Choice of Kung Fu

Choice of Kung Fu
N/A
Metacritic
93
Steam
63
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$2.99
Release date
11 December 2015
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Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
93 (43 votes)

Become the world's greatest kung-fu fighter or find true enlightenment in this interactive fantasy novel. What question will you ask the Dragon Sage?

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Choice of Kung Fu system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Steam APP ID
423440
Platforms
Windows PC
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disclaimer: played the web version previously

If you like CYOA games, or kung fu stories, should be a good one for either crowd.

CYOA fans:

- has lots of choice variety to shape your character and story

kung fu fans, you can:

- choose and shape and specialise your combat style from a wide variety
- discover and learn techniques and wisdom from ancient scrolls
- be an obedient or rebellious student in a variety of manners
- leave your school behind to find your own adventures
- found your own school of martial arts and take on challengers
- quite a lot more!

as a CYOA it's solid and well worth a go, and for kung fu fans it's definitely a winner. ;)

Rexnos
Rexnos

While I feel like it's missing a final chapter, it touts a fairly solid story and a lot of different ways to confront its challenges. I was a bigger fan of Choice of Robots really, but still a fun play and worth three bucks.

Noobster
Noobster

Another good product from COG. I liked very much the prospect of being a kung fu master. Interesting story well worth the money and play time.

8/10 As Zhuge Goku made love to a fox-demon. Hoped to father a kid mixed of Gohan and Naruto. Didn't. Very disappointed.

Mattricole
Mattricole

It's fun, and the time you put into the game/story is worth the price. If you want an exact score, I guess I would give it a 7/10, It's good.

A.X.
A.X.

It's good so far. This isn't really a game, more like reading a book. I bought this bc I am a Chinese and I really wanna see how English speaking ppl would write a Chinese story, and I have to say...well, hard to describe how I feel about it.
HuliJing, the fox spirit, really??? I laughed at this lol. I thought this would a kinda reality-based game but I was soooo wrong. Seriously, it's funny to see they literally translate fox spirity as Hulijing.
The story itself it's not that attractive to me, probably because it's not any Chinese story at all. But hey, it's not a super expensive game, so recommend if you want to kill time, otherwise, don't.
Also, I really want to say: whoever drew the cover, I can't appreciate your art. Sorry, but pls, this cover looks like drawn by a twelve year old.

Nymlok
Nymlok

Why do kites fly?

An interesting question, for a warrior monk, but an important one to ask.

Well done in both characterization and tone, Choice of Kung Fu is a continued breath into the seldom explored, and even more seldom analyzed, world of Chinese myth and style; even if it is a bit of a short whiff. I wont give anything away but I will say that if you've ever played Jade Empire, and enjoyed it's style and storytelling, then Choice of Kung Fu will give you another chance to explore such a world again. Full of Kung Fu, Chi, Fox Spirits, Romance, and Rebellion; I was once again, pulled into the story of a single monk residing in a small monastery on the side of a mountain, seeking to learn from the fabled Dragon Sage. The breadth of play styles are impressive and refreshing as is usual in a Choice of Games/Hosted Games title. While the one ending I have gotten was fitting, it left me wanting more. Though, this is a testament to the quality of the story telling rather than the feeling of an incomplete narrative.

A highly pleasurable title from our always entertaining friends at CoG/HG and the writers they help promote. I can solidly recommend Choice of Kung Fu to anyone who is a fan of, or has passing interest in, a Chinese themed setting that spans your life as a monk of the Order of the Peach Tree. Years will go by and it will be your choices that dictate the fate of the very nation you live in. Will you fight with honor and be as the Buddha would be? Perhaps you will dedicate your life to the pursuit of martial prowess and open a Dojo? Maybe you would just like to live happily with your thoughts as you create poetry with your lover? Maybe none of these things. That is the fun part of these games.

