This game is something quite special when it comes to the VR fighting game genre, as it attempts to blend the over-the-top action and feeling of Bruce Lee-era Kung Fu films, the arcadey beat em up feel of Streets of Rage, and the visceral high skill combat of games like Sifu.
For one, the visuals of the game really shine as a massive improvement from the dev's other work, there are some examples of pretty obvious map borders, but overall the level design is pretty consistent and appealing throughout the game, they could stand to be longer and/or more intricate, but for a single dev, 10(?) maps of this quality is highly impressive, and they provide the game's main selling point, the combat, in troves.
Hand to hand combat in VR games has always seemed to be a weak point for most, as it would either have to take control away from the player, be tact onto a system that primarily uses weapons, or feel slow and honestly clunky at times, never really providing that Kung Fu fantasy that so many often look for. This game is fast, it's brutal, and it's completely freeform, though it’s not without its jank, nor without its "problems". The game provides many ways to play and as such you can tailor the experience more to your liking if you see fit to do so. This can range from the slow-mo heavy cinematic style present in flat-screen games to an unforgiving realistic style that accurately portrays what getting jumped feels like. Enemies normally attack in groups of three at once, if you allow them to do so, your job is to manage those enemies using spacing and defense while throwing out attacks of your own when you see openings to do so. Punching feels great and enemies react to your attacks like you'd expect them to for the most part, along with that there are several other things you can do like elbow, knee, headbutt, and kick in 3 different flavors! Complete freedom in how you choose to attack is something this game excels in, and is definitely one of the best things about it. However, it's no cakewalk, enemies do not take turns when attacking you and don't give any breathing room intentionally. This is a design choice that leads to the the game feeling overwhelming at times, especially if you're in an enclosed space, surrounded, or backed into a corner, but usually there's always a way to get out of a sticky situation if you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in one.
The music choice used is absolutely top notch and the sound design elevates the experience tenfold, it's truly incredible on that front.
There are several other things to this game like the mantra/magic system, boss fights, secrets and easter eggs, environmental interactions, enemy design and the 13 unique fighting styles they can come with, the fact that the dev is very active and is always looking for ways to improve this game and fix problems even while working on his next project.
I really do recommend this game, it offers a lot and there's genuine love put into it from all sides, there's a general "one dev" kind of feel to it that you have to get through, but it is really worth it to get a good workout in and a good time had.
