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Game
Game2021
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
Developer TiGames
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is a 2021 metroidvania video game developed by TiGames and published by Bilibili. It was released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on September 7, 2021, followed by a Windows port on October 3, 2021. The game launched on the Nintendo Switch in July 2022. It also released for Xbox Series X/S in June 2023. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
298 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
137 positive · 39 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 137 | 39 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 34 | 2 | 71 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 6 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
719 of 836 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
78% recommend · 139 yes, 39 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 178 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (6,300 of 7,303 positive).
Players praise the game's visuals, combat, and world design. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note performance issues and tedious backtracking. [4][5][6] Several players consider it an overlooked metroidvania. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
Plenty of passion, not enough play testers. I really wanted to like this game, and I did at first. As the game went on it started to slow down and quickly become cluttered with awful enemy encounters and some of the most tedious backtracking I have ever encountered. The combat system is fun at first until you realize why all your attacks feel off is because all the moves have to be unlocked which is fine, however …
- [7]
Originally played through this game on Epic (free game giveaway) and enjoyed it so much that I had to buy it on Steam to support the devs. FIST has to be one of the most overlooked and slept on metroidvanias out there. If you're a fan of metroidvanias this one is a must-play.
- [9]
F.i.s.t. was a surprisingly well crafted metroidvania, that deserves way more praise. The story and world building were quite enjoyable, the map design was excellent and so were the power ups and upgrades unlocked throughout the story. It is a more combo based action game, with an emphasis on exploration and slowly building your skills to their former glory, as opposed to Nine Souls, Blasphemous and Hollow Knight …
- [5]
This gets a positive rating only because I like combat-oriented metroidvanias. It's an average game, that every big aspect should have been done better. Exploration sucks - the most important thing in metroidvanias, here you have few fast travels in weird places (it absolutely needed fast travel to every save point) and almost zero incentive to backtrack and look for secrets, there are few items to look for (like …
- [1]
---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Masterpiece ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run …
Summarised from 34 of the 284 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch talk about beautiful graphics and detailed world; those who didn't talk about performance issues like stuttering. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
F.I.S.T. received "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic for the PlayStation 5, Windows, and Switch versions. The PlayStation 4 version of the game received "mixed or average reviews". Marcus Stewart of Game Informer rated the game 8.5/10, calling it "another fine example of an exploration-focused side-scroller". He praised the combat and multiple unlockable weapons, though he criticized the game's dearth of fast travel points. John Cal McCormick of Push Square rated the game 8/10 stars, praising the graphics as "astonishing" and the characters as charming, but called some of the game's translation "clunky". Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer rated the game 4/5, calling it a "must-buy…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 298 · most liked firstUncle Joe from the video game F.I.S.T. literally burstin' at the seams 😛
neutral · AI labelView post →A two page 1988 ad from the United Kingdom for F.I.S.T., phone-based RPG adventures presented by Steve Jackson F.I.S.T. stood for Fantasy Interactive Scenarios by Telephone where players call in, create a character (which was saved), and dial-battle through a narrated dungeon crawling experience!
neutral · AI labelView post →Zoopunk using A.I. is fucking tragic since it's the same devs that made F.I.S.T. Like... they have shown they can make an amazing game completely with human hands, why turn to the darkside?
negative · AI labelView post →unused covers for the prototype version of FIST, which was a more traditional PbtA game with playbooks, mechanicalized interpersonal bonds, and a more adversarial/deceptive GM called the Commander
neutral · AI labelView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Masterpiece ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run Paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →F.I.S.T is an amazing game and well worth picking up.
positive · AI labelView post →In somewhat unexpected but welcome news to end the year on, HDK are releasing a new soundtrack by Gnoll for Steve Jackson’s F.I.S.T. on Dec 30 Which reminds me i should treat myself to the box set of the game @soundrealms.bsky.social released earlier this year soundrealms.com/products/fis...
neutral · AI labelView post →[Epic Games] F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch | 100% Off/Giveaway.
neutral · AI labelView post →Rusty Rabbit, a 2.5D Metroidvania just announced at the Tokyo Game Show. Out in 2024. Looks stylistically similar to F.I.S.T. Looking at the trailer, maybe it has split screen multiplayer. Will have a traditional Metroidvania overworld with some rouge like procedurally generated dungeons
neutral · AI labelView post →There are SO MANY people doing interesting, fun things in TTRPGS these days that I get kinda pissed when I go into a game store and see precisely two flavors, Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Electric Bastionland! F.I.S.T.! Lancer! Golden Sky Stories! Thirsty Sword Lesbians! And so much more!
