Forestrike Reviews
Forestrike's tactical martial arts inspired action does a wonderful job of combining combat and puzzle solving to make for a clever roguelite that will test your wits and reflexes in equal measure.
Overall, however, while Forestrike boasts strong gameplay and a lovely, abstract pixel-art aesthetic, its core hook removes a sense of risk. This is definitely a difficult game at its heart, but the ability to practise your runs with no consequences dulls its edge a bit too much.
Forestrike is an entertaining blend of puzzle game and martial arts brawler, allowing you to experiment with different tactics. The different masters also provide variety with ability combinations that make each run unique. Running into some impossible fights that you simply can't beat and the crashing issue on Switch 2 do take some of the shine off the experience, though.
Forestrike is an interesting attempt to create something new within the roguelike genre. At the same time, the developers do not alienate players who simply want to enjoy the local story without excessive challenge.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Forestrike is a martial arts mix of crunchy roguelite systems.
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Some stability issues still hold Forestrike back but when it's working, and it mostly does, it really works. The foresight mechanic is an excellent way to unlock fluid combat scenarios and it has the right amount of strategy required to be more than a mindless button masher. But you will need to find the right timing to mash the buttons so there is a level of skill required, but ample opportunity to practice your way to mastery. There is enough variety between the disciplines and the roguelike nature of earning skills and items on each run to keep things interesting long past when you get your money's worth from a title that only comes in at 10 bucks to begin with.
Forestrike is an action rogue-like where players can practice every battle before it occurs by using the Foresight. This system in and of itself is fun, but the game can’t get out of its own way with unfair balancing that punishes the player regardless of performance. Even so, when the gameplay works, it works wonderfully, with an excellent sense of aesthetics and a strong story and characters to back it up.
As an action game and a roguelike, Forestrike is a satisfying, if challenging, experience. By allowing the player to foresee fights and predict their foes’ next moves, it turns what would be a by-the-numbers 2D fighting game into a more thoughtful experience built around memorisation, timing and strategy. While it drags anytime you have to claw yourself back following a game over, Forestrike makes up for it with its varied combat system and appealing aesthetics. If you’re a roguelike fan or an action fan, there’s a lot to like about Forestrike, and it’s certainly worth jumping into.
It's easy to get muddled in the endless sea of roguelikes, but occasionally, you wander on one that feels really special. Forestrike ticks that box. With a simple premise and a great combination of pick-up-and-play combat and involved strategy, Forestrike makes for a mighty fine martial arts adventure.
Forestrike comes with a refreshingly clever premise. Its seemingly bare-bones combat system actually hides a surprising amount of depth, while its Roguelike layer is the opposite-flashy on the surface but primitive where it truly counts.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Forestrike is a ton of fun. It's easy to look at it and assume it's just another beat-'em-up, but the surprisingly rigid and strict rules of combat make it feel a lot more like a themed puzzled game than a standard action title. It's intensely satisfying to emerge victorious from difficult situations and seemingly overwhelming combat. Only a few balance issues drag down the game, but they're not that serious. Puzzle and beat-'em-up fans should give Forestrike a shot.
Fun action roguelite inspired by classic martial arts movies
Forestrike is certainly a unique roguelite beat 'em up where reflection and methodical thinking prevail before actual combat, thanks to a gameplay element (Foresight) with a simple yet functional concept. As expected, the genre's typical repetitiveness is noticeable over time, while the simple parametric components make the game suitable for those who don't like having too many values to keep track of. The story serves merely as a backdrop to the gameplay of Skeleton Crew Studio's title, although the interaction with the five masters of Yu offers its own small insights, the only aggravating factor being the lack of Italian localization. The pixel art style is noteworthy, offering a pleasant and nostalgic feel. Unfortunately, the real issue we encountered while testing Forestrike was the frequency of crashes, which made the experience unpleasant, compromising any progress made in most cases. I trust the developers to release a patch that can fix everything, but for now, if I had to give Forestrike a rating now, especially considering the technical aspects, it would be far from the abundant pass it deserved.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An initially frustrating puzzle-action-hybrid that quickly reveals itself as a revelatory meditation on perseverance, Forestrike is an odd anomaly worth experiencing.
Forestrike features an interesting concept and aesthetic I appreciate, but can feel unbalanced.
The option to do a test run before battles – as often as you like – is certainly convenient for players but it doesn't guarantee victory and still keeps the battles from becoming trivial. I had a lot of fun experimenting with the various combat skills: they significantly influenced the battles and created just the right "one more run" mentality that makes the Roguelite genre so special for me. Unfortunately, the game often crashed on Switch 2 which led to unnecessary frustration and perhaps you've seen "everything" the game has to offer a little too quickly.
Review in German | Read full review
My complaints with Forestrike are ultimately quite minor, though. It’s an incredibly unique action game that requires a great deal of planning and foresight to see your way to the end. If you aren’t able to slow down and approach a game with patience than it won’t be for you but if you’re willing to meet it where it is you’ll find a compelling game which feels entirely singular.
Forestrike is a gorgeous-looking game with an innovative two-part combat system, which adds a striking sense of freshness to its roguelite form. However, the cerebral combat can feel rather slow and constrictive at times, and the game’s meticulous, mechanical complexity and harsh punishment for small mistakes might be too much for some – myself included. But those with the skill, reflexes and patience to master the intricate combat might well be swept off their feet, in more ways than one.