On the one hand the constant references can become too much, especially since they don’t move past just being, “Hey, remember this movie? And this costume? And that thing? Weren’t they awesome!” but on the other hand the game never shoves them in your face or feels like it’s doing it for anything less than a genuine love of the source material. There’s not a scene or piece of conversation that doesn’t manage to reference the 80s and 90s in some way. Glancing at the background will reveal things like Raiden’s costume from Mortal Kombat, and you’ll fight in an ultimate tournament at the behest of a mafia Don. This is a game where you deliver pizza for a guy called Casey and wind up fighting a Teenage Mutant Ninja crocodile, get into streets fights at the urging of Tyler (Durden) and can pursue a love interest named Adrian. The writing is clearly meant to invoke the cheesiness of the 80s and 90s as characters typically blurt out their dialogue in a ham-fisted manner, stumbling through conversations with all the naturalness of a hippo trying to shop in Asda. To go along with its beautiful retro-inspired visuals Punch Club jams in a myriad of references. If it sounds incredibly hammy then that’s because it is, and deliberately so, it seems. Raised by a friend of your father you set out to keep your promise to become the best fighter you can, while uncovering a mysterious plot surrounding an ancient and powerful artifact.

It’s an interesting idea, but does it work?Īs stories go Punch Club likes to keep it simple as a child you witness your father, a professional fighter, be murdered by a mysterious man with a red eye. Punch Club, coming from Lazy Bear Games, attempts to do both you take control of your fighter, and yet control is limited, making you feel more like a guiding force, a manager telling yourself what to focus on, where to go and what moves to employ in a fight. Many games have attempted to capture the idea of a fighter going from hero to zero, some making you lace up the boots and step in the ring yourself, others asking you to act as a manager. Even as a 90s kid Rocky Balboa was still an integral name to my childhood and formative years, the famous drawl of Sylvester Stallone as he fought his way to the top becoming one of those background things you just associate naturally with your early years.

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