neutral · AI labelView post →I want to like Zoopunk because I really liked F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch but seeing that trailer and then immediately seeing that there's gen AI in the game was such an immediate mood killer man
neutral · AI labelView post →Game 318: F.I.S.T. - Forged In Shadow Torch A really solid metroidvania starring a little rabbit dude armed with a huge metal fist. I love its melee-based combat system, and the huge dieselpunk world is a ton of fun to explore too, not to mention how stunning it looks at times.
positive · AI labelView post →Originally played through this game on Epic (free game giveaway) and enjoyed it so much that I had to buy it on Steam to support the devs. FIST has to be one of the most overlooked and slept on metroidvanias out there. If you're a fan of metroidvanias this one is a must-play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →F.I.S.T. was ic's game of the year in 2021, Brandon and I both love it
positive · AI labelView post →[Epic Games] F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch. Store description: > Explore more than a dozen unique areas in a Metroidvania style map. The Fist, Drill, and Whip are three weapons with completely different fighting styles that offer seamless switching between high combo, high damage, and long range attacks. **Steam reviews**: 89%
neutral · AI labelView post →F.I.S.T is an anthropomorphic metroidvania that explores many ideas, both in gameplay decisions and story chapters, both done to a satisfying degree… Seeing the review score that this game garnered makes me feel a bit sad for it. Yes, the game has performance issues (if you have modern hardware, you will be fine. It will traversal-stutter and shader-stutter, but it’s not so bad to ruin the whole game), and yes, the developers moved on without fixing them, which is a shameful thing to do, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked the demo, don't buy the entire game yet. At least wait for a discount. The demo was good but a few hours into the full game it changes noticeably and just starts to be borderline annoying. Especially the dash system — you need exact time and precision to get it right, sometimes 10 times in a row. At 33% completion of the main plot (well, let's call it a plot) I stopped having fun completely and quit.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Plenty of passion, not enough play testers. I really wanted to like this game, and I did at first. As the game went on it started to slow down and quickly become cluttered with awful enemy encounters and some of the most tedious backtracking I have ever encountered. The combat system is fun at first until you realize why all your attacks feel off is because all the moves have to be unlocked which is fine, however the problem then becomes much worse when enemies very quickly start ignoring…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played my first ttrpg game (F.I.S.T) in a super long time, played as this dipshit. He sucks so hard it rules. Tried to get the helicopter pilot to leave w/o the leader, so i'd be in charge. Failed. Got upset and tried to do a cool ninja exit of the helicopter. 2 nat 1s. Got hurt.
neutral · AI labelView post →Working on my newest PC for a game of F.I.S.T we’re gonna be playing. An ultra weeb who has a super annoyed samurai demon who is forced to protect him as punishment for past crimes.
neutral · AI labelView post →For anyone considering buying the game and planning to play with a controller: don't buy it until the developer team fixes the parry mechanism, as so many reviews have pointed out. The first portion of the game is okay, but when parry becomes a thing starting from the middle of the game, some of the fights are a torture. You encounter bosses that basically require the use of parry but if you are using a controller, you won't be able to parry consistently. The process becomes very frustrating as…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun game to go through. The presentation is very good, the music is not bad and the controls and combat moves of your character are quite good. While some fights could be challenging, the game is quite easy, partly because you end up with so much health at some point that you don't need to play very well to get though most of the game. Also the game does not feel like it has been well thought out in that the combat system is very rich and lets you do long and convoluted combos if…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I see why this game wasn't so popular. At first glance it seems good but the more i play the more I hate it. This game chooses to take the worst parts of other games and complies it into this mess. Using anything but mashing the attack button is completely useless, combs never work and you have to go to an upgrade station to look at how to do the combos again. About 1/4th of the game is spent underwater and my god is it trash just like every other game with water levels. The character moves…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →F.I.S.T = Fun, Intelligent, Side-Scroller with Talking Wabbits. For a metroidvania style game it's fun and if you think Steampunk is an interesting aesthetic for game design wait until you experience Dieselpunk! The fighting mechanics and upgrade system is similar to other games