It's all up to you!

lord wolfhunt
lord wolfhunt

This game does a great job in both immersing you into its world and making your choices feel like they matter. In the early game it is all about building your character's skills and the late game is all about using those skills. A bad decision can give you a bad result. There is a lot of veriety of skills you can build and use and it creates some very interesting experiences. What is even better, the overall goal of the game changes based off what the player wants to do. I actually ended up changing my goal the first time I played based on my character's experiances. That is a rare thing for a game to do, and I approve.

mindeblown
mindeblown

Enjoyed ability to become a powerful wuxia/xianxia warrior. Now if only heavy sword was a weapon choice.

AzureTiger81
AzureTiger81

Do you like Kung Fu stories? Do you like choose your own adventure stlye games? I really enjoyed this and it was a very well written story. I did have an issue with my anti-virus messing with the game when I first started, but once it got going I was nto disapointed. Now all I have to do is go back and try some of the other story branches.

VoidLance
VoidLance

I always enjoy Choice of games, and this one is my favourite. It's hard to say, but I think it has the best writing, a variety of empowering choices, and some cool achievements, both easy and difficult to get. The main reason why I like it over all the other Choice of games is that of the theme. I daresay you can never go wrong with a story about kung fu, but the author of this has done all the research necessary and has made the whole thing incredibly realistic, while not leaving out things like magic. As always, the writing is absolutely top quality.

Raimyah
Raimyah

While this is one of the shorter "Choose Your Own Adventure" novellas produced by Choice Games, I actually consider it to be one of the better titles. Alana Joli Abbott authored a story that is worth replaying on occasion, reveals a significant amount of research, has choices with consequences that make sense, and leads to several endings that feel not just rewarding, but inspiring.

My few objections are that a couple of romance options don't seem to be romantic at all, the player's choice of fighting style doesn't have a lot of specifics, and there could be some more opportunities to introduce cause and effect into this tale.

Highly recommend picking this up and replaying at least once a year for the story. Achievements are a bit on the easy side compared to other Choice Games, so mastery is quite probable within a few short hours if you pay attention and read quickly.

Dottoman
Dottoman

Simple, but satisfying. Not all CoG items are as solid as Choice of Kung Fu, and when my biggest complaint is that I wish there was more of it, that earns a recommendation from me.

Octobig
Octobig

This interactive visual novel/text-based game brings you into a Chinese mythical world of monks, kung-fu fighting, fox spirits, wise teachers, and the Empire. Decide your own personal style of kung-fu and find your path while you rise in the ranks of your Order. Eventually, you might meet the wise Dragon Sage and ask them a question, but before that, you will have to make many choices -- about your stance with the Empire, your friends and rivals, and what to do with your strength and knowledge.

The Good

+ A great, somewhat mythical setting in ancient China
+ Engaging characters, especially the teachers/masters and the fox spirit(s)
+ As always, lots of different choices and endings

The Bad

- No save points
- Limited romance options
- Style of kung-fu not as detailed as I thought it would be

As always, if you're into Choose Your Own Adventure games and you also like mythical China (and/or kung-fu), then you'll probably like this game! The only thing I didn't like that much was the lack of depth in some of the romance options -- some of them feel more like side characters than actual participants in your story. But I suppose the whole game itself is more about your personal journey as a whole.

Not my personal favourite out of the CoG lineup so far, but still a good one!

GrandMajora
GrandMajora

I had sex with a fox girl!

The game is fun with many options for how to play out. Unfortunately there are no do overs when it comes to your decisions. If you decide to alter a choice, you have to start all the way at the beginning, which can be frustrating depending on how far into the story you are.

An important thing for new players to be aware of is the outcome of your decisions appears to be based on your stats. I got different outcomes to similar choices on my second playthrough, because I built my stats differently from the first run. While this means certain playthroughs will require planning your decisions ahead of time, it also means there are multiple ways to deal with a situation both in success and failure, which offers replay value.

I've heard the game is shorter than other Choice Of games, but it was fun for an introductory into their style, and I'm interested in other games they have to offer!

SkullzyIDGAF
SkullzyIDGAF

This game is AMAZING! It allows the user to alter the storyline and choose their fate, this is also really good as it gives the audience a chance to choose gender (so the target demographic is bigger doing this and equal).I like this game as it shows stats showing how you're doing this is very good and vital for the game as the choices you make decides on the person you are and if you're really worthy as a monk and a teacher but the question is are you going to choose to be good or bad? ;)

verycorny
verycorny

As someone who cherishes old Chinese kung fu movie and manhua, one can say this game made with some strange choice of wording.

