Punch A Bunch

released on Jan 20, 2023

A challenging boxing game with an emphasis on player skill that takes time and practice to master. Fight your way to the top through 3 different championships each featuring unique opponents.


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I was really hyped for this game as i watched every pontypants dev log about it. So when it came out, i bought it and it disappointed me a lot. The game is only made by one person, which is very impressive as the amount of polish on the main game is well done.

My main issue with the game is the combat which is unique and a fun idea, but in reality very annoying and hard to use. I don't mind games where the combat is difficult to get into and you have to master it to succeed, but punch a bunch decides to include very difficult and annoying boss fights wit WAY too much health, which makes trying to learn incredibly annoying.

So overall, for a one man made game, it's very unique and a cool idea, but the combat really wasn't working for me, and being thrown into annoying and tedious boss fights at the beginning made me put down the game permanently.

Really unique boxing game made by one developer. Probably inspired by Punch Out! Controls takes some getting used too, there is a easier control scheme integrated if you can't get used too it tho. Enemys are challenging and for some of them you really need to think about a solid strategy, cause they are different from each other. Hitting some insane combos is really fun. Would wait for a sale tho, for 15€ it was a bit too expensive imo

It’s a fun little game, could control a little better and obviously be more polished but it’s a one-man game, the fact that it even exists is a miracle

Definitely one of the better solo dev projects I've played, but suffers from a lot of of the usual pitfalls when you have one guy doing literally everything. Loved the feedback when you get a good combo going, but the controls have this sort of "hard to learn, easy to master" thing where once you figure out all you need is to block and return fire it really all becomes about managing the bosses' special moves. Still a lot of fun if you invest some time to get used to it, but won't keep you around very long unless you're a completionist.

Best way to describe this is an Indie 3D Punch-out! game.

Made by a singular guy, it is quite impressive. While I recommend this game it is a bit on the edge, this is for a couple reasons. Firstly, there are some fights that are honestly enraging. Even now I have beaten the game, there are some moves I do not understand how to avoid. Maybe that is a lack of skill on my part, but not knowing how to deal with a stun move that has no starting animation (Puppet), or how I learned how to avoid the Astronauts lasers from a steam forum, it can feel maddening. And within you constantly failing, you are forced back to the start of the championship, which means you must repeatedly do fights you've already figured out and can now easily beat. Basically, every 4 losses you must waste your time for a couple minutes.

Also I beat this game in 3 hours, and that's WITH failing a lot. I understand this is made by one very talented man and I applaud him, but 3 hours of content for 12 or 15 dollars is a little steep. I think adding online multiplayer would justify this price much more, but I imagine that's a highly difficult thing to do. I could likely get more play-time if I were to collect all the stars for each fight, but I think I'd rip my hair out trying to do that. Especially the "beat in 30 seconds" star that exists for every fight, I have no clue how you're supposed to beat some of these guys in just 30 seconds, it seems impossible to me.

I'm complaining a lot, mostly just cause I got mad a lot, but this is well made game with care put into it, I'd still suggest checking it out. There is a wealth of good cosmetics to unlock, and the enemies are interesting, unique, and engaging, despite me hating some of them.

If you think 12 to 15 dollars sounds fair for 3-5 hours of content, go for it. I don't regret my purchase.

very early review, subject to change -

boxing games are a big big favorite of mine, i'm always on the looking for something new that scratches a very particular itch for 'deeper' controls (i.e. with controls beyond the punch-out dpad style) & a lot of dudes to beat up. punch a bunch hits that spot, sort of - it does have a very solid control scheme. you use the left joystick for lower body movement (walking) & the right for upper body movement (moving arms & torso for blocking & changing punching directions); left trigger blocks, left back trigger dashes, right trigger punches. with that, you can do a lot - dashing in and out with high jabs to stun your opponent, getting in close and lobbing body shots from the left and right, charging up and dashing in for a really crunchy knockout. everything feels solid, the ropes on the ring stretch as you back into them, your punches land right where you'd expect them to and hit with real force.

you'll notice though that everything above has to do with the player character, and this is where a lot of other boxing games fail, is that they fail to utilize that mechanical flexibility in the opponents. the evil boxers here, starting around the intermediate series of matches, all start to become punch-out style arcade fights. everyone has a bunch of special moves to throw at you, shit like spin kicks and sumo slams and missiles!!! which just saps so much of the fun out for me. punch-out has it's place, but i'm annoyed that whenever i talk about a boxing game i keep having to reference it because developers refuse to look past it for inspiration. they don't entirely lose me here, though, because the later fights aren't necessarily tooo difficult, and you end up having to apply those central attacking & defending skills throughout, even if it gets really arcade-y. i just want a straight forward boxing game so bad! there's a rich history of varied and unique boxers out there, it'd be easy to make a game with mechanics like punch a bunch (or even something in vr..... one can dream) but without the fantasy elements, strictly drawing from the fighting styles of the greats, throw in some good tutorial modes, and you could keep that going forever. if they kept adding a few new fighters every now and again i would probably flunk out of college. i think that might be one of my dream video games