Overview – developed and published by Upscale Studio/APPWILL COMPANY, Street Combat Fighting is a 3D brawler that uses low-poly models for the fighters, as well as the “combat arenas”. As the street fighter, take on a variety of opponents, from construction workers, to punks and hipsters in street combat. This title is available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, 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 the rep that provided the copy of Street Combat Fighting used for this review, 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 no narrative for this game, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay experience.
Gameplay – Street Combat Fighting is an attempt at creating an arcade style one on one fighter, taking place within a 3D space. The player controls the fighter, who goes through the different areas and throws down with the workers there. The game uses a very simple four button system to fight, with a punch, kick, guard and dodge with the prompts on screen for them. The punches and kicks have basic combo, as well as unique directional input strings.
This fighting system uses a stamina mechanic, which affects the way that actions will function. The player has a blue stamina meter, which is used when throwing out attacks, with successive strikes draining the bar quickly. Stamina is also used to guard against attacks, being reduced when enemy strikes are blocked. If the meter is depleted during an attack string or blocking, the player will be slowed or have the guard broken, leaving them open to attack.
The combat itself is pretty basic, with single round fights where the only objective is to knock out your opponent. The fighting itself is pretty clunky, as there is an odd delay between the button presses and attacks happening. Then there is the movement, which feels a little awkward and sluggish when trying to move. As this is a 3D fighter, the opponent will get pushed aside, with the player just going in a straight line continuing to attack.
It is possible for the opponent to get stuck in a state where they can be perpetually stunned, leaving them open to attacks. There is also the chance for heavy knock down attacks, which will put the player on the ground and leaving them dazed for a little while. But the same can occur with the player, but it is not explained how this occurs. The extent of the tutorials are how to do the basic attacks and movements, with no additional details.
There are four game modes for this game, with the Career mode where players fight through a series of opponent, escalating in difficulty. Then there is the Arcade mode, which has the player set custom battles, using coins earned in fights to unlock opponents and stages. Next is Champion mode, where 5 fights occur in sequence that get tougher. Last to cover is Boss mode, where a single giant opponent appears, with increased power and health.
When a fight is won or lost, the player will gain upgrade points and money. The money is used to unlock character skins, which will change the look of the player and give simple stat bonuses. The upgrade points are used to boost the stats of the player, using them to increase attack power, stamina and health. There are 10 levels of stat boosts for the character, which are shown as 5 stars that fill up at the hate of a half star per upgrade.
There is the attempt at progression, with a level system and challenges on the main menu screen. However, these just don’t work as there are three challenges that can be cleared in 30 minutes, and the levelling starts at level 1 then loops back after. There is also a daily log in system that doesn’t seem to work, as it gave me the first and then nothing afterwards. There are the skins and emote unlocks, but they don’t really add much to the game.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other elements of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is an awkward and delayed feel to the inputs, with the button presses feeling like they have lag when pressed. Sadly this doesn’t make the fighting feel as reactive as it should be, with the fighters feeling a little slow and lumbering. This unfortunately gets worse the longer the game is running, as it will start to slow down and stutter during fights. This is not a good fighting experience, as there can be a second before attacks come out.
Difficulty – this isn’t that tough a game, as it is possible to get all of the fights in the career mode done quickly. When the game starts, it can be a little slow and it is easy to lose, but with enough time it is possible to overpower the character. By fully levelling up the character, all of the fights and challenges can be done in short order. It is possible to take down all opponents by mashing the punch button, trapping the opponent in a stun loop.
Presentation – sadly this game looks as cheap as the price tag, with models that are available as asset packs. There is a mismatch between the player characters and the enemy fighters, with different model styles from different packs. Then there is the audio, which consists of just two pieces of music, with the fighting music being generic noise. All of these issues make it feel cheap and lazy, with menus and HUD elements that look like a mobile game.
Final Thoughts – when I first saw this I thought it was interesting, given the relatively positive experience with games using the Unity Asset packs. However, the interest quickly started to fade after playing the game for ten minutes. The game doesn’t have a title screen, developer splash screens or credits, which further adds to how lazy it feels. This game is sadly one of the many titles that just appears, with little to no info about it.
I enjoy fighting games, with a lot of experience in the different genres over the years, but this is nothing like those games. There is so little depth to the gameplay, it becomes a chore to play through, where I could beat every fight by just spamming punches. The worst thing about this is thatthere appears to be a memory leak, that caused severe slowdown, even on the Nintendo Switch 2. I cannot recommend this game at all, it is just cheap and broken.
In the end, I give Street Combat Fighting a final score of 2/5. This is an unfortunately lazy and disappointing game, which feels worse the more it is played, and the game can be “beaten” in less than an hour. It looks cheap, feels cheap and the price tag matches it. If you want to play this game for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below, but I recommend getting it when it is on sale for a buck.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 