In this game, the use of "magic" and "chi" are confusing for the first time player, if they are the same in the game, why not just use "chi." When players see the word "magic," they thought of stuff like throwing a fireball which is not here. There are more terms in the game that is somewhat out of place but is relatively simple to figure out.

Also, like to point out is that some phrasing of choice the author use is very suggestive, believe me, you not going to fall for the demon fox trap on your first playthrough, the option itself will tell you not to fall for her trap.

I adore old Chinese material, but this game is not one. The modern TV drama strongly influences the author, you can tell by the setting it uses. There is a dragon, demon, and immoral creatures, which is excellent materials for old setting fantasy, then by the end, probably ask why even bother.

Overall, this game is a good buy, the achievement part is enjoyable, but if you have a selection between this and another title, I say go with the latter.

FirestormMk3
FirestormMk3

I decided to purchase this game after I was pleasantly surprised by Choice of Robots. While I find myself enjoying that game more, this was an engrossing story that kept me entertained and caused me to go through the entire story in one sitting. Please note that this is more like a choose your own adventure book just presented in digital form (and with far more options that those books ever provided). It is not even a visual novel, it is simply words on a page and the choices you get to make, with a series of stats behind the scenes that dictate the flow of the story and options available to you as well. If you can find yourself engrossed in a tale like this without pictures to go with it or if you enjoy discover and text adventures like the incredible Analogue: A Hate Story I'm sure that you will enjoy this as well.

[LINUX] NoSt
[LINUX] NoSt

This is one of my favourite games of "Choice of..." series. It doesn't feel neither too long nor too short, provides quite a lot of options to choose from and various endings. Besides the theme of Chinese martial arts seems enticing to me. If you like Choose Your Own Adventure type of games, you should definitely give it a try - you will be rewarded.

Revolverhawk
Revolverhawk

I like this choice of games title a lot, it was the first choice of games title I really liked, I originally bought and played it on the google chrome store. However, I think the author has actually improved over time, and Choice of Pirates is in many ways better. I would actually recommend them both.

☆King Rocket☆
☆King Rocket☆

Learned Kung Fu
Kicked Europeans' rear
Banged a Kitsune Fox
Have a banter with Shenron

10/10 would be a Monk again.

tige321
tige321

Meh. It was recommended to me by Steam in my hunt for dating sims. The story is predominantly action and training,someone might like that,but it definitely wasn't near what I was looking for.

OnyxIdol
OnyxIdol

I don't know much about kung fu or chinese mythology/mysticism, but the author seems to be well versed. As such, there is something to learn on top of an entertaining and varied experience. If you like CoG, this one is an easy recommendation.

HeartBreakOne
HeartBreakOne

A very fun little choose your own adventure tale, its definitely one of the best crafted; all the stats seem to nicely correlate with my play style, and I thoroughly enjoyed the choices I was given. If I had any complaints, it would be the somewhat abrupt ending; it felt as if there was at least another third or quarter of the game left when I got the ending screen. It wasn't a deal breaker, nor did it leave a sour taste in my mouth, but I would have prefered a little more closure or at least an epilogue.

I digress; Choice of Kung Fu is a very solid title, possibly one of the most solid ones from this publisher. It never gets preachy or mired in exposition, and gives the player a good sense of being a martial arts protagonist.

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This was a great story! I really wish that I had gotten around to reading it earlier. The character development was very interesting, but I think that my only issue was that the story seemed rather short. Nonetheless, I'd still rate this story as a 9/10.

kisooni
kisooni

7.5/10

This story is pretty much how you think it is. Do you want to be a powerful monk, a peaceful one, one that focuses on simply the craft of kung fu? Do you align yourself with those who taught you or do you go on and forge your own path? It's a good read if the premise interests you. Romance optinos are slim and not very well developed, but that really isn't the focus of the game anyway. Customization is great, and there are a lot of different type of kung fu master you can be.

