Iron Fisticle

Iron Fisticle
N/A
Metacritic
86
Steam
74.444
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$0.89
Release date
16 September 2014
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
86 (300 votes)

A modern take on the classic arcade arena shooter. Taking inspiration from an entire generation of action games, Iron Fisticle builds on classic titles like Gauntlet and Robotron while adding over 100 collectible items, an RPG style upgrade system and local multiplayer.

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Iron Fisticle system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8
  • Processor: Dual Core at 2Ghz and above
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Open GL 2.0 Compatible Card
  • Storage: 100 MB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Monsoon (of Gaming) #SaveTF2
Monsoon (of Ga…

The game has many issues.
1. No gameplay mechanics are explained, there is no tutorial, no tips, no nothing. (Also, the "bonus levels" have the jump button mapped to the same button that makes you go backwards, which is not only also unexplained (not even in the settings) but is also a terrible design choice)
2. When starting the game for the first time on keyboard, everything is unbinded, even though when going into the settings it says that WASD is mapped to movement, IJKL is mapped to shooting, etc. this is a small issue since you can simply save the settings and it will work but it is still very inconvenient if it's your first time playing
3. It's really grindy (may be intentional, but even if it is in my opinion it is quite a bad thing), because you can buy "Always start the game with (power-up)" and not only are there 5 of them (but to be honest only 1 really matters) they can also stack, and the amount of times they can stack depends on your level, which also is carried over runs.
4. The item unlock progression is stupid, you get shurikens on level 2 if i recall correctly, and they're one of the most OP weapons, and then you get hammer at like level 15 or around that number, and they're terrible, the game is a lot easier if you stay at low level because that way you cant get bad weapons from weapon chests, however perma upgrades make the game even easier than that so the weapons don't really matter, however it is still really dumb

ZombieKef
ZombieKef

A fun game, which didn't take too long to complete the four stages, so it didn't overstay its welcome. I played on Linux Mint Cinnamon and it ran perfectly. The only quirk was that when I load the game, the first splash screen freezes - pressing the left mouse button lets it continue loading as normal (no other keys or gamepad buttons seemed to work, only the LMB). But otherwise it plays like a dream. Reminds me of an updated version of one of my first games, Berzerk (Atari 2600) crossed with Bubble Bobble's bonuses.

wm81124628
wm81124628

If you do not have a joystick, please don't buy it. They experience is bad, it's very bad. Feel like it's a mobile game wlth low quality image.

Rating : 1 (1 = Worst, 5 = Best)
• Graphic: 2
• Control: 1
• Music: 2
• Story: 0
• Entertaining: 2
• Kill time: 1

haZhat
haZhat

If you have never been fisted with iron, it is recommended to try this game.

Father Heathen
Father Heathen

This game is very similar to the 90's arcade classic Super Smash T.V., which is a good thing.

mrorange
mrorange


Very demanding Twin-Stick Arcade Shooter with level-up system. There is no reason to miss it, especially on sales!

I am actually a bit surprised that only 3 people from my friendslist have this wonderful Arcade Game.

It is very easy to learn, but also very difficult to master. The strong point is definitely the perfect controls, the speed and the replayability and when you die, you will know the reason. So, everything depends on your personal skills.

You start in one room and you have to kill everything that spawns in there, then you move on to the next room, which will be a bit more difficult. In between you collect coins, diamonds, new weapons, etc. With the coins you can buy upgrades (permanent and non permanent) in a shop. Little 2D Jump N Run sequences allow you to collect even more coins.

The game has also a simple, but useful upgrade / exp mechanism. With higher levels, you are able to get more diverse and more powerful weapons which facilitate every single run until only your skill will count.

At the moment the game is on sale for 1,79 EUR. This is a mere steal for such a great arcade shooter. You might not play it for hours and hours, but it is really one of those I just like to play for three, four rounds in between of other games.

Do not miss it. It is perfect for what it wants to be. A simple but difficult to master arcade game that just makes a lot of fun --- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Twitch Channel : https://www.twitch.tv/mrorange55
Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1UE5TPoF0HX0HVpF_E4uPQ/videos?view_as…

KrudlerTheHorse
KrudlerTheHorse

Shooter meets RPG meets homage to Bubble Bobble with music that is thumping yet oddly mellow and trance-like at the same time. Anybody owes it to themselves to try this game.

VirtualExplorer001
VirtualExplorer001

1/4/2016 2:10am U.S. central time:
A big thumbs up indeed to all the developers and testing department who made this game possible. :)
The only con is it just needed to get the sound in more stereo instead of mono. Very soft muffled sound effects.
Other than that a good arcade game to have in my library.

