"Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise" is an arcade-style beat-'em-up game with 28 stages of combo-based combat, inspired by ancient Chinese tales. The game offers customizable fighting styles, online leaderboards, and local co-op multiplayer. Its fluid combat system allows for impressive combos and challenging gameplay, even on lower difficulty settings.
The combat is fun and fluid, allowing for satisfying combos and a variety of moves.
The game offers a unique kung-fu experience with challenging boss fights that provide a sense of accomplishment.
It has a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic beat 'em up games, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
The difficulty spikes can be frustrating, with some levels feeling unfair and punishing.
The camera can be problematic, often obstructing the player's view during intense battles.
There are issues with the game's mechanics, such as inconsistent blocking and countering, which can lead to confusion and frustration.
gameplay
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
60%
9%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique 360-degree combat mechanics, allowing players to engage multiple enemies simultaneously, reminiscent of classic beat 'em ups with modern twists. While the controls are generally easy to learn, the game presents a steep difficulty curve, often leading to frustration due to its reliance on timing and mechanics that can feel inconsistent or poorly explained. Overall, players appreciate the satisfying combat and visual presentation, but many express concerns about unfair design choices and a lack of clarity in advanced gameplay elements.
“You can roll and strike 360 degrees around your opponents and get away from attacks from behind from multiple enemies bum rushing you; it's the only fighting game that has this gameplay feature.”
“The game is fully 3D but it has most mechanics taken from fighting games, so the difficulty goes up very fast, be warned.”
“The combat is far more in-depth than one would assume; the game cheats to ensure you remain challenged, and it always has a new mechanic, trick, or challenge up its sleeve that keeps fighting interesting.”
“Very boring and frustrating gameplay.”
“The gameplay is horrendously awkward.”
“The game gets pretty damn difficult in the later levels, but sadly not only because of overlapping mechanics (the good type of difficulty), but because the AI breaks the rules firmly established earlier in the game (the bad type of difficulty).”
graphics
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
46%
5%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stylized art and smooth animations reminiscent of classic beat 'em ups and modern titles like Street Fighter 4. While some players appreciate the vibrant visuals and overall aesthetic, others criticize the lack of adjustable settings and describe the graphics as average or dated. Overall, the game's art style and graphics contribute positively to the experience, despite some technical limitations.
“The graphics, sound work, and story are all good.”
“The graphics and effects are great and pay a lot to the anime genre of filmmaking.”
“It has a fabulous fighting style with pleasant graphics and animation, spectacular attacks, as in the Japanese-Chinese movies.”
“If you play it on a big monitor or TV, you can't adjust the graphic and resolution settings because there aren't any.”
“Graphics are average and do not expect it to run in 1080p right from the start - you have to do some voodoo magic with config files.”
“[repetitive combat. cheap and downright thuggish difficulty. complete lack of plot and story presentation. little replay value. sub-par graphics and art-style.]”
story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
63%
12%
The story in the game is generally viewed as weak and forgettable, often described as a paper-thin plot filled with martial arts clichés and lacking depth. While some players appreciate the comic-style cutscenes and find the storyline engaging in a nostalgic way, many criticize it for being poorly presented and not integral to the gameplay experience. Overall, the focus remains on the combat mechanics rather than a compelling narrative, making it more suitable for those seeking action over story.
“Great beat 'em up game with a great story.”
“The storyline is rich and well-illustrated; reminds me of all those late-night kung fu movies I stayed up to watch as a teen.”
“The story is simple but engaging, and carries atmosphere/urgency into the fights.”
“The plot is completely forgettable and the comic-style cutscenes feel cheap and forced.”
“The story is a mess of martial art stereotypes and goes from simply bad to hilariously stupid.”
“The story is well... I have no idea what is going on to be honest, but you can safely ignore it without missing much of anything due to its paper-thin plot.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it distracting or out of place, while others appreciate its ability to enhance gameplay and signal key moments during battles. Overall, the soundtrack is described as decent but not particularly memorable, with a few standout tracks that complement the game's atmosphere. Many players prefer to listen to their own music while playing, indicating that the game's music may not be a focal point for everyone.
