CLAWPUNK Review on XBOX

ClawPunk is a melee-focused 2D action game infused with rogue lite elements.

The premise is you play as one of nine fierce cat characters as you scratch, claw, and unleash your fury as adrenaline propels you through destructible environments.

The game boasts five zones, nine different characters, collectible cards, destructible environments and a 1980’s retro cartoon theme.

Accessibility

With regards to accessibility, there is limited options available. There are volume sliders and eight text languages, and some damage tolerance setting (from none to high), but no button remapping or subtitle options. So should you have hearing, motor, or visual issues, this may not be the game for you.

Gameplay

Games with cats, are always a win in my book, so seeing a game in where you can play nine of the little beauties, was an instant attraction. The premise is a simple one of you starting off as a genetically modified cat warrior, whose world is overrun by machines and dog mutants, and has been forced to flee to an airfield to regroup and retry to save the world.

The games core mechanic is about a non-stop, "push-forward" gameplay, that thrives on aggressive play style. In turn you are rewarded with devastating abilities, and powerful rage attacks that recharge, based on your performance (tracked by a combo counter). It’s a simple concept of getting to the bottom of vertical levels whilst killing as many enemies as possible and collecting as many coins, cards and weapons as you progress. Our recommendation is that you do the tutorial to fully understand the combat variety on offer.

From the beginning there are five themed zones, each broken into nine procedurally generated vertical stages, with a mini boss at stage 5 and a full boss at stage 9. From your home base you can choose to tackle any of the four zones in any order, with any collected cats available. 

At the mini boss stage, you will be able to unlock a cat character in each of the four zones, with the others being purchasable back at your base. Each new cat character provides another life to attempt a stage, or boss with. This is because in clawpunk, health pick-ups are quite rare, so learning when to tag in a new one, offers plenty of choice when attempting each run.

To compliment these choices, there is a card system that comes into play, which buffs each kitty’s attacks and abilities. Alongside cards, are two types of coins for you to collect as well. Enemies drop cash coins, which you can use to purchase different weapons and some extra life bars for that current protagonist. Chaos coins are collected by destroying tech, such as cameras, turrets and anything neon. These provide you with coins that you can use at the hub world to purchase new cat characters, extra lives, character slot upgrades, extra grenades etc.

These cards provide permanent mini upgrades that you attach to individual cats, like movement enhancements, extra damage effects, or abilities that mutate their rage attacks. Finding and equipping the best cards does add a tactical layer, that will evolve with each subsequent run.​ Combat is varied, with a standard melee attack, a kick and a dash to ensure you are always able to get out of tight places.

Guns are also available and provide another way to attack from a distance depending on the weapon you hold. Grenade are superb for providing area of effect damage, that in some arenas can cause some devesting chain of effects due to explosive environmental elements. However, it’s your rage meter that really elevates the gameplay. The more havoc you cause, the quicker your rage meter builds, rewarding aggressive, risk-taking play, before activating your cats rage attack, a super attack that destroys all around it.

The rogue lite aspect comes into play once all your cats have perished. You are transported back to the hub-world with only your chaos coins intact. Here you will then upgrade each cat, purchase a new one, gamble on a slot machine to give you some special gear, before choosing a new run. Once a run is completed you, it is marked off your list, though you can redo it anytime you feel. With regards to the gameplay you can blaze through every level, dodging any fight and hiting speedrun lines. Its all choice here and the game supports either.

Overall, the game has quite the chaotic and enjoyable feel as you push your way through with various cats, taking out large numbers of enemies in exciting ways.

Graphics

The game has gone for a retro 2d pixel aesthetic with cartoon cutscenes that should resonate well with all gamers. It oozes that gritty 80s/90s feel akin to the old cartoons of the time with all the dystopian sci-fi, and underground environmental zones on offer. From the games main menu, it also includes a lovely Clawdex, which breaks down each character, zone, and some handy tutorial basics.

The game destructible environments elevate every fight: allowing you to smash through walls, triggering chain reactions, and creating sequences for destruction which become as fun and as important as taking down enemies that stand in your path. This ensures that the path you choose is your own and finding the sweet spot between speed and destruction is a fun task.

Unlockable Weapons, characters, and upgrades all provide a visual splendour and enemy design is nicely varied with each new enemy and its individual attacks suitable for the zone you are progressing through.

The different collection of cats, each with their own unique style of attacks and movements makes each run a superb way to play the game, but you will end up favouring one over the others. For me it was Larry, who rides a pogo stick and likes to blow himself up! Also, most cats have hidden abilities which are there for you to discover. For example, Buck has a heavily charged attack if you hold down the attack button.

Everything here just oozes the right amount of retro aesthetics that make the game a very enjoyable experience. Yes, the story is a little on the cheesy side, but this is still an enjoyable experience from a clear fan of the early 90’s cartoons.

Sound

When it comes to the music, the game favours a blend of industrial metal, punk and synth to ensure that the tone perfectly matches the retro-futuristic world. And it does this exceptionally well, with only the general battle and weaponry sounds being louder.

The game does have limited voice work, with each cat given sparse voice lines that won’t give you a deep story, but does add personality and humour, that in the most intense moments provides some respite.

Battles and weaponry sounds are also equally superb, with that 90’s retro style being impactful as you murder your way down through the levels. This combined with the superb music tracks, and your feel great as you cause true carnage to the world around you.

My recommendation here would be a good quality soundbar to really enjoy your rage attack at its peak, when demolishing environments and enemy alike. 

Verdict

This leads me onto the rating of the game:-
Now I rate games in order of, avoid, on sale, great purchase and must own. My rating for ClawPunk is a ‘’Great Purchase’’.

This is a game whose inspiration harks back to the days of the 80s/90s cartoons, whilst providing a fun experience that all can enjoy.

The game is currently priced on Xbox at £7.99 or approx. $10 and depending on skill and patience would give you about 10+hours to complete the story. Once you have completed the hardest difficulty, a new one becomes available, so there is plenty here to double your gaming time.

This is clearly a great game for all who are fans of cats and rogue lites, that provides something fresh to the market that I think everyone should at least try once.