Fights in Tight Spaces Review (Aurumlamina)
They’re really getting creative with the card games out here these days. Increasingly often I’m finding myself hooked on a new entry in the genre with new and unexpected mechanics and features thrown into the mix. Cinematic action, it seems, is one of the popular ones that I’ve been seeing implemented with varying results recently, some of them adding some thrill to the experience while others seem underdeveloped and like more of a distraction. Fortunately, after having finally gotten my hands on Fights in Tight Spaces, I can say that it falls into the former category.
Secret Agent Man
Fights in Tight Spaces is a rogue-like strategic deck-builder that has you taking on the role of an agent from the organization known as Section Eleven. We don’t get much in the way of details but we get the ones that are most important: we’re a bad ass who deals with the worst elements of the criminal underground with our fists. Enemy factions include bikers, inmates, mafiosos, and even ninjas each with their own grunts, sub-bosses, and faction bosses, with every foe having a unique strategy, but predictable, strategy that they use against you. It’s mastering these predictions, making use of the space around you, and building the right combination for your deck of cards that will make you feel like a real action hero as you take them down.
Slaps, Punches, Kicks, and... Knives
Every action you take is based on the cards in your hand and the momentum remaining in the turn. Cards include everything from basic jabs to spinning kicks to suplexes to throwing knives and that there’s a massive variety of them to be unlocked as you level up after each run in rogue-like fashion. The fighting style (read: deck) that you build ends up being something unique each time as you gain a new card after each fight and you may also buy them at stores along the way. One run you may end up being a combo-building kickboxer of sorts while the next you’re much closer to an olympic wrestler with both having their own unique strengths and weaknesses.
Atmospheric Asskicking
The minimalist environment in Fights in Tight spaces plays well with its mechanics. The black and white environments place a focus on the characters who are also quite simple in design, yet each foe you face has their own distinct look to them. Some cards even make use of these environments as you kick off of a wall or vault over a table to maneuver to a better position or simply put a serious hurting on a foe who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Railings and doorways even exist on some levels which can result in the instant elimination of a foe if you knock them through them - or the immediate end of your run if it’s you who gets knocked through them instead.
The Bottom Line
It seems like a lot to seamlessly combine fighting action scenes, a minimalist art style, deckbuilding, and environmental positioning, but Fights in Tight Spaces succeeds in doing just that. Every run is exciting and different while also offering a level of challenge for everyone from casual gamers to hardcore tactical gurus. I’d originally thought that the concept looked interesting from the Steam store page but it wasn’t until I’d finally given in and played it that I discovered what is one of my favorite rogue-likes to date. If you’ve looked it over and like what you see, don’t miss out on this one. It’s a unique experience unlike any other that I’ve had the good fortune to encounter. It’s exactly as much fun as you’d expect it to be when you’re the action hero taking on hardened criminals and turning their own attacks against them.