Punch Club

[Gilberreke]

Punch Club is currently on sale, because of a new expansion or something (might be a perm price drop from what I understand). If you haven't played Punch Club yet, first off, WHAT THE FUCK MAN, PLAY PUNCH CLUB, and secondly, goto 1.

It's a sim game with (quite decent) retro graphics about a guy like Rocky Balboa going out to fight Zhangief, getting advice from Splinter and Tyler Durden. If that doesn't get you(r fist) rock hard, I don't know what will. Gameplay wise it's decent, I had fun figuring out how to complete the game.

One thing, it's not very long, and not very replayable, though you might finish it at least two or three times. It's longer than expected, but due to being a bit light, I wouldn't pay full price for it, unless it's really your cup of tea. For $7, it's a complete steal though.



PUNCH THINGS

[DerAlex]

'Tis a strange one for me... I played about 10 hrs (one playthrou) a few weeks back, and even thou I enjoyed it, if I reflect on my time with it I can't explain what it was that was fun to me.

It is a very VERY grindy game. I love my share of grindy games, and there are ways to make a grind fun. Here I feel like the grind is the core gameplay loop, and it's just not fun. I've heard it being compared to cookie clicker, and I think that's an excellent comparison, even thou the games themselve are completely different. Punch Club is very very skinnerbox-y, you can watch bars go up and feel good, constant and instant gratification, endorphins without actually having fun in the "I am playing a good game" kind of way.

And yet I would buy it all over again... the brain is a pretty stupid thing I suppose... Well, endorphins are endorphins after all. This is the definition of a time waster.

[Gilberreke]

I think what makes it good is that the skinnerbox is wrapped in a very simple mechanical game that is just complex enough to make it a game. The way you select skill upgrades and decide strategy for each fight is just deep enough to feel like you aren't just given victory. I find it's all very elegant and streamlined.

Also, I get to punch dudes.