A Review; so far
Just got Crushing Force working on Steam Deck...
And I'm gonna say... THIS IS SERIOUSLY GOOD
I've been around, since the 1980's, I've played just about every fighting game you can think of, 2D, 3D, platform brawlers...
But Crushing Force? This is without a doubt, not only one of the best looking & sounding fighting games, but arguably, the best controls and gameplay, I've ever used
The graphics easily remind me of Street Fighter & King of Fighters, especially the 16 bit style backgrounds, which seem hand drawn & painted, with rich detail, while the character sprites have a more 32 bit rendering, without pixelation, giving them a Guilty Gear & Blaz Blue like rendering
The music is also fitting for a fighting game, the Hologram Room song, reminds me of the John Wick film techno music
The gameplay; with its double jumps & 4 Button Normal Moves, that easily chain together in a "Gatling Combo," strongly reminds me of the gameplay in Guilty Gear & Blaz Blue, with a mix of Street Fighter & King of Fighters
The Simul, Tag & Turns Modes are insane, more than 2 Fighters imon Screen at once!? The only other Fighting Game I've seen do THAT, is Guilty Gear Isuka, on Playstation 2! This gives the game a party game mechanic, that's sure to be manic fun!
The action, the fighting, practically feels like choreographed fight scenes in films
The Normal Moves Combo fluidly, and the Special Move Inputs, seem to work EVERY TIME, as they say "Ha-Doken-able!" The Fire Ball Motion Inputs never seem to fail when entered, which is where countless fighting games are hit are miss, in most fighting games, the Special Moves work "when they feel like it..." something that plagues traditional fighting games, particularly 2D style
But Crushing Force? The Moves all simply just work, especially the Super Specials... which only require Pressing 2 or 3 Buttons and a simple Fire Ball Motion to launch, very responsive & intuitive... the Dash, Back Hop & High Jump is also snappy & responsive
I feel like I've learned the fighting mechanics in mere minutes
For example: I got all of Lardo Rat's Moves down pat, in Training Mode, in next to no time at all! I already feel like I've mastered this character!
Speaking of, Lardo Rat looked like main char material at 1st glance - he gives me Big Blag vibes, (the BIG freakin' rat boss in Battle Toads, the NES version is arguably the smartest boss AI in a retro game, I've ever fought, and his Battle Toads Arcade version never seems to die, after he eats about 50 ~ 100 Credits, gotta love the Free Play / Insert Credit Key in Rare Replay & MAME ROMs!)
Maybe it's Lardo's design & attitude, but his Big Blag style design & Moves Set make him an instant favorite already, though I'll try rest of the roster, to see who gels
Anyway, this is one seriously polished gem of a game! I hope to see more!