“Amazing gameplay and kungfu styles, freakingly awesome combo strikes, playable music which suits the game-grounds.”
“Good graphics with amazing music.”
“The music is excellent and is used to signal turning points in the battles.”
“The sound effects from fighting are adequate, but there is something very distracting and disconcerting about the choice of music.”
“Every song feels entirely out of place.”
“This is complemented by an exceptional amount of enemy variety, decently artsy graphics, and a decent if generic soundtrack that changes tunes at just the right moments during enemy and boss encounters.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and poorly designed, often leading to a repetitive experience. While some appreciate the strategic elements that require observation and timing, others criticize the slow progression and the necessity to replay missions for upgrades, which can detract from overall enjoyment. Ultimately, the grinding can feel uninspired and frustrating, especially for those who dislike grinding mechanics in games.
“You only unlock 1 move per map, but not really, since you then have to buy it, so it's the worst of every world: slow and grindy.”
“So a whole gameplay mechanic goes unused because grinding is a pain.”
“It's fun for the first few hours probably, but if you don't enjoy grinding to earn money to get upgrades, this game is really freaking boring!”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players noting its comedic gameplay and absurd story elements that blend martial arts stereotypes with over-the-top scenarios. Many find the difficulty level amusingly challenging, contributing to the overall hilarity, especially in player vs. player modes. The art style and quirky narrative further enhance the game's comedic appeal.
“I definitely recommend buying this game; I spent the first 10 minutes laughing because I easily flung opponents in the air and beat them with a chain of combos.”
“The story is a mess of martial art stereotypes and goes from simply bad to hilariously stupid.”
“Player vs player is unwillingly funny, especially with the different modes available.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
12%
38%
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed positively, with many users noting hundreds of hours of potential playtime due to unlockable items and engaging mechanics. However, some critics point out limitations, such as a lack of an open world and repetitive combat, which can hinder long-term enjoyment. While local co-op adds to the replay value, the absence of a compelling narrative and varied gameplay may affect its longevity for some players.
“Hundreds of hours of replayability.”
“Perfect game mechanics and tons of unlockables give a vast replayability since all new items provide new mechanics to work with, not just +damage upgrades.”
“Fairly long campaign, replay value extended with local co-op, which is very entertaining.”
“Arena limitation = not much replayability since it isn't open world.”
“Repetitive combat, cheap and downright thuggish difficulty, complete lack of plot and story presentation, and little replay value.”
“Sub-par graphics and art style.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, including freezing on the first level and camera glitches that obstruct gameplay. While both Xinput and Direct Input gamepads are supported, the configuration process for Direct Input is described as buggy, further complicating the experience.
“Cool little game, unfortunately it freezes my computer on the first level and I cannot proceed.”
“The camera also glitches out pretty regularly, obscuring your view of enemies in the arena.”
“But using the deflect freezes you in position.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game is highly optimized, allowing it to run smoothly on a wide range of computers despite offering limited video settings. While the lack of restart options may be a drawback for performance-focused players, the fast loading times mitigate this issue.
“The game is also optimized incredibly well, which is good considering the extremely limited amount of video settings they give you.”
“Runs smoothly on almost any computer.”
“The game loads fast, which is a minor annoyance despite the lack of restart options, especially in a game that emphasizes score and performance.”
“There are no restart options, which is disappointing for a game that emphasizes score and performance. However, the fast loading times make it a minor annoyance.”
“The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
“I encountered several bugs that hindered my progress, making the overall experience frustrating.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response to the game is overwhelmingly negative, with users expressing frustration over its repetitive gameplay, lackluster story, and overall poor quality, leading to feelings of disappointment and regret over the purchase.
“The words 'button mashing garbage' come to mind. It's repetitive, annoying, ugly, with a boring story and even worse gameplay. I bought it for $2 and I still think it was a waste.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a simple yet engaging story that effectively conveys a sense of urgency during combat encounters.
“The story is simple but engaging, and it carries a sense of atmosphere and urgency into the fights.”