Pizza
Pizza

I'd play this over Binding of Isaac any day.

Moh Aam
Moh Aam

Why can't I Alt-F4 out of your arcade game.

Kowalth
Kowalth

A Twin-Stick Arcade Shooter. What else you could ask for? I was planning to purchase this and refund it, but don't regret at all. :D It worth its full price tho'.

The Crust Of Joy
The Crust Of Joy

A bit slow in the beginning but it becomes more fun the more you unlock and the further you progess.

Perfect game to play while listening to a podcast/interview or music.

Sensei_Pong
Sensei_Pong

A nice mix of Robotron and Gauntlet. Not really "Zelda," but a solid arcade twin-stick Action RPG Rogue... now let's see if I can throw in some more genres for good measure.

If you're a fan of old school Action RPGs or Arcade Shooters, you'll probably like this one. The Rogue-like randomness of each room adds good replayability. Though a bit intense at times, it definitely seems more relaxed, despite the difficulty still being there for advanced players.

Music and art style are nice. It feels like what would happen if Ghosts and Goblins and Robotron had a baby, but Nethack was the milkman and spilled some RPG elements into the genepool.

Capt Von Trapp
Capt Von Trapp

Fantastic little twin stick arcade shooter. You unlock more power ups as you play, whcih makes the game way better. The first 30 minutes was a little unsatisfying, but after that is was quite addictive. Also recommend you play this two player, as it felt lacking in single player mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55NRn87Eno&list=PL5XNK29huoDTvrYvIWcG6…

ThatUmbrellaGuy
ThatUmbrellaGuy

I always loved Smash TV's style of "big money, big prizes," so comparisons to it made me want to play this.

Like Smash TV, the point is to score by clearing rooms. You have a small map with a boss objective, and you have limited choise in the path you take toward it. Unlike Smash TV, you can level up stats to help you do so.

Some in-game items will take stats up for that play only, and you can also max your base stats out to about 50 percent of its upper max for starting out. That gives you some incentive for playing at first, and you can tell the difference when speed, attack power, attack speed, and more goes up.

It has about 4 levels of play, and completing that starts it over, with the enemies getting faster. You end up pathing a lot on most levels, and I like the puzzle-like feeling of cutting my way through dozens of oncoming enemies.

purpledonkey
purpledonkey

Old school arcade feel with modern mechanics and excellent replayablity.

ChromeHeartsForever
ChromeHeartsForever

Fun game Staff & support seem to be really on top of it. Gracious dudes and Louis is a homie Shouts out to my man Louis over here being a real bro & everyone on the team!
they helped me with a little issue of mine so yeah Buy this game. Its pretty Guud

also local co-op, Cant get enough of that!

GuidoN
GuidoN

One of the best twinstick shooters since smash-tv glued me to my 16bit sega megadrive.

That in itself says enough about the quality of this game.

Go buy and play!

deej
deej

Iron Fisticle, got this game for insanely cheap via coupons and has blown me away. Skeptical of cheap games I expected the game to be filled with bugs, more crashes than a stock car race and really bad game play. I was genuinely surprised at how well thought out this game is.

Iron Fisticle is a Dungeon crawling shooter game where you battle through 4 Levels (which aren't easy). This game has a level of difficulty to it and provides a nice leveling up system with permanent and temporary character upgrades. One of they games where you can actually notice an improvement in your character, and player skill - which is very rewarding.

However, my cons are is that once you become an highly ranked character is that the game could become easy as there is only 4 levels (which is the ultimate outcome if you grind games). There is another mode, which at the current time I haven't dived into. The mode is basically the same as the normal mode, but you do not gain permanent upgrades - so Binding of Isaac.

Conclusion: for how cheap the game is, it's perfect. I believe all the other reviews are positive. If I was the developer of a relatively (review based) successful game I would be pushing as much content out the door as possible! This game exceeds the warrant to release DLC or sequel.

bolo591
bolo591

With the current discount on Steam, this little game will make anyone missing the old gauntled (and being slightly upset on the new version) happy... Move around a level, kill enemies, collect things, get a key to go next level.

Graphics are good (for my taste), sound is decent, control could have been more documented (it took me few games to realize the right thumbstick could be used for shooting... you dummy!!!), and special bonus platform level... Everything to make anyone happy...

No regret on purchasing, I am happy to spend my money here.

David
David

Gauntlet II + Super Smash TV(SNES) + Total Carnage(SNES) + Small Roguelite Elements=This game.

AMAZING SOUNDTRACK. It fits the game very well.

9/10

I'm certainly gonna come back to this for more!

Kannibalhamster
Kannibalhamster

Remember Smash TV? I do. Best game ever. Especially with a buddy.

