous exchange of rounds. It was the intensity of trying to beat a much more experienced friend while frantically using just two controls (jumping and kicking).

That's the game, in a nutshell. You can jump up or back and you can aerial kick forward or downward, depending on the character. It's a complete parody, but they squeeze a surprising amount of technique out of that format and it's harder to do well than it sounds. You're inside the classic fighting game 2D arena, with health bars for both players that are mostly part of the joke since you're KO'd in a single kick. Each character jumps a bit differently and kicks a bit differently, and there is a special ability that charges up for each character and innate abilities like teleporting or surviving one kick. One character's normal kick is a pro wrestling-style dropkick that is almost too effective in the right hands, but each round he wins makes his head bigger (literally - it becomes comically larger with each won round, quickly enabling an easy headshot kick).

The game becomes greater than the sum of its parts when you play it with a friend with whom you love to compete (all the more so with a real time voice chat app like discord). It becomes an absurd, intense, and hilarious fight to master two keys. One misstep- er, mis-kick and the round is over. There's also online play and a campaign for each character, complete with silly backstories. The humor might not be for everyone, and those looking for a serious or in-depth fighting game may want to look elsewhere. But the gratifying absurdity of this game lies not in its story or characters (though each of those elements here fits the game perfectly).

This game probably won't immerse you for hours, nor may you become addicted to it. But it just might inject some laughter into your night. For going a few matches in between other games with a friend of yours, it's a solid one to have in your library and quick enough that you can get a person to play even if they're not really down for games.
Comments
kidney bean 16 Oct, 2022 @ 3:18pm 
so true bestie