Spartan Fist
- May 15, 2018
- Glass Bottom Games
Spartan Fist is all sizzle and no steak. It looks the part, and your initial fisticuffs are invigorating. However, that fun is fleeting thanks to the gameplay's repetitive nature and sloppy execution.
Get on Steam"Spartan Fist" is a first-person puncher roguelite where you play as Emma Jones, a detective seeking a mythical relic. With each run, the arena changes, offering new items and enemies to discover. Use a variety of fist types and upgrades to punch your way to the top in this vibrant, gory game. *Please note that this summary is based on the information provided and I do not have direct knowledge of the game.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features interesting combat mechanics, including knockback and juggle combos, making it fun to play.
- The vibrant art style and satisfying visual feedback enhance the overall experience, making punches feel impactful.
- The game offers a variety of fists and upgrades, allowing for experimentation and replayability.
- The combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with limited combos and a slow performance.
- There are significant issues with the game's responsiveness and button registration, leading to frustrating gameplay.
- The game suffers from a lack of polish, with bugs and a poorly designed lock-on system affecting the overall experience.
- graphics5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a charming voxel-stylized aesthetic that is both cute and vibrant, enhancing the humor of its violent gameplay. While the art style is praised for its creativity and variation across environments, some users note that the performance could benefit from further optimization to match the simplicity of the visuals. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's overall experience.
“The art style is fantastic.”
“The aesthetic is cute, but not obnoxious, the writing is enjoyably slangy, and everything is breakable.”
“Finally, it is kind of slow performance-wise for a game with such a simplistic, voxel-stylized 3D aesthetic; more optimization is strongly recommended.”
“The colors are vibrant, the cute aesthetic makes the people-exploding levels of violence hilarious rather than disturbing, and despite only seeing two levels so far (the open arena and train levels), I've already greatly enjoyed the variation in environments.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the vibrant aesthetic and energetic soundtrack, many find it repetitive and monotonous, leading to a desire to mute the game altogether. Overall, the soundtrack's quality is praised, but its lack of variety detracts from the experience for some users.
“First of all, the music is great.”
“(optional) Rainbow blood and riot grrl music, 10/10.”
“Gets pretty old pretty fast; punching a bunch of voxel enemies in arena after arena with the same song on loop every couple of seconds!”
“The aesthetic is nice, but the soundtrack gets so repetitive that I ended up muting the game.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay features natural combat and movement mechanics that enhance the experience, particularly in first-person melee combat, which many players find enjoyable. However, some users note that the gameplay can become repetitive and suffers from occasional sloppy execution, despite being able to adjust minor issues through settings.
“Combat and movement per room feel natural, and the larger scale mechanics make sense.”
“The one or two minor complaints I had were solved in the gameplay settings, so after the testing stage I was running the game well and enjoying myself.”
“I'm surprised there aren't more first-person melee combat games out there; it's such a fun gameplay style.”
“However, that fun is fleeting thanks to the gameplay's repetitive nature and sloppy execution.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's balance between a concise playthrough and the opportunity for replay and grinding upgrades. However, some express frustration with the lock-on system, which can disrupt combat and hinder the grinding experience.
“A good concept brought to a grinding halt by the broken lock-on system. I don't know if it's supposed to activate randomly, but many times I've hit enemies only to suddenly turn thirty degrees to somebody who's not even in striking distance.”
“The grinding in this game feels tedious and unbalanced, making it hard to enjoy the otherwise interesting mechanics.”
“I found myself spending hours grinding for upgrades that didn't feel rewarding, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game suffers from slow performance issues, especially considering its simplistic voxel-stylized 3D aesthetic, leading users to strongly recommend further optimization.
“Finally, it is kind of slow performance-wise for a game with such a simplistic, voxel-stylized 3D aesthetic; more optimization is strongly recommended.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its clever humor, featuring whimsical elements like cheese-filled upgrade "dips" and exaggerated, cartoonish violence that enhances its vibrant aesthetic. The comedic timing, especially during chaotic moments like punching through doors, adds to the overall enjoyment, making the violent gameplay feel lighthearted rather than disturbing.
“The game has a great aesthetic, a great sense of humor (including upgrade 'dips' you put your fists into that are things like... cheese), and well-placed slowdowns like when you punch through a door, hurling some poor dude across the room because obviously when two disjointed fists are pummeling your friends, you stand next to rickety wooden doors waiting for them to enter.”
“The colors are vibrant, the cute aesthetic makes the people-exploding levels of violence hilarious rather than disturbing, and despite only seeing two levels so far (the open arena and train levels), I've already greatly enjoyed the variation in environments.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including bugs that allow players to be harmed during cutscenes and an overly simplistic AI that can be easily exploited, leading to an unchallenging experience.
“It's also really buggy; the first boss (Meow Max) can hurt you during his intro cinematic, and his AI is so easy to exploit that it's actually impossible to lose.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it frustrating to progress.”
“I encountered multiple glitches that broke my gameplay experience.”
- story1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game focuses on delivering engaging melee combat while minimizing unnecessary narrative elements, appealing to players who prefer action over story depth.
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to have good replayability, particularly for those who enjoy engaging and action-packed gameplay.
“If you enjoy a bit of replayable action, I would recommend it.”
“The game offers so many different paths and choices that I find myself coming back for more.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh due to the variety of characters and strategies available.”
