Overview – developed and published by Purple Tree, Thunder Ray is an arcade style boxing title, where the player must fight their way through the strongest fighters in the galaxy. Take on a range of opponents in this sci-fi brawler, with buckets of blood and gore to spill. This title is available on all current platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Purple Tree for providing the copy of Thunder Ray used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story for Thunder Ray.
Story – Thunder Ray, the undisputed champion of the world and the most powerful fighter on earth. However, after he is challenged by a man who heard he is retiring, Thunder Ray was kidnapped by the Galactic Boxing Federation. The reason being they want him to participate in the most dangerous fighting tournament in the universe. Thunder accepts this challenge, setting out to be the greatest fighter of all time and space.
Gameplay – the formula for this game takes many cues from the classics of the genre, where the player takes on a variety of opponents in 1on1 battles. The objective of each of the fights is to beat your opponent down and knock them down a set number of times, usually three times. These fighters come from across the galaxy, with combatants that range from humanoids with enhanced power to cyborgs and space wizards.
During each fight, the player has access to a simple move-set that the player will be taught during the tutorial. The moves that can be used when battling opponents are body blows and jabs, each with a left and right side attack. There is also a power up attack where the player can hold a button to use a stronger strike. These strikes can deal more damage, but require expert timing and some strategic planning to pull off.
There is also an ultimate attack that can be used against these otherworldly opponents. On screen there is a bar which will fill up whenever the player lands a strike in the fight, filling it up and increasing the level. There are 3 levels total to this, which are added the further the player gets into their journey. Each level has their own unique attack tied to them, delivering increasingly powerful barrages upon the foe when used.
However, punching isn’t the only thing that players will need to do in order to come out on top. In order to prevent taking damage in battle, the player is able to use a few different defensive options, allowing them to avoid taking hits. The defensive options available to the player are dodging left and right, ducking and blocking. Each of the different movement options will prevent taking a hit, but this is dependent on the attack of the opponent.
The variety of enemies each have a fairly unique fighting style, with some being more traditional boxers, but others have unorthodox attacks. This is where the action gets knocked up a notch, as the non-human combatants will use extremely powerful attacks. As an example, the first galactic opponent is a cyborg that can obliterate the player with devastating punches, but we also have the space witch who can KO the player with magic.
When the player is knocked down, they have to mash the buttons to get up before the 10 count, regaining stamina and allowing them to continue. Like the opponent if the player is downed 3 times they will be knocked out and lose the fight, but there is a difference when it comes to the finishing the opponent. At the end of a fight, the player will need to strike one more time, with some extremely ridiculous and gory finishes available.
Once a fight has been cleared, the player will receive a ranking based on their performance and clear time. This ranking will be influenced based on strikes taken, amount of time taken to clear the defeat the opponent and overall skill. The rankings aren’t recorded, but players can challenge opponents they have beaten again. This can be done to try and get a better ranking, or if the player wants to practice as there are higher difficulty levels available.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as an arcade style fighting title, the control layout is very simple to pick up and the tutorial teaches the player how to fight quite well. Between fights there is an onscreen control map, which allows the player to refresh themselves on the inputs between sessions. The inputs are snappy, reactive and are very comfortable, especially when using an older style controller like a SNES pad or even an arcade stick.
Difficulty – there are three difficulty settings available for this title, they are split into Rookie, Contender and Beast. The difference between each of the difficulty choices is the amount of damage enemies will deal out, with the higher the rating the more devastating their blows. The Rookie ranking is easy enough for all players to get through, but the other ratings are much more challenging and may take a few attempts to clear.
Presentation – visually this game can be described as bizzare, with some surreal designs to the alien battlers and locations the player will fight in. The animation for the fights and art used for the cutscenes is excellent, using smooth HD animations that bring the action to life. There is a solid soundtrack for this release, with music that matches the setting very well, there is also voiced dialogue that is performed very well.
Final Thoughts – this is a very good arcade style boxing game, with the action flowing smoothly and the inputs being reactive. The Punch-Out inspiration is visible throughout, with the unique special moves and creative fighters to battle. This works in the favour of this title, with the unconventional opponents adding to the unique feel of the game. The only issue with these fights is the high difficulty, as it can be a little frustrating in the later fights.
I am happy to recommend this title to all players and fans of arcade style fighters like this, the game is very approachable at the lower difficulty levels. However, there is a potential level of frustration that can occur due to the need to memorise attack patterns. This is a fantastic throwback to the old school arcade style of boxing titles, with creative and surreal opponents to battle, super responsive combat and utterly ridiculous gore when fighters are finished.
In the end, I give Thunder Ray a final score of 4.5/5. This is an excellent arcade style fighter with smooth action, vibrant visuals, unique opponents to fight and buckets of blood to spray across the ring canvas, creating a title that is fresh but feels familiar during play. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to IOS version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 