Final Fury Could Become A Must-Play VR Fighting Game

It's not often you find yourself scrapping with developers in a hotel, but GDC can present unexpected professional opportunities.

There's no shortage of beat 'em ups across VR gaming, yet more traditionally inspired fighting games are something of a rarity. Taking influence from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, Final Fury has been on my radar for the last two years, and the fast-paced 1v1 fighting game has seen some notable changes. Kluge Interactive (Synth Riders) ended up redesigning the combat controls, and I'd say that's paid off handsomely.

Fighting one of Kluge's staff on Quest 3, our third-floor hotel fight took place across three rounds. Each round needs you to win two out of three matches that last 90 seconds, and I could choose between four playable characters with strong variety. There's decent variety to fit various individual play styles. For example, Niko prioritizes mobility for more agile strategies, Glitch gives you less power but better range, while Tempest presents a nice all-rounder option.

Acclimatizing to the controls didn't take long, and Final Fury gives each character a group of common moves that soon feel natural. Raising your hands close to your face like a high guard in The Thrill of the Fight 2 creates a shield, while mimicking a “bear hug” motion lets you grab opponents. The latter option temporarily zooms you out with a third-person camera, which takes you out of the fight briefly at the cost of immersion, but it's a sensible choice that keeps the experience comfortable.

Each character comes with a compelling set of unique special moves, which generally feel straightforward to use without any complicated motions. For example, Glitch can place mines across the field by aiming and shooting, letting me dictate where an opponent can move without taking damage. Niko can summon electrical fields for close range damage, giving you a breather if someone gets too close. Finally, one of Tempest's special moves is an Arctic Blast ability that's basically Street Fighter's Hadouken attack. I had issues activating Arctic Blast as the game struggled to register the necessary motion, though Kluge informed me that's since been fixed.

One of my prior concerns was how the game's camera and movement options would work, but these worries were unfounded. Final Fury uses artificial stick-based locomotion, moving with the left stick and strafing with the right stick while keeping your camera fixed on your opponent's position. This feels comfortable during fights.

I particularly like the sense of embodiment that Final Fury provides. With a flatscreen fighting game, perceiving someone's planned moves can be trickier if they aren't being too obvious, or you aren't catching glances at their controller, but VR adds a refreshing twist. You aren't trying to telegraph a specific button press combo your opponent spent ages memorizing, and the physical movements with each action makes it trickier to mask your intent.

Personally, I like the challenge this introduces and the sense of reward that offers upon beating an opponent. Finding several of my attempted grabs being dodged at the last second doesn't leave me frustrated, but rather, how can I do better next time? It certainly helps that my online experience has been quite smooth so far during matches, and I'm pleased that Kluge is using rollback netcode.

As someone who spent countless hours on Soulcalibur IV as a teen, I was disappointed to learn you can't throw people out of the arenas, though there are some things fighting fans should appreciate. The character intros when a match starts are a nice touch to give each character some personality, and there's a great atmosphere boosted by colorful stages and an energetic soundtrack.

I'm impressed by what I've seen, though I need more time to determine whether any characters feel unbalanced. I've also yet to try the offline modes. So far, it's a promising start, and Final Fury could become a must-play for classic fighting game fans. The controls feel great, winning is highly satisfying, and that's all boosted by a strong presentation. A lot can change between now and launch, but the early signs are positive.

Final Fury is “coming soon” to Steam and the Meta Quest platform, and an Alpha playtest is currently live on both platforms.