You’re a lone robot, trying to save earth by vanquishing an “unstoppable plague of meat,” sent by the ominously-named Megabeast. That sounds a lot like the plot of some old-school, mid-eighties action game. And indeed, A Robot Named Fight mostly reminds me of old shareware titles with its big sprites and its neat pixels, silly powerups, and static cutscenes.
It also tries to mix the randomness of roguelikes with the fixed design and strict progression of the Metroidvania genre – and mostly succeeds.
While the level layout might best be described as semi-random (drawing from a pool of pre-constructed building blocks, I assume), it feels coherent. Even if it’s not as tightly designed as the games it tries to mimic, you’ll have a slightly different experience each time you play. Add to that the fact that you can find new items and unlock them for subsequent runs, and replayability is guaranteed.
The actual “running around and shooting at disgusting meat creatures” part feels slightly clunky in a very charming kind of way. The game certainly has its roots set firmly in the 16-bit era, so if you’ve been playing your fair share of Apogee’s Duke Nukum and Bio Menace back in the day, you might feel right at home.
You can purchase A Robot Named Fight from Steam for $ 9.99. For more information, visit the game’s website and follow developer Matt Bitner on Twitter.
