This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Xbox Wire.
When you start development of a game, you often have references in mind. And as you create that game, you see those similarities and its inspirations. You start to wonder, “Is my game too similar? Am I making something unique or just being a copycat?”
Working on Furi, I remembered fondly these Japanese games from 10 to 20 years ago: God Hand, Metal Gear Solid 3, No More Heroes, Super Punch Out!, Alien Soldier… I wanted Furi to have that same feeling with amazing character design and responsive controls to match the concept I had in mind: it was going to be a boss fight game. But I wanted Furi to be varied, to surprise gamers and to offer different challenges over more than eight hours of gameplay. I wondered how to make a game in which you fight only one opponent at a time but that doesn’t repeat itself?
Our solution was to rely on two core gameplay mechanics: sword fight beat’em up and classic bullet hell shoot’em up — Furi would be a hybrid that would allow for more variety in the gameplay. Some bosses would rely heavily on shooting, others would be swordfight experts. Some would mix both. This concept worked great for variety, but it also gave the game its unique touch. As far as I know, there is no game that does what Furi does: an exciting, seamless mix of a top-down bullet hell shooter with intense close range sword fights.
In the sequences where you walk towards the next arena where a guardian awaits, you go through a beautiful landscape, listening to a suspenseful music, coached by a mysterious character with a rabbit mask.
Then you meet your opponent, who is determined to put you back in jail. And when you fight them, you face a firework of projectiles. You move and dodge faster than ever. Parry attacks as fast as lighting, and enter a sword duel where any mistake can be fatal. Your character is at the same time the spaceship from Thunderforce and the boxer from PunchOut.
To date, there is no game on my radar that looks close to the experience Furi delivers. Many games are made and played, but I’m pleased to see that new and unique experiences can be created.
This is probably the reason why we are getting such fantastic feedback from the players who have enjoyed Furi on PC. They mention that it feels different, unique, and keeps them completely engaged. That it’s utterly rewarding in a way they haven’t seen, and will remember for a long time to come.
Launching on Xbox One today with polished content and an additional boss fight, we hope Xbox One players will appreciate the addition that Furi is to their repertoire of experiences.
See the rest of the story on Xbox Wire
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