Confuze16
Confuze16

This was pretty good. Very much like a history lesson. Back in the days the Shaolin Temple was destroyed by foreigners many times, and I felt the difficulty of seeking enlightenment versus dealing with the outside world.

Of course, demons do tempt people, as you can see in this game-book, so it reflects the culture pretty well, though Shaolin monks don't eat meat. Nowadays I hear the government controls some things though.

The Chinese is pretty much accurate. Not all Chinese monks practice kung fu though, which is a misconception I sure don't wish people to have. Further, no monk would take advice from a demon.

The game was pretty short though.

the_walking_kyle
the_walking_kyle

This game is awesome. You start as a monk from humble beginnings and grow into a legend by overcoming difficult challenges.

Pros:
-Thrusts you into the action right away. Presents a situation that greatly helps you define your character personality and fighting style.
-Clear decisions.
-NPCs are well done. Usually focuses on only one or two per chapter, so you get to know them.
-Thoughtful and reflective writing style.
-Lots of abilities. Your decisions will improve one by alot or a couple by a smaller amount.
-Disciples. You can found your own school and decide how to teach your students.
-End goals. You can work towards how you want to deal with the foreigners, try to be the one to ask a question to the dragon sage, or just ignore both of these and live your life.
-Interesting challenges and tests of character.

Cons:
-The use of magic seemed a little cheap, I wish it would have been done a different way.
-Romance options. You just pick a direction you want the main story to go in. There are basically 5 options. The description of all 5 are the same, they are exceptionally hot that's it. You have 2 tries to get that person to like you. Then it skips ahead to a brief description of a stable relationship, never to be revisited or talked about. You learn next to nothing about their personality or why they love you.
-Mostly well paced story, but the ending is too abrupt. It felt like there was a large gap between the 2nd last and last chapter, but it's not presented that way.

Overall:
It's one of the better CYOAs. I would definitely play another game by this author.

Uncle Jim
Uncle Jim

I enjoyed this very much. Lots of choices. Interesting characters. I feel the story I chose (and probably other story-paths, too) could be lengthened into a pretty great book with more character development. I even learned a few things about Chinese culture. As a person who recently began studying Shaolin Tai Chi, I was particularly interested in the subject and found it very satisfying. 9 out of 10.

Shirmapetz
Shirmapetz

It's good.
Not "insanely good" like a choice of robots, for example... but definitely good, and worth buying
Pro:
-The author really did some research into the traditional Chinese culture. Although sometimes I was forced to wiki what the heck the character is wearing, it's very immersive
-Tropes of wuxia ("martial arts epic") genre are implemented carefully and elegantly. So even when you recognize them, you do it with a smile, not frustration
-Don't want to spoiler anything, but some of the endings are just wonderful.
Con:
-Romance options are... eh... well, I'd prefer none to the one written so blank.
-your base attributes are for 80% set in like the second choice... that is, before you start caring for answers
-I personally find the game a little too easy. Even when I was intentionally choosing dumbest variants I get one of the best endings
... but this basically means that I replayed the game numerous times, which is more than I could say of many "chose your adventure" stories, even one, that I generally liked

TheMummy17
TheMummy17

Choice of Kung Fu is the fifth game from Choice of Games/Hosted games that I have made it all the way through the story at least once in my COG career. And although Choice of Robots is by far and away the biggest story with the most choices in it, I have to say Choice of Kung Fu is my favorite now because I enjoy and am most interested in the martial arts story.

The game starts off with YOU wanting to join the Peach Tree monastery and having high ambitions. The story let's you choose your style of fighting which makes the game so much enthralling. You are also highly in command of your thoughts on all kinds of matters including when to fight, how to fight or when more peaceful actions are required.

I'm not going to giveaway anything else because you will have much more fun making your own choices when confronted with all the trials presented to you in Choice of Kung Fu.

jhwang713
jhwang713

A very solid text adventure game that does a good job of immersing you in the wuxia genre - which is rare enough already. The author clearly did her research on both the genre and the cultural nuances that gave birth to it.