See this here game? It's Smash TV with some very basic RPG elements added. Do you like bullet hell-ish games? Do you like coop? Do you like having a good time? Do you like games? Do you have a pulse? If the answer to any of these question is 'Yes', then this is the game for you.

Noser
Noser

A fun, fast-moving mix of Binding of Isaac, Smash TV, and Gauntlet. The game balance isn't perfect, but it's balanced better than any of those three antecedents.

Keyboard play is basically impossible on a normal keyboard, since there's no mouseaim and it needs to bind both a 4-way move and 4-way shoot, plus it's possible to want to move diagonally while also shooting diagonally. Most keyboards do not do a good job of four simultaneous inputs.

It also couldn't read my non-XInput gamepad directly, so I ended up using JoyToKey to have the gamepad trigger the keyboard controls. It ended up being worth the hassle, but don't get this game if you don't have a gamepad at all.

DustyMcJusty
DustyMcJusty

This is a great game. Picked it up on sale, but it is worth the asked price. Made it to 3rd on Normal Co-Op Highscore list 2nd night of owning it :) Highly recomended.

p.s. Only issue I ran into so far was on level 11, a key failed to drop after acheiving B.O.N.U.S. trapping us in the level. Duked it out with the golems and used up all the gauntlets to kill what we could (only way to kill them) Worth 1k points/golem. Was well on the way to taking Dr.Peanut's and MangoFlush's Thrones ;)

Stuffgamer1
Stuffgamer1

The system requirements for this game aren't all that high, and I can certainly run fancier games no problem. But THIS game runs laggy as heck no matter what I do, and it bugs out if I try to enter fullscreen mode at all. Maybe it'd be a good game if it worked, I really can't say. But it doesn't, and I've tried it on two separate occasions now. So I'm DONE.

SamuraiCupcake
SamuraiCupcake

A very decent Co-Op twin stick shooter. But its just that : decent. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't improve on it either.

You shoot the same zombies over and over and over. Mages appear a little later that shoot bullets, but it gets so crowded that you might not survive to where there is more enemy variety. I picked it up to play some casual co-op with a friend, so I didn't intend to practice to get far. So we didn't.

The game lacks a certain punch to it. Know that sound and feel when you get a hit in Super Smash Bros, esp. on the N64? Yeah, there isn't that here. You just, somehow, throw AXES at a machine-gun pace and it does a barely-audible *tick*. Game feel is very important.

There is a lack of classes - there is only one. A thing I really enjoyed in the new Gauntlet remake was that one player could use the Valkyrie and shield your archer or mage teammate. Then the mage can slow enemies down so that they can be easier to handle melee. We would call when we'd prepare a move before the enemies spawned. That was really cool teamwork dynamic. None of that here.

Items are for the most part useless. You get a staggering amount of drops from enemies, which then gets annoying since it does nothing but give you points. This is 2016, I'm playing in my living room not in an arcade gallery. Nobody is gonna look over and say OMG YOU GOT SO MANY POINTS!

I know that it tries to recreate that style of arcady old-school game, but even then points never got in the way of the gameplay. You would kill enemies and get points automatically. But in this game you get drops that seem useful (to level up, for instance?), but only serve to distract from the enemies and give no gameplay benefit.

Oh! Is that a book? Awesome! I must get some kind of cool spell ability! *grabs book* 100 POINTS! *gets killed by projectile while distracted*

In terms of aesthetics, it is also okay but nothing to write home about. Cute pixel-art. Music is forgettable (see Shovel Knight). Sound lacks punch. Level design is square and bare. Average.

IN CONCLUSION : a game that falls short of expections and becomes quickly boring despite the potential and attractiveness of the trailer.

Score : 6.5/10

RECOMMENDATION : Get on sale if you have a buddy that likes mob swarm twin-stick shooters to play Co-Op. Challenge yourselves to work as a team and crank up the sound to make things a bit more interesting.

[toj.cc]Shagz
[toj.cc]Shagz

Fun and frantic twin stick shootin' with fun graphics, easy-to-get-into action, couch co-op, high score chasin'...a perfect little arcade gem of a game. The bonus platforming stages are a nice touch, serving to break up the action. If there's any criticism, I'd say the audio cues could use a pass over, they're tiny bit uninteresting, but this is a small thing. Sound effects are servicable and the soundtrack is catchy.

Ryan Dorkoski
Ryan Dorkoski

Cute little arcade-style twin-stick shooter we have here. Great for two player local co-op score attack, too. Some minor complexity with a few permanent upgrades, but it mostly sticks to the arcadey old-school shooter style.

