Iron Fisticle

Iron Fisticle is a chaotic twin-stick dungeon shooter that channels the energy of classic arcade cabinets while adding enough modern mechanics to keep the experience engaging for today’s players. Developed by Confused Pelican and published by Curve Games, the title feels like a celebration of old-school arcade design built around nonstop combat, fast reactions, and addictive score-chasing gameplay. It combines retro-inspired visuals, randomized progression systems, and intense arena combat into a package that immediately feels familiar to fans of classic shooters while still offering enough depth to remain entertaining across repeated sessions. The gameplay is centered around surviving waves of enemies across procedurally generated dungeon arenas packed with hazards, monsters, and collectible upgrades. Players control a small hero using twin-stick mechanics, moving in one direction while firing in another as enemies flood the screen from every angle. The controls are simple enough to learn quickly, but the speed and intensity of later stages demand constant awareness and sharp reflexes. What starts as a manageable arcade shooter slowly transforms into a frantic battle for survival…

This is one good example of how some people think that games that are retro are not also supposed to be also games that are good. If you start the game, choose controller input for player one, then later leave your controller elsewhere and think about playing on keyboard: first of all, don't, the controls are bad on keyboard (they are bad also on the controller, tbh); second of all, the game registers the input you chose and won't use the other until you change it in the settings. Controls and settings aside, this is one boring roguelike, you're mostly playing it cause it's simple and local co-op probably. Enemies don't really do a lot, you mostly have to struggle to aim at them then loot whatever drops (no idea what they drop besides seeing the icons, the game doesn't tell you anything). Also, why a cutscene at the start of each run if there is no story, no tutorial, no item descriptions, no nothing? Just do also nothing and start the run without skipping the nothing cutscene that at the end of the day also means nothing.

Cites classics like "Gauntlet"; Food doesn't heal. 🤦 That's not what earned the thumbs-down tho. No, it was disregard for player input prefs. Not everyone has a gamepad available all the time, or for that matter even wants to use one. Personally I get bad RMI from thumb sticks going all the way back to OG Tomb Raider, yet I have played everything possible w/ mouse and keyboard in the whole intervening time, and have no problem w/ that. So, here my alternative is to use keyboard which consists of two "arrow-key" setups, one for each "stick". (WASD to move and IJKL to shoot.) But, oops, now another problem: u have to have a pro keyboard to really play like this, because if u are doing diagonals, which of course you are, your $9.99 Inland keyboard ain't gonna have the rollover for that. Also prone to RMI because on rectangular form-factor keyboards, one wrist or the other is going to be majorly bent to play w/ both hands on kbd. So, now we're on to ergo keyboards! But now we're hit w/ rollover limit again, cuz those don't really overlap w/ gaming, and if there is one, I'm sure it's >=$300. 🤦 Possible resolution exists w/ some other input adapter utility but I can't be arsed…

Pixel Art so Retro

Thought it was about fists - turned out fists breakdance in blizzards. Every punch sounds like thunder in a microwave. I don’t get it but I can’t quit. 10/10.

Picked this up for $0.71 after narrowing down dozens of games under a dollar to one purchase. Was really excited to play it and after playing around 5 minutes or so I died and the entire game starts over. I was expecting something completely different and this aspect of the game I do not like so far. I'm going to give it more time but it feels like this ruined the whole experience. Hopefully I can get used to what seems to be an arcade game. Gonna give it a thumbs up because I feel like I just haven't played it long enough to get used to it.