Claws of Furry

While its fun for a time in single-player, Claws of Furry is definitely a brawler with two-to-four player fights in mind. With an abundance of enemies on-screen at any one time, it's the kind of game that's going to be twice as fun with someone sat next to you.

The premise of a beat 'em up with ninja cats is solid but Claws of Furry's messy gameplay simply doesn't allow its concept to shine.

With slow dialogue, repetitive and stressful combat encounters in which enemies glitch out of the map and push you into lava far more than you deserve, and a game length which is rather insulting for the price, I can only be honest and tell you to stay away from Claws of Furry

Overall, whilst I enjoyed my time with Claws of Furry I couldn’t shake the feeling of something being missing from the experience. I love the style, I love the concept, but I can’t help but feel that it’s too simple. It has a true Castle Crashers vibe but none of the complexity, and it just leaves me cold, especially considering the lack of replayability. Yes, this would work really well on an arcade machine, due to it’s easy to learn nature and fantastic graphics style, but in this day and age, I would have expected more for £8.99.

As you continue to play, the cracks start to show once again. Bad enemy AI isn't an unusual occurrence in a game that prides itself on being a strong beat 'em up outing. It all just stings a little.

To help raise the stakes and challenge a bit the game does include a Rogue mode, which will challenge you to beat the game without dying. Especially in single-player that comes off as a bit too extreme, just the alternative is the Pussycat mode, which moves things as far away as possible in the opposite direction, essentially giving you unlimited revives at periodic checkpoints. Playing with some friends certainly helps things feel a bit more balanced and can take on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kind of multiplayer feel to a degree, but going it solo makes the gap between your two options pretty massive, feeling like with both you lose something. Rounding it all out there’s also an Arena mode where you’ll take on waves of enemies, but the mechanics and ultimate lack of variety are consistently what holds the game back. There’s some fun to be had here, especially if you’re a genre fan who has some friends to play with, but it simply doesn’t compare very well to multiple titles already on the Switch.

While the charm of a side-scrolling beat 'em up where cats beat up their mortal enemies sounds very cute and appealing, that initial feeling is quickly taken away. After each level, I was left never left with satisfaction. I just felt glad it was over with. Claws of Fury might be a little more entertaining to play with a group of friends, but if you don't have any friends to play with, you might take a pass on this one.