The story is fairly standard as far as the genre goes - you're a gifted student in a monastery, with a great ambition that can be achieved through hard work and a little supernatural help. The characters you meet along the way aren't super deep, but they're enjoyable nonetheless.

As for the gameplay, I feel it's a little easy - your first few choices will give you some very solid stats, and as long as you stick to your strengths you'll find it hard to lose. Still, there's room for experimentation.

The only flaw really is that it wasn't too ambitious - the game could have been more. Hopefully, other games seeking to use the wuxia setting can use this game as inspiration.

Nullius
Nullius

One of the best text-based games I have played, for my "vibe", so to speak.. This one pleases me so much on the way history evolves and it is narrated, all the insights, the thoughts and etc... For me, it gives a feeling of ever evolving/growing/understanding, I really liked this, was a very nice experience for me, I replayed lots of times, before and after steam.

I would speak much more, but I fear I would be misinterpreted because I don't know how to 'present' my 'feelings' that this game causes me.

Sprinting Shotgun
Sprinting Shotgun

Choice of Kung Fu has... issues, and my recommendation comes with some caveats.

If you are as nuts about martial arts and Wuxia as I am, you will probably enjoy Choice of Kung Fu. There are nods to five animal styles of kung fu (though monkey and mantis have curiously been swapped out for leopard and dragon). The prose is strong, and in Choice of Games tradition, there is some degree of queer representation. This is a game that let me play a chi-wielding bisexual woman, slay a demon, play board-games with a ghost, murder an invading European gunman with my bare hands and have sex with a gender-fluid fox spirit. That is just plain rad. There's no denying the base-level appeal of Choice of Kung Fu. There is a niche this satisfies.

The problems are in the execution, and while I won't say that the game is ruined as a result, it is definitely hindered.

Let's start with the stat system. The choices you make early on have a profound effect on your stats that can radically alters the course your story takes later on, but often, the effect these choices have is not at all obvious before they are made. This turns much of the game into trial-and-error. One could argue this contributes to replay value and experimentation, but when one's decisions are not informed, they're bumbling in the dark instead of making meaningful choices. One may well be tempted to consult a guide if there is a particular ending or achievement they want to get.

Further, despite the martial arts theme and the seeming plethora of choices relevant to fighting style, combat is incredibly shallow and none of the style labels you are slapped with have any meaning, given that you are never informed as to what any of them mean. While I don't necessarily need a convoluted RPG rule-set, something denoting skill in basic categories like strength, agility, strikes and grappling would have been nice.

Faults in mechanics, however, are perhaps less important than the faults in the story Kung Fu tells. Put succinctly, the game is hampered by its own ambition. It tries to tell of a quest for the wisdom of a dragon, a rebellion against the Empire, a conflict with foreigners, the rise of the players' new marital arts school, a duel with a challenging master and a romance, all at once, and few aspects of the story meet an actually satisfying end. Once the romance runs its course from introduction and building of relationship points to vaguely-alluded sex, the narrative seems to forget the relationship is a thing that exists, and it receives no real mention during the last two chapters. The Blue Scarfs Rebellion in particular is frustratingly left hanging, despite all the emphasis placed on it early on and how compelling the plight of the people under inept Imperial rules is. The game pushes the consultation with the Dragon Sage as the most interesting and important goal of the game, and if you don't agree and don't build your stats accordingly, you can expect to be left out in the cold with an anti-climax.

While I see the better game Choice of Kung Fu could have been and am frustrated at some decisions of its design, I don't regret buying it. There is definitely fun to be had with what is here.

Tupinamba
Tupinamba

The gamebook was entertaining and immersive, taking me to a journey to another world, which is exactly what I look for in this type of game. The wuxia theme was very well represented and I recommend this title.

hippokrene
hippokrene

A satisfying Choice of... game that lets you develop your own fighting style, become a teacher, and defend the Middle Kingdom. Or simply seek enlightenment. While the events aren't as dramatic as other Choice of... games, the main character is self-motivated and the story feels complete, neither rushed or hanging on the usual cliffhanger.