Heatwave

I have played this game in the past a lot, when it was only available in early access elsewhere. It has only become better, since then! The gameplay is very tight, it's one of the best 2D indie air-dasher I've stumbled upon so far. The art is pretty, especially in story mode, and the sprites are incredibly clear despite their diminutive size. There are so many different ways to play any character and three grooves per each with different mechanics, plus a sizable chunk of unlockables (and a way to unlock them in the Settings too). Story mode is the big addition to the Steam release (I'm still in the middle of it) but so far it has exceeded my expectations. Heatwave is the queerest, gayest, lesbianest airdasher I've ever had the pleasure of playing and I'm proud to strongly recommend it to everyone. The only negative notes I might add are the lack of online multiplayer (which is a priority for more competitive players) and that even at the lowest difficulty level, the CPU opponents can be pretty obnoxious if one isn't accustomed to the gameplay - and I wish they blocked a little less often at Easiest. ([b]EDIT 13.11.2025[/b]: the developer issued a patch to make the lowest CPU difficulty level less punishing, which I am very grateful for!) Aside from that, [b]there's no reason not to play it now[/b] - you can also enjoy it as a kinetic novel, since you can skip the fights in case of need! ([b]EDIT 15.11.2025[/b]: I JUST FINISHED STORY MODE AND IT IS AS GOOD AS I HOPED! I can now wholeheartedly say PLAY IT PLEASE! It's super well written and the visuals are insanely pretty!

Ignore my playtime. I have probably ~300 hours in this game from the Itch days and can very confidently say it's one of the best FGs ever made. PLEASE play it, the movement, the characters, it's all perfect. Will update with a review of story mode once i play it; That ♥♥♥♥ is a whole VN and honestly from what i've seen the price is probably worth it just for that alone.

- [b]An extremely fast paced, responsive, assist-based fighting game with a lot of depth, and different modes for characters to change the way they play ? yep.[/b] Power, Speed and Team to grossly sum it up allow you play more traditionally, like in an airdasher or like in a tag game, respectively. Health and combo routes vary a lot between modes making every character feel different, both for you and your opponent. also, if thats important for you, the motion inputs are all simple (only quarter circle and double crouch) so if you get your ass beat like me you cannot even blame the execution barrier too much... - [b]a pretty and bold art direction ? yup.[/b] it has a limited resolution and a limited palette, but each character feels distinctive from each other visually, and has its own personality expressed through its animations. the backgrounds, music and menus are all very cute and almost everything was made by a single person ! -[b]a [u]WHOLE ass visual novel[/u] as a story mode, that alone justifies its price ?? yes ![/b] heatwave explores queer identities in a way that i've rarely seen in fiction (there is not an OUNCE of straightness, protagonists and antagonists alike). it wears its beliefs on its sleeve, too (antiwokes begone). It grabbed me and i was unable to put it down for all of its duration. The fighting bits [u]will[/u] beat your arse, but every single fight can be skipped if it becomes too much or unfun. On top of that, you have plenty of unlockable content, an arcade mode, a training mode and minigames for you solo content enjoyers :) - note that the game has no integrated online (meaning you'll need an external solution like remote play or parsec). not a dealbreaker for me, but might be for you if you were hoping to hop in ranked. in short [i]go play this game, you're robbing yourself if you dont.[/i] From its gameplay depth, to its story mode, it has something for you, be it that you are a competitve player looking to pour in hundreds of hours within a community, a casual enjoyer wanting to play on your couch with friends, or looking to play a heartfelt visual novel !

this game features vic viper from gradius V with arms, that's cool I guess

I've finally finished the story and I am thrilled to report ITS SO GOOD! Have you ever looked at Guilty Gear X Advance for the gba and went, "wow I wish this was also Melty Blood"? Well that is what this is. It is a buttery smooth, expressive as heck fighting game with parries and assists and bursts and air dashes and a ton of cancel options. That alone would be amazing but it is tied together with simple but polished art style, a delightful cast, and a boat load of single player content including extra goodies like secret characters to unlock. The story is not the most ground breaking, but it does a fantastic job of wrapping you in the world and connecting you with the relatively large, very lovable, very queer cast. It is a fun and sometimes emotional sci-fi climate apocalypse but with magic too! The story alone is charming, filled with interesting ideas, and polished enough to be well worth the price of admission on its own. I also recommend challenging yourself with the fights as they are just the perfect amount of achievable on normal difficulty to really get you to learn how the game ticks. (PLEASE READ THE TUTORIALS) The only downside is that there is no netplay, but as someone who can get by with arcade mode, alone, the extras like combo trials, survival mode, the story, and a secret mode that I have yet to unlock are all just delicious delicious icing on the cake. I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile, especially if you like labbing things because this is easily the most expressive fighting game to come out of the last five years. And for those of you in the know, this is kinda like Shadow Prisoner without the jank Anyway, I cannot recommend this game enough, very probably my GOTY because of how much it appeals to me specifically. I cant wait to go for 100% achievements!