Its fairly simple, but essentially you twin-stick shoot your way through various levels that are laid out on a randomly generated map of tiles. You collect various items for score. There are also upgrades and two rechargable/reloadable abilities (that I know of). It's plain-old good simple arcade fun. The graphics are a good fit for retro old-school, and so is the music.

If you are on the fence - you already know this is the kind of game for you. Mileage may vary, but there is definately a cult following and the potential to get tons of fun out of this title.

Underwhelmed
Underwhelmed

Imagine Smash TV with a touch of Gauntlet, and you have Iron Fisticle.

The late 80's style pixel graphics are as endearing as the gameplay. If you hate pixel graphics, you probably also hate arcade style overhead shooters too.

dipnlik
dipnlik

Smash TV gone medieval, with just the right amount of character progression. Highly recommended.

Jan
Jan

A little Top Down Shooter. Poor retro style graphics, offset with a good mechanics. Few kinds of foes, but many items to get, with 5 skills to upgrade; all well explained in instructions and a ledger. The mapping only has 4 levels, each with a growing number of mini-maps of randomized rooms, intercalate with bonus side screens and shops of simple menus. The progresses of Skills and items are saved. The gameplay can be difficult, because requires a gamepad or both hands over keyboard; no support mouse. A challenging and charming game for a few hours of casual but intense fun. Buy with high discounts or in bundles.

Mirthew
Mirthew

A really nice combination of twin stick shooting and roguelike dungeon exploring. Addicting once you get the hang of it!

AltarMichael
AltarMichael

Do you farm achievements? Most of the ones here are pretty easy to get through. Do you need a simple to understand, arcadey game to play with your kid brother when he won't leave you the hell alone? It's right here. Retro enthusiasts, looking to feel them old feels again? Right up your alley. Need something fun to play with your friends, when you're too baked to play anything else? Got ya covered.

More depth than I honestly expected, a bit short, but great replay value. Even if I never play it again (which I likely will), I'll never uninstall it. Just in case I do want to play it again.

Shodfungus
Shodfungus

Fun little game, the local co-op is more fun than the single player as they add more monsters which makes it a little more challenging. 10$ is a bit steep as there isn't a whole lot of content, but was worth the sale price

M_Leon246
M_Leon246

This game is going to piss you off.

It's super fun but the character moves so slow it will be the cause of many deaths.

My only real issue is weapon fires in only 8 directions.

Grab it on sale and play when the internet is down.

argusprescott
argusprescott

Pretty straightforward. if you enjoy twin stick shooters of the oldschool Robotron variety, or games like Geometry Wars, you'll likely enjoy this. It's challenging but not frustratingly so. Can't speak to the co-op because I have no friends, but I was able to beat it on the hardest difficulty and run through the challenges. Would definitely pick it up for 5 bucks or less. 7.4/10

-.-
-.-

Might have been deep and interesting, perhaps 20 years ago.

Magitek
Magitek

Really fun game that reminded me a lot of SmashTV. A Decent challenge for a good price and has a lot of replayability.

ktulu1975
ktulu1975

This game reminds me a lot of the classic game Smash TV and sort of reminds me of an Amstrad CPC game, Mikie, and is very enjoyable to play.

A twin-stick shooter, players level up and can upgrade their character's abilities, via random drops and also by collecting gold, to use to purchase items, such as health upgrades also, in the store. The player starts of with a fairly sparse health bar, although, this as well as damage, attack speed and weapon pickup effectiveness duration, can be upgraded permanantly, up to a limit, specified by difficulty level, so that the player will eventually find it easier to advance from the beginning.

I think this game is really excellent. Very retro graphics with real nice bright fruit and other item pickups. The inclusion of steam leaderboards is a great incentive to replay the game after completion, and players will find that they may have to consider their route to the boss room, on each floor, to increase the probability of achieving a high score.

Connecting some of the rooms on each floor, players will find either a shop or bonus level. The bonus level is a fairly challenging platformer, which is excellent in itself. Players collect gold along the route and are awarded with a special item at the end.

The soundtrack is fairly retro dark electronic sounding, which is good, although possibly noticeably repetitive at the start. Provides a fairly dark atmosphere, lightened by real nice pick ups and weapon effects. The game is really worth completing just to hear the track on completion of the 'final' floor. Excellent music.

