Technicolor Madness (Furi Review)

QUICK FACTS:

Developer: The Game Bakers
Initial Release Date: July 5, 2016

Platforms: PS4, PC

Rating: M - Violence, Strong Language

WARNING: THIS GAME IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN OR YOUNGER TEENS

Imagine a rave party. See yourself dancing among crazy people as they light up sticks and throw them around the room to the beat of a song that people only know the chorus of. It seems pretty fun, but it suddenly turns into an open mic night and some demented Peter Cottontail rises to share his story.

With each utterance out of his fuzzy mouth you become slightly more confused as the pace of the party is slowly murdered. Suddenly, without warning he teleports to a different place in the room. He continues talking to no one in particular about how people will do anything for love. You sit in silence as the party seems to crawl to a halt.

Without warning, he disappears and the beat to a totally different song starts. The room floods with different colors than before, but you continue partying because that is what you came to do, no matter how confused you are. Now, imagine this cycle continuing for a couple of hours. This is what your brain on Furi looks like.

It starts off simple enough, all you have to do is beat the jailer. The controls are simple and smooth, allowing you to easily pick them up and learn the ropes quickly. A decent soundtrack pounds in the background as slashes of lights and color fill the screen. With each sword swipe you get closer to beating the first of many opponents. When you do, the confusing tedium begins.

The demented rabbit man, who set you free from some kind of prison, arrives and starts talking. Not to you specifically, since your character neither speaks or responds, but to himself. Every line of dialogue out of the mouth of the purple disco bunny reminded me of a fortune cookie. Something that is a universal truth or opinion that could be applied to anything.

While he is talking about random things, you walk. Actually, a better description would be that the game walks for you. After a long tedious battle, the game wants to give it's players a break. It would be a little bit more bearable if the character walked quickly, or if he didn't have to walk ten miles between each battle, but it's nice if you like that sort of thing. You do have the option to take control away from the game, but it will punish you. The same oddball logic applied to the dialogue is used for the walking controls. Want to go left? Well then all you gotta do is press left, wait right...no up...I mean down! The camera will continue to change perspective on you, as if it is just as lost as you are. At least there is an easy solution to this. Press one button and the game will continue on it's slow and merry way to the next fight.

The intriguing thing is that the controls INSIDE the arena are tight and responsive. It's Furi's comfort zone. The arenas are filled with lights and color, and I found each battle to be genuinely exciting. It feels like an accomplishment to beat the unique strategies of each enemy. They are a threat and once conquered, they can provide one of the most satisfying feelings I've experienced since Dark Souls. But, once the fighting is over, the game congratulates you and takes you on a walk again.

So why have the walking at all? I guess some might argue that the game should have a story, or that the breaks are necessary because a game with one hard fight after another would be too intense. Although that could be true, I think the long breaks where I sat and did nothing while listening to some weird purple suited bunny philosophize was a little much.

Overall I really enjoyed this game, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a short, action oriented adventure with a steep, satisfying challenge and gorgeous art style. Don't expect a deep story, because there isn't one. If you're okay with that, and with taking five minute breaks between fights, then you should slice your way through this technicolor madness...just ignore the demented purple Peter Cottontail. He will always ruin a good rave party.

Also, the game is free on Playstation Plus as of the time of this writing (which I got it) so if you want to take advantage of it, now is a good time!