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WATCH VICE GAMING'S SHORT FILM ON THE MAKING OF ANOTHER POTENTIAL CULT CLASSIC, 'HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER'
God Hand is entirely fighting focused—that is all there is to it, save for between-level breaks to shop for new techniques or visit a casino to make money (or, if you're me and you've never understood poker, lose it). So that the game makes it so damn fiddly to line a boot up with an enemy's supposed-to-be-broken jaw is just, what kind of design is this?But then you get it. I get it. I actually like how God Hand makes you work, really work, to get the most out of its combat, even if I'm not so hot at it. It's intriguing design, a very deliberate choice—it's supposed to feel awkward in your hands, like no other fighting game. Gene—the titular God Hand is actually his whole right arm, which has magical powers and can be charged up to dish out incredible damage—can be quickly torn apart by any level of enemy, if you're not sharp on the sticks and quick on the buttons. And because the control scheme is so unusual, it keeps you frosty. Mapping new techniques into the combos is fun, and even when you're larking about on the game's easiest difficulty, there's still a challenge here. As evidenced when its first sub-bosses, a pair by the names of Mr. Gold and Mr. Silver, cause me to select continue for the first time.
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