Punch Planet
- November 8, 2017
- Sector-K Games
Get on Steam"Punch Planet" is a fast-paced, sci-fi fighting game where players engage in combat using a variety of unique characters and abilities. With a focus on both local and online multiplayer, players can battle it out in various arenas, utilizing movement, attacks, and special abilities to claim victory. The game also features a story mode and training options for players to hone their skills.
Reviews
- Punch Planet features a unique art style and animation that stands out, reminiscent of classic 2D fighters while incorporating modern aesthetics.
- The gameplay is smooth, intuitive, and offers a high skill ceiling, making it accessible for newcomers while still providing depth for experienced players.
- The game has excellent rollback netcode, ensuring a smooth online experience, and a dedicated community that supports player engagement and feedback.
- The game has been in early access for an extended period, leading to concerns about the pace of updates and the lack of single-player content.
- The player base is currently small, making online matchmaking difficult and resulting in a lack of available opponents.
- Some players feel that the character roster is limited and that the game lacks distinct identity compared to established titles like Street Fighter.
- gameplay67 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is widely praised for its smoothness, balance, and depth, combining mechanics from classic fighting games like Street Fighter IV and Third Strike with innovative features such as a universal cancel mechanic and a unique time meter. Players appreciate the intuitive controls that cater to both newcomers and seasoned fighters, allowing for creative combos and strategic play. While some minor performance issues on specific platforms were noted, the overall experience is described as fun, engaging, and visually impressive, making it a standout title in the fighting game genre.
“Gameplay is smooth, balanced, and really fun.”
“A universal cancel mechanic allows for incredible creativity in combos, mixups, and more.”
“The gameplay is extremely deep and varied due to the combo system.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay performs in a wonky slow-motion style which pains me greatly.”
“The aesthetics may be nice, but the entire depth of the combat system comes purely out of neutral mechanics, and I personally found them too clunky to even bother playing.”
“Upon gameplay, the gravity is much higher, and only heavy hits and certain specials actually stun long enough for you to complete a ground-to-air combo or an air-to-ground combo.”
- graphics31 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and eye-catching art style, impressive character designs, and smooth animations, often compared to high-quality 2D sprites and reminiscent of popular titles like Samurai Jack. While some players appreciate the vibrant, minimalistic sci-fi aesthetic and the overall visual appeal, others find it less appealing, indicating a divide in taste. Overall, the game is noted for its colorful graphics and engaging visuals, contributing to a positive reception among fans of the genre.
“Great art style, animation, and characters.”
“The art style is very pleasant to the eye and the music gives a nice sci-fi/retro vibe.”
“Graphics: 10/10 at first look, this game looks like a 2D animated game.”
“The game visuals, the character designs, futuristic setting, and soundtrack do not appeal to me.”
“Super low spec is supported (I am able to run this on Intel integrated graphics).”
“The designs of the characters and just the game itself are concise and fitting in the vivid, minimalistic, sci-fi aesthetic.”
- music24 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its unique blend of heavy synth, electro elements, and retro vibes that perfectly complement the game's futuristic setting. The soundtrack is described as catchy and memorable, often leaving a lasting impression, and is considered a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Additionally, the ability to listen to the soundtrack independently has been highlighted as a rare and enjoyable aspect.
“A fantastic OST rounds out this amazing package full of heavy synth and electro goodness, with some cool guitar work.”
“The music and atmosphere are top tier.”
“Audio: 10/10 the soundtrack of this game will be stuck in your head hours after you play it.”
“The game visuals, the character designs, futuristic setting, and soundtrack do not appeal to me.”
“The soundtrack sounds exactly how you would imagine it would be.”
“You can listen to every song on the official SoundCloud, it's one of the rare cases where you can actually listen to the soundtrack standalone and be entertained.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The current reviews indicate that the game lacks a story mode at this time, with players expressing anticipation for its future addition alongside other features like arcade mode and more characters. While there is hope for a well-written narrative that aligns with the genre, the focus remains on core mechanics and online play until the story content is released. Overall, players are optimistic about the developers' commitment to enhancing the game with these features in the future.
“I hope the story is well written and lives up to the genre, but I know that as of right now the character designs, stages, move sets, and score are all pretty much perfect.”
“And that's hardly a complaint, because the creators are working to put in all kinds of features: an arcade and story mode, more stages, and the 4 additional characters I mentioned before.”
“There is no story mode yet, so if you're looking for single-player content, that's a no-go.”
“Story mode, trials, features, and more characters will be added over time.”
“I am just waiting on story mode.”
- character development6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the character development in this indie fighter is highlighted by its impressive character designs and animations, which are praised for their quality and creativity. While some players express concerns about the narrative depth, the visuals and mechanics are noted as strong points that contribute to an engaging experience. The combination of appealing aesthetics and smooth gameplay suggests a promising future for character evolution within the game.
“Great character design and a killer soundtrack.”
“With buttery smooth online play, great character designs, good graphics, and fun system mechanics reminiscent of the best of SF4 and 3rd Strike, this game has a bright future ahead of it.”
“The game visuals, the character designs, futuristic setting, and soundtrack do not appeal to me.”
“I hope the story is well written and lives up to the genre, but I know that as of right now the character designs, stages, move sets, and score are all pretty much perfect.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players feel that adding a player vs. CPU mode would enhance the game's replayability, while regular quarterly updates help maintain freshness and contribute positively to the overall replay value.
“Updates are almost quarterly to the game, keeping it fresh and adding to the replay value.”
“What would really ramp up the game and make it a bit more replayable is a player vs. CPU mode.”
“What would really enhance the game and make it more replayable is a player vs. CPU mode.”
“The lack of variety in gameplay makes it hard to find reasons to replay the game.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to dive back in.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the exceptional quality of the music and overall ambiance as standout features.
“The music and atmosphere are top tier.”
