Way of the Passive Fist review

Reviewed on: PC

The Wanderer is a guy who travels the planet Zircon V, home to an old mining colony, once prosperous and now on the brink of destruction. It is very reminiscent of the “Mad Max” theme. By using the legendary Passive Fist technique, the Wanderer manages to withstand any enemy, dodging their attacks with great skill.

Story

It all begins when our passive wanderer goes to Zircon V to explore the whole place, which is on the brink of total collapse. However, the inhabitants there don’t like much talk, and go straight to violence as soon as they see him, but our hero is a passive person, and instead of hitting back, he only uses blocks and dodges to defeat his enemies by wearing them out, just flicking them or sometimes using his powerful fist.

In this game, we never attack, but always use the counterattack technique. The fights are called “Scenes”, which really are a horde of enemies who come at you and attack one at a time, taking turns; in that, you must block the attacks with the same precision with which they attack, or you can also dodge, until their stamina goes down. At that moment you can deliver a not-so-violent blow, but enough to defeat your opponent.

Gameplay

Way of the Passive Fist draws inspiration from the great 90s beat ‘em up classics, such as Streets of Rage, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Final Fight, with the difference that you wait for your enemy to attack instead of attacking first, and you don’t even cause damage if you try. Within the first minutes of the game, you can already memorize the number of enemy attacks, thus quickly getting the hang of defense, which boils down to a single button. It’s almost like a Guitar Hero sequence: when you see the enemy’s bar glow, he is going to attack and at that moment you must press the block or dodge button.

As the game goes on, new enemies appear; from humans to mutants that attack from afar, and even robots that don’t tire. Then you must use a new strategy to defeat them. At the end of the odd-numbered acts there is a boss, who only takes damage from the Passive Fist, your special, and together with his minions you must defeat him. Sometimes it can be quite frustrating to always have to return from the checkpoint. These are sometimes found between one battle scene and another, along with some consumables that restore your HP. Some battles are fought amid obstacles in the scenery.

As in every game of this style, the enemies vary little. Over time they only change color and come faster, or tougher. The game sometimes seems hard, but it’s just a matter of memorizing the patterns. You die and come back in the same battle. The enemies stay the same; the sequence in which they will attack you, and even where they will walk is almost the same. The game’s difficulty is fully customizable, and you can choose among 4 options: enemy attack, your resistance, your damage, and the amount of items you find.
As play goes on, the game starts to become tiring, even more so because of the repetition of enemies and a slower progression pace.

Graphics and Sound

In this part our Passive Fist stands out, with a very nostalgic arcade theme: very colorful, with big bosses, good animations, and well-drawn, distinct characters with that bad-guy personality that fit the style of the game very well.
The soundtrack is also very interesting; 90s-style rock with a remix makes the rhythm cool and fits the post-apocalyptic settings, all in a very nostalgic mood, making it feel like this game really is from the 90s. The game also has no voices, except for the big bosses, who only speak one line, like “I hate books”.

Conclusion

The game has several ups and downs; it brings all that tone of nostalgia of the 90s classics, with its graphics and soundtrack, simple, easy-to-adapt gameplay, but over time it becomes very repetitive. However, it is a game worth playing, at least for lovers of this style. Way of the Passive Fist also doesn’t have hard achievements, and it even has an arcade mode. The lack of a co-op mode is also a negative point.

Story: 6
Audio and visuals: 8
Gameplay: 7