GAME DETAILS:
Developer:LazyBear GamesGenre:Role-playing, SimulationRelease date:8 January 2016
Eight-bit games hold a special place for many players who follow gaming closely. Plenty of us can spend hours with an 8-bit game that is well designed and has had real work put into it. As someone firmly in that group, I want to tell you about Punch Club. At just 55 MB, with 8-bit visuals and music positively dripping with retro charm, Punch Club takes you on a trip into the past.
Punch Club is essentially a boxing simulation. Unlike arcade games or RPGs, simulations tend to be known for being more demanding and realistic. That is what the developers were aiming for here. The story follows a boxer struggling to rise through the boxing world while trying to uncover the mystery surrounding his father’s death. The menu at the top of the screen will remind you of The Sims. It contains bars showing your boxer’s hunger, need for sleep, happiness and health. Beside them are three large indicators showing his physical condition: strength, speed and agility. Your first priorities are to earn money for food and raise those stats as much as possible through training. It looks simple at first, but the game’s time is divided into days, and you lose a certain amount of strength, speed and agility at the end of each one. Every day you spend doing little or no training, those stats drop rapidly. That directly affects your punching power, speed and, in short, your performance in the ring.
There is a small map with places such as a shop, gym, restaurant and bar, where you do jobs or buy what you need. Early on, you earn money through manual labour or by making deliveries for a restaurant. Delivery work tires you less, but pays a lower daily wage. Working on a construction site makes you tired more quickly, but earns you more. If you carry a lot of money while travelling between these places, muggers attack you. Win the street fight and your money stays in your pocket; lose and most of it gets stolen. Avoid walking around with large sums early on, because these attackers are quite tough and usually get the better of you.
There are plenty of different pieces of training equipment you can use to improve your condition. Initially you use them at the gym, but later you can buy them for your home and save yourself the trip. Each machine either significantly increases one of Strength, Agility and Speed, or improves all three by smaller amounts. Your boxer begins in the amateur league, earning points after winning matches that can unlock new punches and fighting techniques. You spend those points on the abilities you want in the skill tree. Fights take place automatically: the game simulates each bout using your stats and selected moves against your opponent’s stats and moves. As you win fights, other activities open up outside official competition, including illegal street fights and bar brawls. You can succeed in these leagues too, earning money and upgrade points. Just remember that your boxer can get injured in the street league.
When you become amateur champion, your home changes and you move into a mansion belonging to a wealthy manager who has spotted your potential. You are no longer fighting only for money; you also need to earn fame points and become popular. Your aim is to build your reputation through options such as advertisements and films, eventually taking on internationally famous boxers. The game’s carefully considered logic comes through here too. At that level, money stops being your main concern: a single advertising job can pay enough to last you a long time. Your sole aim is to keep your physical stats high despite the drop at the end of every day. The higher they rise, the more they fall each night, so you have to spend a large part of every day training to keep that cycle under control. You can also buy steroids in the game. They give you a substantial boost for a few days, but the consequences are severe once they wear off.
Punch Club is a game that anyone interested in 8-bit games and boxing should try. It delivers much more than you would expect from its size.
Pros:Its 8-bit retro atmosphere, detailed RPG elements despite its small size, and realistic boxing experience.Cons:The daily loss of physical stats becomes tedious later in the game.