I played a bit of the itch release and bought it again to support the creator. The gameplay is amazing for any fans of anime fighters like blazblue or guilty gear. Its a shame the game doesn't have online because I'd be interested to see how crazy people would get with combos but I love the game for what it is. I'm still working through the story mode but I'm loving it so far. Its rare to see so many queer characters represented in a game. If that's not your thing, skip the story and let the gameplay speak for itself. Every character has full combo trials and multiple grooves to master. There's even hidden content like characters and even fighting styles like the old console days. I don't think you can go wrong with picking this up.

Just hopped on this game within the past few weeks, and immediately I fell in love. Some of the cleanest gameplay I've had with a fighter in a while, this has instantly jumped up to one of my favorites of all time gameplay-wise. Aside from two characters that are perfectly fine, just not my style, I've had fun with the whole roster and all three of the main modes. The pixel art is beautiful all-around, though I and some other people I've played with have had issues with move readability on first impression. (I've found more time in the game has reduced this issue significantly, but it should still be noted). Music is a bit rough - like these are perfectly fine songs in isolation, but very few feel like the scores for a battle, and none have stuck in my head outside of the game. Sound effects are stellar though, every hit feels crunchy in just the right ways. A lack of online multiplayer outside of Parsec or Steam Remote Player is a massive downside for any fighter in this day and age, and has made this game a hard sell to some of my friends. With all that said, I'd say the game's story alone makes it well worth the $10 price tag. Will be bringing to my local for many weeks to come.

I know I don't have a lot of playtime yet but I just have to give a review now to help this game get seen easier—but I will edit to add with more detail later. But as of now, with just an hour of playtime I am confident that 10 bucks is an absolute steal for all this game is and has. Even just breaking it up into the two sides of it, a full visual novel and a full fighting game—that in and of itself is crazy not even taking in the quality of it. But the fact that both are so lovingly created and putting them together makes something I've never seen before. I'll hold off on talking about the gameplay mechanics as I am still getting a feel of it but it feels amazing immediately, very mobile, it feels a lot more free and open than most fighting games I've played. But regardless, this game is great and you should buy it while it's even cheaper than the already great deal for everything that's in this game. And I'm gonna get back to exploring it :D

While Heatwave lacks online multiplayer, the game delivers an experience completely removed from the typical expectations of fighting games, and in a good way. This game's unapologetic full-force queerness with its roster of characters, bright pastel pixel art reminiscent of GBA graphics, and massive visual novel story mode make it wonderfully unique at face value. If you've played airdashers like Guilty Gear, you will feel at home with the pace of Heatwave. The game features a mode selection similar to Last Blade 2 or Capcom vs SNK 2 where you can choose between sets of mechanics exclusive to their respective mode. There is a whole lot of fun in experimenting with what the roster is capable of since the game is very freeform with its combo rules, movement, and defensive options. If you are someone like me who has lost interest in the ephemera of live service games' endless content dripfeed and are seeking bold, complete, cohesive experiences in video games, I recommend giving Heatwave a look. If you can get past the lack of online play, Heatwave will remind you why fighting games are [b]cool as hell...[/b]

Ive played this game here and there back when it was only on itchio and it is genuinely one of the best indie fighting games ever made and for an insanely good price. This game just has like every mechanic thats well agreed upon to be good in a fighting game ever. Each of them spread across each of the three modes you can choose from. Hyper hops, air dashes, roman cancels, reverse beat, active tag, assists, instant blocks, and so much more. Characters feel varied and really cool and the gameplay is just soooooooooo good. Ontop of that the art is beautiful and vibrant, i love all of the water stages so much. The music is good, the sound effects are good. This game is just such a vibe. The only issue is no online multiplayer and that is admittedly a very massive issue for any fighting game BUT the cheap price makes it a must have. Just slam it on a laptop at locals and bully people into playing it and theyll have a sick time.