So, I stumbled across this game when the devs posted about it on Reddit, asking people to check it out. I’m a sucker for beat-em-ups, so I fired it up on my Steam Deck with cautious optimism. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. The game looked like a first-time project from a small team, and the name and description screamed generic. But, as it turns out, you really can’t judge a game by its cover, because this little gem completely blew my expectations out of the water.

Now, let me confess.. I’m not into anime. Never seen a single episode of Naruto while only dabbling slightly in Dragonball way back in the day, and I’m cool with that. But that didn’t stop me from appreciating the game’s anime-inspired art style. The animations? Slick. The visuals? Fluid and polished. Sure, some cutscenes felt like the art was running on a budget, but they still fit the game’s vibe perfectly. I especially loved the pixelated sections that popped up in certain areas. It all came together in a way that just worked for a beat-em-up.

The gameplay? Oh, man, it was a blast. If you’re a fan of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World game, this game will hit you with some of the same. But it feels like it added something because it throws in cutscenes (a rarity in the genre) and sprinkles in unique gameplay sections to keep things fresh. The arcade and bike-riding segments were especially fun little breaks from the punch-punch-kick loop. My only gripe? Those sections could be brutal sometimes. Could be easily fixed with giving a second life to the player in these sections. Maybe it’s different on easy, but I played on normal.

The boss battles were another highlight. They had variety and forced you to figure out patterns, classic beat-em-up style. That said, I wish the bosses reacted to getting hit. Could be something as simple as a flinch would’ve made the combat feel more impactful. Normal enemies had hit animations, so why not the big guys? Maybe a stagger mechanic could crank up the satisfaction factor. Still, I have to shout out the team captain boss fight as it stood out as something truly unique. The combat itself was solid but a bit basic. A few extra combos or the ability to unlock new moves would’ve spiced things up. After a while, hammering the same combo got repetitive, though it did the job. Despite this, the game kept me hooked. Giving new combos through leveling up or buying them would have fixed this.

Now, let’s talk about bugs. I only encountered one glitch twice, where enemies just froze in place, invincible and staring into the void. I could still move and the game continued with the music, but enemies would just stay there looking at me and I couldn’t continue. It forced me to restart the level, but at least when it happened at the school boss battle, it restarted at the fight, not the whole stage. Small mercy! Overall, this game surprised the heck out of me. The story? Classic "save the girl" vibes with an anime twist, reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim. And those end-of-fight cutscenes where you punch the boss square in the face? A humorous chef’s kiss. It is a little on the shorter side clocking in at 3 hours, but it’s also cheaper than your average fast food burger, so no complaints there!

Overall, if you love beat-em-ups, do yourself a favor and grab this game. It’s a fun, affordable ride that punches above its weight.

To the devs: Bravo. For a first outing, this was fantastic. You’ve set the bar high for yourselves, and you can only go further up from here with the next game! I can’t wait to see what you cook up next!