Whether you’re beating up Nazis or taking down evil arcade machines, Kung Fury: Street Rage has all the craziness and nonsensical charm of the original movie crammed into an old-school beat-em-up love letter. Developed by Hello There Games, this slightly misguided attempt comes extremely close to upholding the legacy of its highly praised source material.

Story

Amidst their crazy lives, our four heroes find themselves transported through a portal and trapped inside the Arcade Machine’s virtual world of Nazis and Ninjas. In order to escape, you must find the Mother Modem components so Hacker Man can hack his way out of it… and that's pretty much where the story stops. 

Unfortunately, the main story here doesn't offer much at all in terms of actual narrative progression which is a big shame considering the movie this game is based on has a world rich of crazy stories and colorful characters with their own insane backstories. None of that is touched upon here and it truly is a shame. This campaign mode only includes the story to facilitate the gameplay being played in context to the world already established. This would normally be fine if the gameplay was incredibly fun but we’ll touch on that later. 

The attempt at a story at all is appreciated in a market where indie beat-em-ups tend to solely focus on their gameplay and combat. 

Gameplay

This is where the game felt the most tedious and frustrating for me. Combat begins very lackluster and offers a simple two-button-based combat system where you must press left or right depending on where the enemies are coming from. The enemies get tougher by requiring more hits or jumping around your character, but in the end, it's just two buttons. This leaves the entire game to waves of enemies while you stand still and wait for them to get in range of your attacks. Normally I would be fine with this had the pacing of enemies been consistent but they are constantly changing speed, making a miss eventually unavoidable and will result in a hit or two that could spell the end of that round, where you will then need to start over from the first wave of the level.

One element that left quite a sour taste was that the moves you have at the beginning of your journey are the moves you will have at the end. For every playable character, there is a set move list with absolutely no customization or skill tree to be seen. This is a huge problem when compared to the enemies and occasionally the frustrating difficulty jumps that come out of nowhere. Combine this with the lack of control you have over your character in general and you are left with an awkward combat system that feels half-baked at best. 

Initially, I thought the fault was my own, that I had simply not taken the time to learn this game and learn its combat thoroughly. After seeking out the tutorial and playing it through it appears I was, in fact, utilizing all my options. My stumblings into seemingly impossible situations where enemies would be hidden behind other enemies and where one hit could mean an inevitable death were, in fact, situations that skill could not get me out of.

Overall the difficulty is relatively well-paced and can offer some high-intensity fun when you are really in the groove. Getting a no-hit run through the waves of enemies can really get a rush going. But this all comes to an end at the final level. ‘Pace destroying’ is a phrase I don't use lightly, but this final level took multiple hours to grind through. While I invite a challenging level, there was absolutely no way of improving my chances of beating it other than to just keep on trying and pray that an impossible situation won't show itself. No upgrades, no health drops, nothing to help me push through and nearly ended my playthrough there and then. 

There isn't too much to talk about when it comes to bosses. You face off against Arcade Machine multiple times where it will reveal a new move or two each encounter. These are really easy and very repetitive, clearly not where the devs attention was at all. The telegraphed attacks are mindless and they often just feel like a long enemy fight that takes a few more hits. Luckily though if you do happen to die to these fights you can restart the fight immediately and not have to slog through the whole level again. That is much appreciated and saved these boss fights from being controller-breaking rage quits to minor annoyances. 

Audio and Visuals

This is where the game shines the brightest. By far, the look and feel of this game carried me to finish the game and will most likely be the reason I ever come back. The audio here is top-notch and completely transports you to an era of classic pixel art beat-em-ups rich with chiptunes. There's also a hint of 80’s synth wave music blended in which is a much appreciated attention to detail. The beats kept me saying “okay, one more try” at a hard level or frustrating moment. 

Presented on a virtual CRT screen with an overlay that replicates playing games as a kid really speaks volumes to where the developers focused their attention. It really, honestly, feels like a retro classic but somehow blended into the modern era. It simultaneously feels retro and fresh at the same time, to a point where I’m having trouble explaining the sensation. The sprite work and pixel art is amazing and stand on their own as instantly memorable with characters pulled straight from the source material, seemingly designed to be put into a game of this art style. It all blends seamlessly and is by far the best part of the game.

One thing to note is that the entire game is actually voice acted which seems like a small detail but adds a ton of charm and makes these small in-game moments worth fighting towards.

Replayability

The main game, unfortunately, offers very little in terms of coming back. The horde mode on offer is just an endless wave of enemies and offers nothing short of a score at the end of the session. 

The DLC on the other hand, A Day At The Beach, offers a whole new experience. This DLC shows itself off in the menu as being another campaign but with David Hasselhoff as a playable character making a triumphant cameo. What this menu doesn't tell you is that this DLC is an entire rework almost from the ground up. It adds local co-op which by itself is a reason to replay this DLC with a friend (something I myself will be doing). It fixes a ton of problems that the original campaign has and somehow makes this experience worth recommending based purely on its own merits.

First off the combat style is completely changed from the two-button, no movement approach to the classic beat-em up combat style where you can walk around, push enemies, and attack, alongside a much appreciated ultimate move that builds up as you pummel bad guys. This takes a mediocre experience and turns it into an amazing one. If the combat on display here was in the original campaign, this game would be leagues better than what's currently on offer. As you fight your way through levels you progress through an admittedly unimportant story event that eventually introduces David Hasselhoff as a playable character. The only downside to this DLC is that the enemies are clearly designed for the original style of combat and don't translate perfectly into this new one. With that small gripe aside, this is definitely a step in the right direction and left me putting down Kung Fury: Street Rage with a smile.

What It Could Have Done Better

In short, this game has a lot of room to improve. The biggest points where problems arise are the characters and their lack of progression. A simple skill tree to unlock some more powerful moves would have been a lifesaver as well as combos that evolved over time rather than sticking with the same move set the entire game. Aside from combat, the story could have really held this game up as a comedy powerhouse. The source material is so interesting and hilarious that it's almost criminal to not include that same level of world-building and charm.

Verdict

Kung Fury: Street Rage is a fun, short experience that is dripping with untapped potential. While frustrating at times, the visuals and audio alone are worth the recommendation. Hello There Games is definitely a studio worth keeping an eye on. If they've proved anything, it's that they know how to improve and quickly.