Quick answer: F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is one of the better Metroidvanias of the last several years and almost nobody talks about it. 81 on Metacritic for PC, 80 on PS5, 79 on Switch, and 80 on OpenCritic with 79% of critics recommending it. It is a dieselpunk side-scroller where you play a rabbit with a giant mechanical fist. Buy the PC, PS5, Xbox Series or Switch version. Avoid the PS4 build, which scored 66. A prequel called Zoopunk is due in 2027.
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
Start with the name, because the name is the problem. F.I.S.T. stands for Forged In Shadow Torch, and it is also literally what the game is about: Rayton, an ex-soldier rabbit, straps on an enormous mechanical fist and punches his way through an occupied city. It's a good joke in a title and a terrible one for discoverability, which is part of why a game sitting in the top 17% of everything OpenCritic tracks went largely unnoticed outside its genre.
The other part is the look. Dieselpunk brass and soot, muted browns and ambers, anthropomorphic animals in trench coats. Screenshots undersell it badly. In motion it's a different proposition entirely.
It reviewed well. Just not on every platform
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
| Version | Released | Metacritic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 3 Oct 2021 | 81 | Best version. Steam and Epic |
| PlayStation 5 | 7 Sep 2021 | 80 | Launch platform, part of Sony's China Hero Project |
| Nintendo Switch | 12 Jul 2022 | 79 | 1080p30 docked, 720p30 handheld. Reviewers flagged long load times |
| Xbox Series X/S | 27 Jun 2023 | — | Last platform to get it. Also on Xbox Cloud Gaming |
| PlayStation 4 | 7 Sep 2021 | 66 | The one to avoid. Only version to review as "mixed" |
That bottom row matters more than any opinion in this review. A fourteen-point gap between the PS4 and PS5 builds of the same game is the difference between a recommendation and a regret, and it's the single most useful thing to know before buying. Game Informer gave it 8.5, Push Square and Destructoid 8, and Nintendo Life 6 for the Switch version specifically.
Players agree with the higher end. Metacritic user score sits at 7.6 across 244 ratings and Steam reviews run about 86% positive. We keep finding this pattern in mid-budget games, most dramatically in our Terminator: Resistance review, though here the critics were already on board.
What it gets right
Three weapons, swappable mid-combo. The fist for close range and raw damage, a drill for mid-range and armour, a whip for reach and crowd control. Each has its own branching skill tree, each opens different traversal options, and switching between them during a fight is fluid rather than fiddly. That's the system the whole game is built on and it holds up for the full run.
The map is well made, which in this genre is the hard part. Locked doors appear near enough to the ability that opens them that backtracking rarely turns into a chore, and checkpoints sit immediately before boss rooms and combat arenas so a failure costs you seconds instead of minutes. For a genre that frequently wastes your time on purpose, it's notably considerate.
The platforming is the quiet highlight. Wall slides and air dashes are standard issue, but the execution is precise and the challenge rooms are built around timing and pattern reading rather than puzzle-solving. An early prison sequence is where most players realise the game is better than it looks.
What it gets wrong, and what got patched
Two complaints dominated the launch reviews, and both have partial answers the original coverage predates.
Bosses settle into patterns. Learn the tells and most fights become repetition. TiGames added a free Boss Rush mode in update 1.20 on 14 December 2021, along with the soundtrack and a mini artbook at no cost. It doesn't redesign the fights, but if the bosses were the part you liked, there's now a mode built entirely out of them.
The late game spikes hard. Several reviewers flagged a brutal difficulty jump near the end. Update 1.03, in September 2021, added an Easy difficulty that can be switched on and off at any point mid-playthrough, plus additional save points and extra quick-travel points before major bosses. Reviews written in the first fortnight describe a game without any of that.
What no patch fixed: enemy animations don't communicate stagger clearly, so you'll regularly commit to a combo on an enemy that was actually winding up to hit you. A simple stun indicator would solve it. Fast travel is still thinner than it should be for a map this size, and the English voice work is uneven even though the writing itself is solid.