Works great with xbox controller. Local co-op is available. Would love to see a sequel. Highly recommended, especially considering the low price. 10/10.

onimusha78
onimusha78

Excellent game.
Smooth and very responsive controls.
Just wish there were more levels and more bosses.
Hope the developers make a part 2.
I rate it 8/10

buttpiss
buttpiss

man, what an AWESOME game. i'm a huge fan of arena twin-stick shooters, ever since robotron and smash tv.

gameplay is very simple. shoot monsters, eat fruits and veggies. (oh, and junk food later)
sweet graphics that i can only assume that try to trick you. that's not a tomato you are trying to pick up, that's a bomb. :D hey, is that a green apple or a slimey thing? haha

i love how you continue to improve your character over time; it really adds to the replayability factor.

the seemingly simple bonus round, where you side scroll and collect coins, seems to always hand my buttocks to me. i think i got to the end twice out of the 30 or so times i've played one.

music is a bit repetitve and could have used a handful more tracks.

SOME TIPS

    always buy the permanent upgrades from the store. this way you will have a better playthrough the next time you start
    • your special weapons are on a timer, but the timer does not start until you start shooting. if you are at the end of a level and pick up a new weapon, don't shoot it! you can carry it into the next room with full power
    • don't kill yourself trying to get all of the rainbow gems. you get a great weapon after collecting them all, but it only lasts for one room and it seems like it always happens near the end anyway
    • don't forget to use your iron fist to get you out of a tough spot; it's in the fuggin title!!
    • the flamethrower sucks ball. especially for boss fights as you have to get up in their face to shoot it off
    • the red blocks in the bonus round fall on you as you pass under. make sure to never stop under one; as long as you are running, it shouldn't crush you

CONCLUSION

you can't go wrong if you like arena/twin-stick shooters. i'm a cheapskate, so $9 is a bit high, even for how awesome the game is. if you can get it for 5, DO IT. also, see if you can beat my score: 1839835, currently in 211th place. lol

Managedant
Managedant

Love these Devs and I LOVE their publisher. Tikipod really brings out the smiles when it comes to games.

Anyways. It's a fun multiplayer twin stick old school arcade shooter with random side scrolling bits thrown in to spice it up.
Fun to play with friends and at a price point I don't mind recommending.

I would have gladly paid for this again had I not already owned Fisticle and got it for free.
Very easy to recommend this game as I enjoyed Fisticle very much.

Cornraid
Cornraid

Has anyone ever waved a loaded pistol in your face? That experience is life changing, scarring. It will change you. That aside, Iron Fisticle is a really fun game.

ready2b
ready2b

The only reason I don't recommend Iron Fisticle is because Iron Crypticle (the sequel) is available for the same price.
Iron Fisticle takes many retro elements and jams it into one fun-sized package. Perhaps a game you’d spend a few hours playing.

Positive:

- Movement and shooting feels fluid and responsive.
- Decent variety of weapon and item drops. Makes killing enemies more dynamic.
- Collect food items to improve your score. You receive a multiplier bonus if you collect them in quick succession. I believe this adds to the replayability and compliments the retro point/leader board grading system.
- If you take too long to leave a room, very resilient enemies spawn to try to force you out. Not sure why this was included in the game, but I thought it was a clever touch.
- Fun bonus minigame. No real punishment for failing, but you get the opportunity to collect more gold. It’s a cute and refreshing break from all the twin shooting.
- Co-op option is nice. Very glad they included this feature.

Negative:

- You can buy permanent upgrades during your playthroughs that will carry on when you start a new life. I am somewhat torn about this feature. On one hand, it gives you a feeling of progression although you start again after each death. On the other hand, once you are sufficiently powered up, the beginning of the dungeon becomes dull as it is too easy.
- The main difficulty in this game comes from fighting large numbers of enemies simultaneously. There is a decent number of different enemies, but not enough to keep this game entertaining for very long.

Conclusion:

Overall, Iron Fisticle is a fun time waster. The game is not spectacular, but is well executed. The only reason I don’t recommend Iron Fisticle is because Iron Crypticle (see my review here), the sequel, is out for the same price. It is essentially an improved version of Iron Fisticle.

If you enjoyed this review please follow me on my curator page and group. Your time and support is greatly appreciated!

-Rysho-
-Rysho-

This is a very good time waster-type game. Tight controls and relax gameplay makes me always come back to this hidden gem!

Rev [Fuck you, Tower]
Rev [Fuck you,…

Relatively fun, retro-style twin-stick arcade game. All the other reviews here, plus the trailer above give a decent portrayal of the game itself. The main reason I'm writing this review is because of something I've encountered, that I wouldn't necessarily call a "bug" as I've found it helpful, but I've not seen mentioned in other reviews. It's entirely possible that this "issue" isn't a universal one, and I'm one of the "lucky few", but I've found that if I turn vsync on, the game slows down to about half speed.

In a game where a lot of the challenge that is found in it comes from fighting a lot of enemies at once, that can remove a lot of the challenge. But, if like me, you're kind of rubbish at this type of game - but still ENJOY this type of game - it can be incredibly helpful.

Just thought it was worth a mention.

