Filtering requires absolute, unconditional kung fu pixels – art – hands-on preview
Blog Andrew Joseph 25 Mar , 2025 0
Just like a demanding kung fu master, insist on repeating the training exercises until you get the right training, without compassion, absolutely insist that you reach perfection before you reach a new level. Despite being centered on martial arts mastery, this pixelated 2D Roguelike has more in common than action games in chess matches until you meet repeatedly until you perfect with one of the most satisfying, unique, and compelling brawlers that I've played for a long time.
If you ever wanted to realize your most epic kung fu fantasy, playing every moment like you do in the future, then there is something you need from any game that might fill. The premise is simple: you are a martial arts master who can enter your thought palace and practice the number of encounters encountered in each battle before you can engage in a real battle. After a dozen or more rehearsals, even the most seemingly insurmountable scenes, when I act at the accuracy and speed before I know the action of each enemy, there are no obstacles, because I literally see it. And since this is a Roguelike, only one or two errors will send you back to the start, making this barrier is very important to success.
On one level, I practiced encounters time and time again, where I had to protect travel merchants from a bunch of Ne'er, while another challenged an extremely tricky boss who was annoyingly dodging, eventually beat him up, beat him up, and let his escort accidentally beat him with friendly fire. Each level is its own miniature puzzle that must be solved and practiced before you try to implement it, even after all, your nerves will always get you in trouble and you won’t get things done exactly right, leading to your journey being out of place.
But sometimes it’s not enough to beat your opponents – after all, when you have unlimited time to practice your enemies in a smart and creative way, why not go beyond simply achieving victory instead of promoting some thriving? Sometimes this is motivated by optional tasks, such as encouraging you to knock your hat off the enemy's head, land alone, and then don't let it get knocked off the head for the rest of the encounter; these can be a great way to get the upgraded extra gold when you find yourself in the store next (e.g., armor, which can give you an extra hit without ending the run). But if you are like me, you may also find that you can only use the whole battle that misleads and evades the enemy kills each other.
The real crazy thing is that I've only played the first in five zones, where the encounters are still on the simpler side, the number of unique enemies is quite low, and I haven't tried any of the other four fighting styles. Aside from that, there seem to be more shops, including some absolute nut encounters – such as the creepy Banshee monsters, which were introduced at the end of the tail and accused me of reckless abandonment. The demo I played also focuses on Leaf Wars Style School, which is the first of your five schools that you can unlock and incorporate into your own flavor and ability each run has. Leaf's style is about escaping and misleading enemy attacks to encourage friendly fires, and some abilities displayed in the hissing trailer played at the end of the demo look like it extends the idea to logical conclusions – for example, connecting yourself to the enemy when you hit, then hitting the enemy's position, and then making magical conversions with them when they shoot. In a game that was already impressive in an hour-long demo, I was delighted to see the developers stand by and watch.
Finally, I have to mention how beautiful and stylish the look is. Don't be confused by the simplicity of pixel art! The animation is fascinating and exhaustive, and the character art in the conversation makes you forget that they are represented by pixels, and the music, sound effects and overall presentation are absolutely memorable. I tell you, my friend: This is someone worth paying attention to!
