Wow. Just wow. It’s not often that I blow through any form of media. Ask my friends, it’ll take me weeks to finish one season of a TV show (and let’s not talk about how long it takes me to read a book). I bought Furi 11 days ago, as of this writing. I’m sure I would have beaten it in 3 days if I had more time and it wasn’t so difficult. But I wanted to make it clear that I don’t blow through games this fast normally, that’s how much I liked it. With that being said, let’s jump in.
Were you a fan of Samurai Jack? Or, perhaps more importantly, did you watch Afro Samurai? Did you love playing Shadow of the Colossus? Because Furi is a great mix of all of the above. The game’s characters were designed by the creator of Afro Samurai, and it shows. Most of them are unique, but somehow fit nicely into the 80’s outrun/neon styled world.
How could I begin to describe the genre of this game? The best I could do was “technical hack’n’slash/shoot ’em up”. But it’s not your traditional hack’n’slash like DmC or Bayonetta, in that in this game you only fight bosses (hence the Shadow of the Colossus comparison). And the bosses you fight aren’t giant monsters, they’re your equal. It’s less of a boss fight, more of a duel. And they’re usually marathons. The game forces you to continually adapt your strategy. Should I get in close, or keep my distance? When the bullet hell starts, do I dodge or shoot back? When you manage to take a life from the opponent (they usually have five), you are rewarded with a life yourself, giving the game a dynamic power flow.
I’ll finish off by sharing something interesting I just learned about the game:
The Review
Furi
It's a game that can be difficult to describe, but if you watch some game-play and you're up for a good challenge, you should be interested. There's nothing quite like it. And it can be frustrating, but it never feels unfair.
Hi there! Such a good write-up, thanks!