Overview – developed and published by Alawar, Karate Survivor is an action survival roguelite, inspired by martial arts movies of the 80’s. As the martial arts master, take on the unrelenting hordes of enemies across a set of distinct locations, using anything that isn’t bolted down too kick ass. This version of the game is exclusive to the PC market, via GOG and the Steam Service, with a link to both storefronts at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the rep who provided the copy of Karate Survivor that was 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. There is a lack of any real plotline for this release, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay.
Gameplay – set in the most bad ass decade for action movies, the 80’s, where the player takes the role of an unnamed martial arts master, taking on a criminal syndicate. To take down these big bad guys, the player will need to fight off an unrelenting horde of henchmen and goons. These large scale battles take place across several distinct battlegrounds, including a supermarket, biker bar and across rooftops all with an 80’s flair.
In order to fight against wave after wave of bad guys, the player will be able to use their martial arts skills, but also the environment itself as a weapon against their foes. The main way to battle enemies is to engage in hand to hand combat, with the player able to unleash their martial arts prowess. But the player can also launch items like bottles, plates and chairs as improvised weapons, alongside items like lamps, brooms and even fish to thin out the numbers.
At the start of a run, the player will have a single attack they can use, but as enemies are defeated and parts of the environment are destroyed, money will be dropped. Collecting the bundles of cash will increase the player’s experience bar and level them up. As the player levels, they will be offered a selection of cards, with new attacks and ability upgrades. These include more damage from attacks, more health and increased experience gain.
When the player picks up new attacks, they will be slotted onto the film strip which plays up to six attacks at once. Once the film strip reaches the end, there will be a delay before the strikes start again automatically. There are wide range of strikes that are available, in three different types separated by color. These are red, yellow and blue, using styles inspired by classic martial arts flicks, with extra damage bonuses if the strikes match colors.
Improvised weapons that are picked up have a limited number of uses, with the weapon breaking after the final strike has been unleashed. Some weapons will deal more damage than others, so learning what weapons are most effective is very important. The environmental attacks range from throwing a bottle or box, to using doors, boxes and even arm chairs to take out enemies. This gives players a lot of options when moving through the areas.
Then there are the abilities stats, which include boosts to the range for picking up cash, the chance to dodge and improving the use of environmental attacks. These will stack up with each one that is collected, improving the odds for survival in the run. If the player pauses the game, they will see their current stats and the improvements that have been made. This allows players to build the character to fit their playstyle.
The further the player gets into a run, the more powerful the enemies will become, with larger foes that deal more damage, as well as have special attacks. These can include projectile attacks like knives and grenades, as well as charge attacks that will deal heavy damage. This is where good strategic movement comes into play, due to the delay between attack strings, players will be open to taking big damage from heavies.
There will also be super enemies, which will drop chests containing additional power-ups for the player abilities. They will also provide teeth, a special currency that will allow the player to strengthen the martial arts master. Broken teeth will also be dropped by enemies, with all collected teeth being added to the bank at the end of a run. Players can also locate boxes in stages, hidden away in rooms and out of the way places.
During the battles, the player will be able to heal by picking up takeout food, which will recover a significant portion of lost health. There will also be special weapons, with energy drinks that will cause a large shockwave to be unleashed. Players can also pick up super weapons, with a pistol to start but more can be unlocked during play. The projectile weapons have a limited use, being thrown at enemies when ammunition is depleted.
Each stage will have objectives to complete, offering rewards for successfully clearing them. The objectives include defending a set area, collecting VHS tapes and taking down a target that is on the run. These will be random each time the player starts a stage, adding some replay value to returning to stages and replay them. All of the stages have a time limit, which the player will need to survive in order to face the boss of the area.
When the timer hits the time limit, the boss will appear and all other enemies that were present will disappear. These powerful opponents have extremely high stamina, which will unleash devastating attacks against the player. During the boss fights, there will be additional henchmen that will appear to try and kill the player. The player will be able to further level up by defeating these enemies, and defeating the boss will reward the player with a teeth bonus.
At the end of a stage, either by defeating the boss or being killed by the enemy horde, the player will get a performance screen showing their performance. This will show the attacks that were picked up, the objectives for the stage, alongside the total damage that the player did with weapons and environmental attacks. The player will also be shown any unlocks obtained in during the stage, like new areas to battle in and unique permanent upgrades.
On the title screen, the player will be able to access the unlocks page, where the new skills will be shown. These include movement skills, like vaulting over ledges and using poles to access new levels, as well as new attacks that can be added to the combo line. Then there is the upgrade menu, where the player can exchange teeth for permanent upgrades. These upgrades improve the character stats, as well as boosting the special weapons and effects.
The last thing to discuss is the Endless mode, where the player is put into an arena, with the player fighting enemies in waves. At the start of each wave, the player will be able to select a card, with the cards that are featured in the main game appearing here. During the waves, enemies will drop in from all sides and closing in on the player. There will also be a selection of weapons and environmental objects to use, adding some strategy to it.
Endless mode will last for as long as the player will be able to stay alive, only ending if the player chooses to quit or is defeated in battle. The wave that the player reaches will be recorded as the high score, adding them to the global leaderboard for players to compete against each other. This mode, the unlockable skills and the permanent upgrades add more replay value to the game, giving players more options, the more they play the game.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this game has an extremely simple control system, as all of the attacks and skills are automated. The only inputs that are needed to play are for movement and the action button, with the game supporting both controllers and keyboard/mouse. There are no issues in terms of input lag or delay, with everything working well and being pretty reactive. Due to the simplified controls, the game is accessible to players of all capabilities.
Difficulty – the difficulty of this game is a bit of a mixed bag, as there are several factors that affect it. In general the stages themselves have an escalating challenge, with the enemy force that attacks becoming tougher and hitting harder. However, with the random elements introduced in stages and the cards, a run can become very easy or really tough. As the player improves their stats permanently, the general difficulty is slightly eased.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, the game looks good with sprite work that is animated fluidly, with movements connecting smoothly. The stages are detailed well, with everything being easily visible, even with the small scale of the on screen sprites. Then there are the static images, which have a very retro style to them. The sound is solid, with music that has an energetic beat to it, adding to the action on screen and tying everything together.
Final Thoughts – I haven’t dived to deep into the survivor style of game, only playing vampire survivors for any extended period. So I was unsure what to expect when picking this up, due to the focus on hand to hand combat. But I was pleasantly surprised, as the combat gives it a unique feel and identity. I very much enjoyed the combo system, as it adds a tactical feel to combat, while also having a near endless number of possible attack combinations.
The only issue I can see is the amount of time it takes to get going, as it needs at least 3 or 4 attempts at the first stage for everything to fall into place. Once this speed bump is passed, the enjoyment will quickly ramp up. The biggest positive for the game is the accessibility, with players of all capabilities being able to easily pick up and play the game. in general, I am happy to recommend this game to everyone looking for an action game with high replay value.
In the end, I give Karate Survivor a final score of 4.5/5. This is a unique take on the survivor game style, with the 80s action movie inspiration, environmental interactions and combo attacks, which all work together to offer a fun and challenging auto brawler. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below. At the time of publishing, the game is on sale for a large discount.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to GOG version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 