Fury Unleashed – How to Motivate a Comic Author!

Introduction

Fury Unleashed is a roguelite 2D brawler set in a comic book universe. The game revolves around the universe of the Fury Unleashed comic books and its author John Kowalski, recently demotivated to continue work on the comics. To get Kowalski excited about his creation again, you must impress the author by braving through the panels, fighting danger after danger!

This game is being reviewed as part of the Indie Game Collective (IGC) showcase.

How do I get the hang of this?

The protagonist of the comic, Fury, is already fully decked out right from the start with a katana, a machine gun, grenades dashing, double jumps, stomping, and even a special move. Nearly all of which must be utilized to survive the harsh environments of Fury Unleashed. The game encourages explosive and showy chains of combos over slow and steady combat, which reward you with more ink and health. However, maintaining a combo is easier said than done, as various enemies try to outnumber you and utilize melee and bullet attacks which can cancel the combo (and hurt you of course!).

You navigate through several chapters in each of the game’s three main comics, each chapter containing a map of panels which you can jump and move between, Comix Zone style. Some panels are packed with enemies and other breakables to keep your combo, while others have bosses who will take you down. You can meticulously clean each chapter of its trash, or quickly search for the exit whilst missing bonus quests, chests and trade offers. Ink is used to help level up Fury and give him skill points which can be assigned and reassigned to a skill tree, letting you change play styles before each run. Fury Unleashed also let’s you change between Easy and Hard difficulties at will in case of frustration, although Easy disables achievements and leaderboards.

How can I motivate my creator?

The narrative of Fury Unleashed is surprisingly dual-layered. The first layer covering the comic universe itself and Fury’s trek through the Amazon’s depths and beyond, and the second is all about Kowalski’s relation with the comic. While Fury can interact with several characters with different backgrounds like the Gunlord or Vlad the Peaceful, one character knows more than the other let’s on, Mr. Doodle. It is through him that Fury can access the Monument of Revelation, an electronic tablet belonging to Kowlaski.

The Monument shows how Kowalski lost interest in the comic: his friends being involved in grander projects and downright negative reviews on the comic’s later issues. By reminding Kowalski of Fury’s best achievements, he might regain his passion for the comic. I found this aspect of the narrative surprisingly fresh and a great way of conveying the troubles and sorrows of writers, and how it’s easy to lose faith in your creations and even successes.

In Conclusion

It’s not everyday you see a roguelite with a skill set typically seen in beat-em-ups and with an engaging narrative to boot, and Fury Unleashed ticks both of those boxes with blazing success. Plus with the ability to switch to Easy at any time, it’s one of the few roguelites that give you the chance to experience the game while spending less time trying to get the hang of it!

We got plenty of other roguelites! Check them out:
Sky Rogue – Shortest Trip to Earth – Distrust

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