Flexo
Flexo

challenging and divers game with at least a chance to progress and win the game. i like it.

rival
rival

3/4 good looking, good feeling, twin-stick arena shooter, no mouse support, 8 direction aim, disruptive gameplay pauses for some skills and levelling up

Grassy Gnoll
Grassy Gnoll

Are you good at, and do you like playing, platformers? Well, you'll do GREAT at this twin stick shooter! What? Why?

Well, beating the platformer mini game restores your health COMPLETELY mid-floor. Nothing else does. Would have been a good game if that was replaced with a unique arena level where the number of enemies you kill in a limited time equals the number of hearts you get. That simple game would be better than the very bad platformer that you must master to complete the game reliably. Too bad.

Frolgath
Frolgath

There are a lot of twin stick shooters now, and you might think they look pretty similiar. You might even think the newer more complicated designs are automatically better than anything that sticks closely to the Robotron/SmashTV formula. However you would be wrong. This is a masterpiece of game design and I think all authors of shooters should study it.

Jeff
Jeff

This game is awesome, Fun, playable for two perso.
The other thing i loved about, it's is Indie game.

Bal Sagoth
Bal Sagoth

This game is dope. Old school. You dont like it, then be out.

funkbob
funkbob

A well paced arena shoter. Something to play when needing somthing nice and chilled. Neither you or the enemies move around the screen to fast so its easy to weave about avoining collisions. I payed alot of twin stick and arena type games and enjoyed this one. don't hesitate to pick up in a sale if you like some arena action,.

iridescentpants01
iridescentpants01

Big money, Big prizes. I love it!

Inaluogh
Inaluogh

I booted this game up with pretty much no expectations. And the screenshots didn't really give away much. But as soon as I started playing, I knew what it was, and i immediately fell in love with it. In this day and age where true arcade games are dead, Iron Fisticle is a godsent. It is heavily inspired by amazing arcade classics by Eugene Jarvis like Robotron 2048 and Smash TV. If you are looking for a real arcade twin stick shooter that is NOT a bullet hell like pretty much every other modern arcade shooter, buy this game without even thinking about it. Even without a sale, it justifies the asking price.

Killing countless enemies, collecting all sorts of shinies while racking up points still has the soothing, therapeutic feeling as you remember from your childhood. Yes, points. Iron Fisticle hearkens back to the times of gaming where every gamer's skill level and accomplishments were set in stone, with points. That is not to say all pickups are just points of course. The game has enough power-ups and upgrades to keep you engaged. But to be honest, in a twin stick shooter like this, the game itself is the only thing you need to stay engaged.

10/10
100/100
Must buy.

Dr Harry WHO
Dr Harry WHO

crass game , just buy u idiot !

2nd Class Janitor - Wilco
2nd Class Jani…

Tags: Topdown - Isaaclike

TLDR: Decent smoother SmashTV for 2 players with decent presentation and solid mechanics.

Stiff controls and rigid shooting arcs. Lots of power ups. Minor XP RPG elements and purchasable +stats. Levels organized on a small navigational map. Good audiovisuals. Xbox360pad. 2 player coop. Very enjoyable. Plays like a smoother SmashTV. Incentivized not to spam attacks and kite too aggressively since the reward drops fade away quickly and the swarms can block access. The dash button and zone attack buttons can be recharged from power ups.

zxgrey10
zxgrey10

one game of years recommend it

Ron
Ron

Gauntlet meets Bubble Bobble.

What a whacky idea. And it just kind of works.

The game is very simple to learn and play, with scaling difficulty levels to keep you busy enough for a while. It's no Binding of Isaac, but you will still find a solid game here.

The graphics and sound are cute, though it does get a little bit repetitive, as does the gameplay, but if you like doing score attack, then you'll be fine with this. There are side-scroll bonus levels to break it up somewhat, and a certain level of strategy to how you progress through the map.

All in all, I recommend this game. Do note that there is an updated and enhanced version in the store called Iron Crypticle, and you should probably give that a look instead, but I got this one super cheap, so no complaints.

Hugh
Hugh

Probably the best rouge like I've ever played. Very fun and easy to learn with good controls and clear level up mechanics.
Unlike other rouge likes, this one doesn't constantly beat the s**t out of you. It's much easier on new players yet if you progress long enough it will get very hard.
Great pixel graphics, good enemy design and so many fun pick ups.

AbsoluteZer0
AbsoluteZer0

Fun for a short session. Get it for a few cents.

Dee Dee the Spy
Dee Dee the Spy

Its alright. Kinda like an arcade shooter in the vain of gauntlet or smashTV.

