Furi

2026-06-29

"Furi" is a 2016 game that has only boss matches. The creators didn't have enough budget for anything bigger and decided to scale down. As often is, it gave us an interesting product. No-nonsense, I'd say.

I found out about it through its soundtrack, which has all the best of Bandcamp, to just name Carpenter Brut or Waveshaper. It's a solid synthwave set of music that matches closely the neon visuals that the game is soaked in.

Gameplay

Back in 2018, when I learned about "Furi," I decided that I am not going to play it. The gameplay was too far from what I would play. But, I was enamoured with the design of characters, so I decided to watch the whole thing on YouTube instead. There is a sort of a plot here, with two endings plus one secret, but it all serves as an excuse for the fights. I'm not gonna okay it once again; if you've been following my writings here, you know I'm more than fine with this approach.

I bought "Furi" eventually, first for PC on GOG, then for Nintendo Switch. Both times on discount. I really liked the visuals, but I could not really figure out from the videos what the gameplay was. It was all too fast, too hectic. By the time I got it in my collection, my tastes changed a bit, I went through my Souls-like phase, and I was ready for something else. I killed the first boss and fell on the second one and moved to another games. Many such stories.

The return

A couple of weeks ago, I started watching "Ninja Kumai" on HBO, and this anime reminds of a game more than anything else. No comic book, no 1970s police show, no. A game. Or actually, the game. "Furi." As you probably figured out by now. After 8 episodes, I finally couldn't resist it anymore and returned to the game. I managed to beat the second boss in the first session. This time around, my wife could not figure out the gameplay. But she liked the designs. Great minds think alike.

Those are bosses like from the old games where you had to figure out their gimmicks. Each fight has its rhythm and distinct stages. Nothing that both parts of "Blasphemous" wouldn't prepare me for. Spiritually, I mean. If you're patient, you will be rewarded.

The story goes like this: the Stranger, whom we control, is locked in a prison and tortured, but a guy in a rabbit's head mask frees us, and so the Stranger's journey begins.

The first boss is our jailer. He's very obnoxious and talks a lot and killing him feels like getting rid of so-called asshole victim. Visually, he has multiple faces, like mythological Janus. Or at least, that's how I remembered that; it's been many months since I beat him.

Each boss has a name, but they are not mentioned in the game. If the game doesn't give it to me, I'm not going to use it.

The second boss

The second boss is more twisted: a woman on a single wheel, with legs tied in ankles and arms behind here. Her mask is a giant laser that can open, sort of reminding the Demogorgon. We fight her in 6 stages, and she doesn't talk. The rabbit-head guy explains the Stranger that "they" built a prison within a prison for her, so she can keep escaping without escaping. Matrixian vibes here.

While killing the jailer felt okay, if not well-deserved, there is something not right to killing the Demogorgon lady. It's as if she was a victim here, just unlucky to stand in the way of the Stranger travelling to his undisclosed destination. The way she frees herself from her handcuffs shows a lot of anger and frustration but also pain.

But the Stranger doesn't care. He's silent and methodical, with his heart beating mere 8 times per minute.

I got to the third boss but didn't finish him, so I'll stop here.

But I like how the limited budget allowed to rectify the experience. It would probably be a cool game if we could take the Stranger places and fight low-level scum as well as mid-tier mooks. But it would be a different game. And while it's a fast-paced fighting game on the surface, it's a puzzle game at its core. You need to learn your enemies to defeat them. Fast button-smashing will get you nowhere.