Punch Club Review (Nintendo Switch)

Written by Kris Galvez

Title: Punch Club
Developer: tinyBuild Games
Publisher: tinyBuild Games
Price: $14.99
Genre: Simulation, Fighting, Strategy, Role-Playing
Also Available On: Android, iOS, PS4, Steam, XB1

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I was pretty excited when I first saw the trailer of Punch Club, a mixed martial arts management game with glorious pixel art reminiscent of Capcom's arcade brawlers from the late 80s and early 90s. It's not that I am disappointed with the game but it could've been a whole lot better. I don't want to make a Fight Club joke here but after playing Punch Club, it's best to not talk about Punch Club.

Starting the game, you are treated to a gorgeously rendered cinematic that will remind you a lot of Daredevil's origin story. It's a nice enough premise to get you started climbing your way from the bottom ladder of mixed martial arts. Add an old mentor to get you started on your training and some bad stereotypes of supporting cast and you got yourself Punch Club.

It may be intriguing to work your way in being the best fighter in town but there are a lot of hurdles to climb. The first of them is keeping your player character well fed. But to do this, you need money. To earn money, you need to work. But in order to work, you need to sleep. All of these are visualized through bars much like the Sims. Of course to stand a chance in the ring, you need to train. But to train properly means keeping yourself well fed, well rested and have some cash. In short, every thing needs to be managed properly in order to progress through the game.

Of course the goal of the game is to punch and kick your way against your enemies. You do this by training yourself in the various disciplines available. So you either focus on strengthening your punches, keeping yourself agile with your kicks or turtle up and rely on defending. These are increased via the different training regiments. As energy and hunger is limited you need to focus on 1 or 2 of the main stats and abilities. Unfortunately a day can be mismanaged and you would end up losing stats as they decay if you don't train them.

Customization of your fighter is deep but there is a need fight a lot in order to learn new abilities. Fights are automatic with you and your opponent using your abilities to knock each other out in a set number of rounds. Proper strategy in changing your move set at the beginning of each round is key in winning these fights. Unfortunately, there are a lot of randomized events that leads to unwinnable fights. In short, managing your character does not feel rewarding and hinders you character growth a lot. As stats continue to degrade each day it feels a bit closer to real life which is not what I am looking for in a game. There is an easier mode that bypasses stat decay but I haven't tried that.

Overall, Punch Club could've been one of the most engaging experiences on the Switch with its gorgeous pixel art graphics and unique premise. However, it's tedious and repetitive time management mechanics lead to disappointment. But if you are a fan of stat building/min-maxing and have the patience in its frustrating gameplay loop, there is a lot to love to be had with Punch Club.

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Pros

• Gorgeous graphics. This is one of the most beautiful pixel art graphics I've seen for the Switch.
• Character customization is great with 3 disciplines to work on.

Cons

• Tedious and repetitive gameplay loop.
• Fights are especially hard at the start with some being unwinnable.
• Stat decay will feel like your progress is lost in some days.
• There is a barrage of 80s references with some being unfunny and sometimes offensive.

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Overall score: 6/10

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Note: Punch Club was downloaded and played using a review code provided by the publisher.