Lonely Island
Lonely Island

The aesthetic of this game is awesome, the fact that there always seems to be something new to find, a person to beat, a higher dungeon to get to makes this so addictive. For the sale price its super worth it, I just wish the sequel was as cheap.

Daedalus
Daedalus

Very simple game. Arcade. I like it. 2p.

Bathory
Bathory

Nice and quite fast game to bring you joy for a while.

SPEEN
SPEEN

Very fun coffee break game. Great deal for the price.

liPPer
liPPer

IF you like games of this *type*...
This is pure gold 10/10
I can't even

Odijan
Odijan

This game is cool. It is hard and relax. If you like games where are you must kill many enemies, it is for you. One floor, second floor etc.. higher floor is harder! :)

Giforever
Giforever

a great game, at a good price, and if you buy it on sale as in my case, excellent.
Honestly, it is one of the best indies and roguelikes I have ever played. Very nice and animated pixelart graphics, fun and precise gameplay and very fun.
100% recommended.

Noxis
Noxis

5/10 game, lots of pointless grind towards 100% completition.

Creepy Grandpa
Creepy Grandpa

Absolutely fantastic game. Great retro graphics and addicting "one-more run" type of game play. Recommended for sure.

Horniborni
Horniborni

I liked the game but it has technical issues (with local co op and screen resolution) which made me refund it. I am hoping to buy its newer version. If you intend to play this single player, then it definitely felt fun.

peppehalti
peppehalti

Kind of addictive game. The bonus stages are so annoying, because Ialways die for something that I should be able to avoid.

B4U
B4U

This game chooses to be the seldom case where everything is done just right: Just the right amount of rouguelikeness, just the right amount of randomization, just the right amount of retrogoodness, just the right amount of moderness, just the right amount of glorious 16-bit like music, just the right amount of unfairness, just the right amount of fairness ... basically ... just the right amount of everything.

If you liked games like "Gauntlet", "Ghosts'n'Goblins" (or rather "Ghouls'n'Ghosts",depending on wich one you prefer), "Smash TV", "Zombies Ate My Neighbours" and so on you will most definitely like this game to death. It's totally addictive and can either be enjoyed in small doses or long sessions. It's totally up to you.

From the technical standpoint it does feature a 2 Player Mode, Controller Support, Redefinable Controlls, Next to no Loading times, great graphics, wonderful music and punchy sound effects. Buy it even when not on sale. It's totally worth your money and time.

Groove Wizard
Groove Wizard

Iron Fisticle is an excellent take on the retro twin-stick shooter genre.

It has a clear good old Gauntlet vibe to it. Everything's in there : fighting your way through massive hordes of enemies in narrow places, nice boss fights, a wide variety of mobs, tons of loot, and a perfectly stupid backstory.

The soundtrack is excellent, and the graphics are top-notch pixel art.

Anyway, what makes this game really great is its scoring system. Being able to keep your score multiplier up by gathering item drops in quick succession gives you a chance to find a stat upgrade every now and then, and you need those stat boosts for later stages of the run. Basically, the game rewards you greatly for taking risks and trying to play every room in the best possible way instead of just turtling through the entire game, which is a big deal compared to most arcade games.

I'd rather recommend the sequel over this one, though, as it's basically the same game with more stuff, and a more pronounced arcade vibe due to it getting rid of stat boosts persisting between runs, but this one's still definitely worth trying out.

DireDchess
DireDchess

                                                                                                                    

high af just wanna have fun
high af just w…

I don't usually have much fun with Shoot 'Em Ups/Bullet Hells ~ but Iron Fisticle was great fun.

The game knows exactly what it wants to do and, for the most part, it completely nails it. The lack of omni-directional aiming frustrated me a little to begin with, but you quickly get used to it and you rarely miss it once you're a little ways into the game.

Iron Fisticle keeps a great tempo the whole way through (it took me 11 hours to reach 100% completion, the last 3 or so being grinding for some RNG loot (more on this later)*) and includes multiple mechanics to help you keep pace as the levels keep getting harder. Progression is divided into permanent upgrades (which persist through all runs, but have limits of their own ~ so you'll never start a run with max stats), and upgrades that only apply to your current run (which allow you to reach max in each of the four stats).

The game also includes some bonus mechanics, which I won't spoil but are, in my opinion, really well balanced in terms of what you have to do to trigger them compared to the rewards they give.

Iron Fisticle respects your time and, as such, just focuses on being enjoyable, rather than demanding stupid amounts of your time to make any progress.

The only time this game really missteps, in my opinion (and this criticism can be completely disregarded if you don't care about achievements), is with the Bookworm achievement. The fact that duplicates of the books drop makes it frustrating to collect all 14, especially when they're already rare drops. But, hey, other than that, I enjoyed the game more than any other Shoot 'Em Up I can remember playing. So, yea.

