Psi Knuckle

Beat ‘em ups are not as popular as they once were, mainly because gamers demand more realism nowadays. Granted, there are still some games that could qualify for the term, such as Batman Arkham Knight, but a mature story is usually included as well, unlike in the old classics. However, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad to have something light to waste some time with every now and again.

Psi Knuckle is a retro sidescroller with beat ‘em up gameplay mechanics and pixelated graphics, in which you play the role of a nameless hero trying to save the world by himself. The main gimmick of the game is that you have special powers that come to your aid in combat, such as stopping time, punching bullets, or dashing through anything. On top of that, it’s also quite difficult to play.

To stay in tune with the majority of the classics, it must be noted that most enemies ignore you completely throughout the levels, since they are only programmed to run toward you and shoot in your general direction. Hence, there’s not much of an AI to fight again, but the levels are difficult enough even when you just have to avoid static enemies.

The main character needs a special energy in order to cast his special abilities, but you can get a lot of it from the first seconds of gameplay just by punching enemies. After that, you can use time stop by jumping into the marked spots and punching, or you can dash at high speed and be invulnerable for a few seconds. All of these powers come in handy throughout the stages.

Speaking of which, your fists are the only weapons at your disposal, since nothing else becomes available later on. This makes the action more personal, but also a tad too hardcore for most modern gamers, especially since you have to punch guys with pistols. And while we’re on the subject, the retro graphics may turn off younger players as well, but it’s worth mentioning that the style is very true to the original games from that era.

In the end, Psi Knuckle is mostly designed to be enjoyed by those who lived through the beat ‘em up era in gaming, because younger gamers might not appreciate it to its full extent. The difficulty level can be pretty daunting as well.