Fury Unleashed Review (Switch)

The Nintendo Switch has a ton of roguelite shoot’em ups on the eShop right now. I have personally reviewed three in the last few months: Space Pioneer, Dead or School, and now Fury Unleashed. I invite you to take a look at the other two reviews – after reading this one, of course – as the previous two games were fun to play in their own right. Now, does Fury Unleashed separate itself from the constantly growing pack, though? Read on to find out!

Gameplay

Fury Unleashed completely embraces the “comic book comes to life” cliché. There is hardly ever a break in the action during gameplay, so the silky-smooth controls and well-balanced physics help maintain the fast pace. Though the controls are tight, it still took me a while to get used to the specialized actions, such as stomping and rolling. Integrating the actions with the twin stick controls takes some getting used to, but it’s imperative to adapt as the game can be rather difficult.

Speaking of progression, the titular character known as “Fury” can progress in a variety of ways using the game’s skill tree…and what’s a good roguelite without a skill tree?! Many of the upgrades were extremely useful, others not so much. For example, I would recommend picking up the extended combo upgrade ASAP. Battling is built upon chaining together combos, so it is vital to make them last as long as possible.

While battling relies heavily on the combo system, progression works a bit differently. The only opportunities you will have to upgrade Fury will be after death. This was quite the adjustment for me, initially, as my personal instincts were to become strong enough to survive as quickly as possible. This system, however, helps to manage difficulty as dying is simply a natural means of discovering that it may be time to upgrade. I still found the game’s difficulty to be rather inconsistent due to random loadouts and level design, unfortunately. There were some instances in which I felt overpowered, while others felt completely hopeless. To combat this issue, Fury Unleashed offers different difficulty settings, as well as a super fun co-op experience that will almost always make boss battles easier.

On the topic of bosses, you will face some well-designed monsters to close out many levels…at least in an aesthetical sense. While their appearance may wow you, the strategies to defeat them likely won’t. Pretty much every boss can be handled if the player can manage to stay in motion while keeping the bullets flowing towards the foe. A little more variety and strategy here would’ve been welcome.

Story and Visuals

Fury Unleashed extends the aforementioned comic book inspiration into its narrative, as well. Fury himself is a muscle-bound gunslinger seemingly cut from the same cloth as Duke Nukem. His goal is to tear (literally) through comic book pages that separate screens/levels in order to cure his creator’s sudden creative woes. Bonkers right?!

The lunacy isn’t limited to the story. The overall setting of Fury Unleashed can be characterized as an “acid trip” of sorts. Fury will encounter wasps with semi-automatic stingers that shoot venom, robotic Nazi fighters that buzz around the screen with jetpacks, and many other strange, yet creative enemy designs. The game also features a neat option that allows for the customization of Fury. Pretty much anything can be altered, all the way down to Fury’s facial hair.

The cartoonish style visuals fit the over-the-top style of the game perfectly. I never experienced slow down, even when the screen was full of enemies and bullets. I’ve found this to be a rarity amongst shooters in the eShop, so Fury Unleashed gets some bonus points for that alone. Performance remains consistent in handheld mode, and I found that to be the more comfortable way to play personally.

Conclusion

Fury Unleashed is yet another solid roguelite shooter on the eShop. The tight controls leave players with no reason to complain, whether the preferred style is docked or handheld. The story and visuals are completely over-the-top, and it works so well for this title. Developer Awesome Game Studio clearly put a tremendous effort into giving the player customization options in order to enjoy the game to its fullest. Adjustable difficulty settings and an amazing co-op mode make the team’s latest effort one that should satisfy players of all skill levels.

Fury Unleashed is also extremely friendly to the gamer’s wallet. In fact, if you choose to pick it up before July 9th, it can be purchased for 25% off the normal price – $14.99 USD. I suggest giving Fury Unleashed a go if you’re a fan of roguelite shoot’em ups, or old school shooters, like Contra — it shouldn’t disappoint!