Great game.
9/10

VahidSlayerOfAll
VahidSlayerOfAll

- slow point and shoot game with a meh dash that just ends up being the only way i ever take damage
+ its got local co-op
- persistent character upgrades, where?? everything just resets
3/10

JakeDumb
JakeDumb

Nicely balance top down twin stick. good to play while listening to podcasts.

fractalcosm
fractalcosm

This is one of those games that took some of the best stuff from the 8bit generation and mashed it up into one really fun, retro-style game! Looks fantastic in 4k, but i had to run it in Windows7 compatibility mode. Other than that, flawless.

Count Grustula
Count Grustula

Fun little rogue-LIGHT

no really, try it, it got local co-op too which might be nice every now and then.

Shadow B
Shadow B

It's decent, but very simplistic.

dosadi666
dosadi666

Mostly inspired by retro arcade game Smash TV and old classics like Gauntlet or Robotron: 2084, Iron Fisticle is a medieval-fantastic themed twin-stick shooter with some RPG elements. Packed with nice retro graphics and catchy music, it’s a perfect game for quick “defeating waves of enemies” sessions !

DrBrogbo
DrBrogbo

This is an awesome game. It's a rogue-lite twin-stick arcade game with combat similar to Smash TV and Gauntlet.

Start it up, slaughter enemies and bosses for 30 minutes or so, choosing your own path through the map, all while getting stronger and faster. Then, after you die, start out next run a little better prepared due to the progress you made last game.

I like rogue-like games where there's a sense of overall progress (and I love twin-stick anything), so this is right up my alley. It's satisfyingly hard at first, and then after it gets easier over time, you move on to NG+ and it's harder again. You'll be starting out slow, but before you know it, you'll be on floor 12 and placing high on the scoreboards. There's also a hard difficulty if you want more of a challenge from the get-go.

The enemies are all fair and identifiable enough to remember their attack patterns, the bosses are memorable, the weapons are almost all useful, the little mini-game controls extremely well and is always welcome, and the bonus power-ups are fun. There's strategy as to which items/power-ups you will buy in the shop, and a sort of meta-strategy with how much money you want to sacrifice for the sake of future runs.

Overall, for such a simple concept, this game pulls everything off quite well. It's easy to pick up, satisfying to play, addicting enough to bring you back again, and has enough going on that you won't be bored even on NG+2. The graphics are charming and well-done, the music and sound effects are basic but mesh really well, and the controls are tight and responsive.

Hac
Hac

Fun and simple rogue lite twin stick shooter. It's cheap but its fun to complete. Not much more to say about it than that.

Get it on sale.

AKGaafar
AKGaafar

I don't mean to be superstitious
but this game is evil
when i played it on my desktop the power supply suddenly stopped working and i had to replace it
when i played it on my laptop the laptop completely shut down and it couln't be booted ever since
my 2 computers got fried up while playing this game
10\10 would recommend

Phoenix-Mask
Phoenix-Mask

Game seems interesting but control just sucks

KaraiDan
KaraiDan

Iron Fisiticle is a really nice little arcade type game. It pulls elements from a lot of different classics that came before it; Geometry Wars, Robotron, Smash TV and Gauntlet. This is not a "Rogue-like", as there are persistent upgrades that ensure anyone with a modicum of skill can complete a first run through, and there are no randomized game changers that will determine the course of a run. This is appreciated.

I think I got this for a couple bucks on a sale it took me around 6 hours to get 100 percent. I'd recommend this for people looking for something simple and fun to play!

Azzyth
Azzyth

good i like it, its like gungeon but without the flashesh,

Sown-Laughter
Sown-Laughter

This game was good its sequel/ "UPGRADE" ruined the feel.
Don't get the upgraded version Iron Crypticle

SMash TV.. Only Smashed

dual analogs
dual analogs

I really enjoyed this game. Simple, effective, fun. Just found out there's a sequel and it's an instant buy, which shows how good this one was. Recommended if you're a fan of these kinda games.

Seppo
Seppo

This game is a simple twin stick shooter, it is fun for a couple hours but gets repetitive fast. The game has permanent upgrades so on your first couple runs you aren't supposed to win as you simply don't have the stats to clear rooms fast enough.

Mr Chappy
Mr Chappy

Iron Fisticle is an addictive arena set twin stick adventure with lightweight rpg elements.

Early on it's reasonably hard but as you spend your cash on upgrades that persist through successive games the difficulty ebbs away. I breezed through it but enjoyed levelling up my knight and posting some OK scores before finally getting bored.

An average twin stick that is fun while it lasts!