There's a prequel coming
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
TiGames announced Zoopunk in January 2025 and showed proper gameplay at the Xbox Partner Preview in November 2025. It's a prequel set decades before F.I.S.T., at the dawn of the First Torch War, when a discovery called fire seed energy drove rapid industrialisation and woke discarded machinery into self-aware war engines.
It is not another Metroidvania. Zoopunk is a 3D action RPG built around a squad: Rayton returns as a veteran swordsman, joined by Braton, a rhino with a flaming greatsword, and Trixie, a chipmunk who chains parkour into aerial attacks. PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, currently slated for 2027 with no firm date.
Which makes now a sensible time to play the first one. It's cheap, it's complete, and it takes about fifteen hours. Going from a 2D Metroidvania to a 3D squad RPG is a big swing for a studio this size, and swings like that don't always land, as the Early Access gamble in our Chernobylite review shows.
Buy, wait or skip
| You are | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A Metroidvania fan | Buy | One of the strongest in the genre since 2020 and the cheapest good one going |
| On PC or PS5 | Buy | 81 and 80 respectively. These are the versions the good reviews describe |
| On Switch | Buy, with one caveat | 79 overall and perfectly playable, but expect long loads and a 30fps cap |
| On PS4 or Xbox One | Skip | The PS4 version scored 66. Play it elsewhere or not at all |
| Put off by difficulty | Buy anyway | Easy mode was added in 2021 and toggles mid-game. Reviews mentioning the spike predate it |
| You bounce off backtracking | Think twice | It is still a Metroidvania, and fast travel is sparse |
Where to get it
Standard price is $29.99 on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S, and it discounts hard and often, with 70 percent off showing up regularly.
Before you buy, check two things. It has been a free giveaway on the Epic Games Store, so if you claimed Epic freebies in that period you may already own it. It also appeared on PS Plus Extra from December 2024, and the Xbox Series release has been available through Game Pass. Look in your libraries first. There's also a free Steam demo, and saves from the current demo carry into the full game.
Microids produced physical PS5, PS4 and Switch editions in September 2022, including a Limited Edition with a SteelBook, if you want it on a shelf.
Verdict
Recommended, and underrated. Three weapons that genuinely change how you fight, platforming sharper than the genre average, and a map that respects your time. Bosses get predictable and the stagger feedback is poor, but at thirty dollars, usually far less, those are small complaints. Buy it on PC, PS5, Xbox Series or Switch. Not on PS4. Assessed against the current patched build including Boss Rush and the added difficulty options.
Frequently asked questions
What does F.I.S.T. stand for?
Forged In Shadow Torch. It's also a pun on the main character's weapon, a huge mechanical fist, and on Torch City where the game is set.
Which version should I buy?
PC first at 81 on Metacritic, then PS5 at 80 and Switch at 79. The Xbox Series version is fine. Avoid the PS4 build, which is the only one reviewed as mixed at 66.
Is it too hard?
Not any more. Update 1.03 in September 2021 added an Easy difficulty you can switch on and off at any time, plus extra save and quick-travel points before major bosses. Reviews complaining about the late-game spike were written before that update.
How long is it?
Around 15 hours for the main story, longer if you hunt collectibles and max the skill trees. There's also a free Boss Rush mode added in December 2021.
Is there a sequel?
A prequel. Zoopunk is set decades before F.I.S.T. at the start of the First Torch War, and it's a 3D squad-based action RPG rather than a Metroidvania. Announced for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2027.
Is it on Game Pass or PS Plus?
It has been on both at various points, including PS Plus Extra from December 2024, and it was given away free on the Epic Games Store. Subscription catalogues rotate, so check the current listing before paying for it.
Who made it?
TiGames, a Shanghai studio, built it in Unreal Engine 4 under Sony's China Hero Project. Bilibili published it, with Astrolabe Games and Microids handling some regions and the physical editions.
Where to go next
- Terminator: Resistance, the mid-budget game critics and players disagreed about most
- Chernobylite, a small studio that kept improving its game for years
- Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed, where the version you buy also changes what you get
- Why smaller studios keep outperforming the big ones
- Why the best game you play this year probably isn't the biggest
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