Way of the Passive Fist – Review (PS4)
In Way of the Passive Fist, winning is earned - and it feels good.
On the sun beaten planet of Zircon V, a blue-haired wanderer heads into the wastes to put down hundreds of mutants, robots, and cultists. Instead of flashy uppercuts and round house kicks, this wanderer follows the way of the passive fist, a style that relies on well timed parries and dodges designed to wear opponents down until they can be pushed over and out with the smallest effort. The retro vision that Household Games has brought to life has a nostalgic aesthetic that is quirky and familiar in the best way, while creating a game that is equal parts accessible and challenging.
Way of the Passive Fist is a 2D side scroller reminiscent of a simpler time in gaming. Players take control of a wanderer who would look right at home standing next to a pixelated Mad Max. The soundtrack consists mainly of wicked guitar licks that keep the tension high. Controls use only the left stick, the four face buttons, and R2. The basic game play is incredibly and deceptively simple.
The Wanderer parries and dodges attacks until the opponent’s stamina bar runs empty, at which point players can hit triangle to shove the weary enemy to the ground. Build up combo streaks to unleash a devastating power attack with R2, which is critical to game play and satisfying to pull off. Most encounters are pretty simple, dodge with the rhythm of the enemy attacks, build up combos, and wait to knock them out. Passive Fist manages to escalate game play through out the ten chapters of the main story in a way that keeps the game from growing repetitive, or drowning the player in too many enemy types too soon.
And there are a ton of enemy types.
Many enemies are palette swapped versions of other characters (in what feels like a nod to gaming’s heyday), but even these doppelgangers come equipped with new attack patterns that will quickly throw warriors off their game if they aren’t paying attention.
At the end of every odd numbered level, is a boss – a really fantastic looking boss that is equally as fun to fight as they are challenging to beat. Every boss encounter took experimentation and patience. Which attacks should be parried? Which attacks should be dodged? Tanner at the end of Chapter 3 was a particular pain in the neck, and watching that creepy cultist drop to the ground not only evoked a cheer, but a brief standing ovation and celebration of victory. In Way of the Passive Fist, winning is earned – and it feels good.
Passive Fist is a challenging game. Bosses require a significant time investment, and levels will throw in assortments of enemy combinations that require a lot of focus. The challenge is rewarding, and even the hardest difficulty is very doable once players know how the systems work. Thankfully, Household Games has tried to make something everyone can enjoy. Difficulty in Passive Fist goes beyond easy, normal, or hard. A series of four sliders let players determine how often they’ll get check points, how many enemies spawn, how much damage they do, and how precise parries have to be to count towards combos. Letting players hone in on what exactly is giving them trouble is very refreshing, and helps create a tailored experience that can be tough, but not unfair.
The simple upgrade system in Passive Fist is a nice addition, and offers something to chase during the campaign, other than the story’s villain. There are five upgrades that increase overall health, create new finishing moves that bind to R2, and are accessible from high combo scores. The animations for the higher level finishing moves look great.
Recommendation:
Way of the Passive Fist feels good to play. Household Games has presented a textbook case in a game that is easy to learn and hard to master. No doubt hardcore fans will spend the next few months trying to climb the leader boards or best top scores in arcade mode. In a lot of ways, Passive Fist shows the best of what gaming is… a challenge that gets the blood pumping and that never stops being fun. A quirky visual style that is so strange, and so, so enjoyable to play in. If this game had come out in 1992 and stood at the arcade beside its spiritual ancestors, there would have been a line of kids waiting to play it, pockets loaded down with quarters. Handsome Phantom highly recommends.
*Editor’s Note* – The reviewer initially gave this game a score of 10, but it was modified to comply with our upcoming review score guide. Way of the Passive fist is a phenomenal game with no flaws, but it does not go above and beyond what you expect from it, which is what the guide states. Therefore, according to our soon-aforementioned review guide, we award it the fantastic score of 9.
Be sure to check out our interview with the Passive Fist developers and our recent review of Civilization VI: Rise and Fall!
As always, let us know what you think! Are you going to check out Passive Fist, or have you already started dodging over the sands of Zircon V? Could this game be even more rad with a co-op mode? Also, can we get a sequel already? Let Handsome Phantom know your thoughts and you could get a shout out on Adventure Mode!
*Way of the Passive Fist was provided to the reviewer by the developer company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
