So many auto-runners vie for attention now
it can seem like a vast generic blur of jumping,
sliding and coin-grabbing albeit with a gimmick
here or there to prop it up.
Punch Quest by Rocketcat Games and Madgarden
makes no apologies for jumping in on the bandwagon,
but it does so with as much pomp and excitement
as Jetpack Joyride, while also bringing something
far more interesting to the table - near endless
brawling.
The name says it all - your character starts
and ends their run by punching everything
from skeletons to chilli-induced hallucinations.
The only question left is how you go about
staying alive.
Do you sprint your way through, punching and
blocking in a straight line, or will you mix
things up by adding in uppercuts and superman
strikes to take out airborne foes.
No matter what you do the end result is the
same - a huge, stupid grin on your face.
Keeping your combo alive in order to earn
more points and credits is no easy task and
is made all the harder thanks to enemies scaling
with the level of your character.
Formerly defenseless orcs will now bear a
shield; bats that just floated by will duck
down and bite you on the head; skeletons that
just awaited destruction will start jabbing
you with spears from afar; and that's just
the tip of the iceberg.
The credits you earn from missions and each
run are spent on unlocking new 'fist powers'
that activate automatically based on a power-bar
that fills while punching enemies.
These range from passive abilities such as
increasing the number of enemies encountered
or power-ups found, to having enemies turn
in to living bombs once they're defeated.
Aesthetic upgrades are also available, most
notably in Rocketcat Games' preferred method
of 'hats', but these can also be a benefit
as ultra-expensive hats can occasionally activate
even more powers.
By now you're probably screaming about it
being a free game, so where's the catch?
Surprisingly there is none.
Credits earned are relatively generous, especially
if you can complete later missions for huge
cash bonuses, meaning there's always something
you'll be able to save for and unlock.
Should you feel like supporting the developer
you'll unlock additional aesthetic items as
a sort of thank you.
Whether its the visceral, bone-crunching sounds;
the grinding soundtrack filled with gleeful
brass notes; or the wonderfully detailed pixel-art
visual style, Punch Quest has everything you
could ask for in a game that doles out its
fun a couple minutes at a time.
A definite must-have for all action junkies.