of this genre; However, I won't be getting in to that because I'm lazy and it's slightly a spoiler in ways. The animations and character design are well done and perfectly fit the narrative of F.I.S.T. The music is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really good metroidvania and unfortunately rarely talked about. I loved the 3D backgrounds and bosses. Combat sometimes felt clunky because I couldn't get the timings correctly, but if someone can manage it, that must look beautiful like dance! I switched weapons for combos only in trials, because I was so bad at combining them during normal gameplay. Exploration feels great, there is quite a bit to unlock - including new attacks for each weapon. It nails everything a metroidvania should…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →F.i.s.t. was a surprisingly well crafted metroidvania, that deserves way more praise. The story and world building were quite enjoyable, the map design was excellent and so were the power ups and upgrades unlocked throughout the story. It is a more combo based action game, with an emphasis on exploration and slowly building your skills to their former glory, as opposed to Nine Souls, Blasphemous and Hollow Knight which flirt more with the souls-like tag. It is by no means a braindead easy…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch is so goated for having the art book just literally attached to the game. You can just look at it
positive · AI labelView post →Yo Bluesky, I'm Andrew! I'm an indie TTRPG developer, writer and video editor. Currently working on an adventure for ClaymoreRPG's F.I.S.T Jam and a revision of STARCROSS ARENA, a tactical wargame that uses a chess set. Hoping to follow other game designers and creatives for inspo :)
neutral · AI labelView post →♡ TLDR ♡ Mid little metroidvania that turns extra sour at the end, leaving me bitter and wanting it to just be over. Overall, if I were to look past the final boss frustration - This game is just so very average. Its nothing special - and it is easy to say you wont be missing out bypassing it. There are so many other incredible gems to find out there. I beat it with 28.9 hours but I cant tell you how much of that I was AFK. Howlongtobeat says 12.5-20.5 hours. $16.00 USD seems reasonable, if…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ohh F.I.S.T. is a very good game (a nice Metroidvania with a cool melee combat system), Looking forward to this
positive · AI labelView post →Spent some time playing the old telephone game F.I.S.T by Steve Jackson (UK one). My map making went wonky and I got killed in a fight
neutral · AI labelView post →TL;DR: yes Pros: + Nice world. Immersive. + Looks so good. Graphics very nice and detailed. + Combat can actually be quite complex and is satisfying once you get some combos down that work for you. + 3 very different weapons that you will prefer depending on your play style. + Nice soundtrack (I wish the repeating loud noise on the main menu could be muted so I can listen to the music!) + Not normally a fan of animal-people but it just works with Chinese folklore. + Would…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Epic] F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch. Metroidvania for Windows, free [again](https://lemmings.world/post/2464208) on Epic Games until 1st August
neutral · AI labelView post →In 1988 Steve Jackson premiered the first interactive play by phone game: F.I.S.T! Otherwise known as Fantasy Interactive Scenarios by Telephone! Here’s my history of that remarkable innovation, featuring original audio from the game! #FightingFantasy #GamesWorkshop
neutral · AI labelView post →This gets a positive rating only because I like combat-oriented metroidvanias. It's an average game, that every big aspect should have been done better. Exploration sucks - the most important thing in metroidvanias, here you have few fast travels in weird places (it absolutely needed fast travel to every save point) and almost zero incentive to backtrack and look for secrets, there are few items to look for (like enhancers for HP, SP etc) but running somewhere and spending long minutes…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good metroidvania with several flaws. I agree with other reviewers that said it is less than the sum of its parts. Combat is decent but becomes overly complicated as there is a combo system that really doesn't come into play except for the exceedingly difficult "training." Enemies can stunlock you and can feel unfair. Last two bosses are absolutely overpowered and feel totally out of spirit with the rest of the game. My biggest gripe? Fast travel points are sparse and map navigation is tedious…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After completing Forged Shadow Torch City on PS5, I played it again on PC for another 16 hours. I highly recommend this game—it boasts stunning visuals, smooth combat, and is a rare high-quality Metroidvania title. I really hope for a sequel and can't wait to see more!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Maybe the best metroidvania I've ever played. Great art direction, platforming, beautiful world design and likeable characters. The game isnt insanely difficult but quite challenging in places, feels a bit long maybe for a MV at around 12 hours but they really went all out in terms of puzzles, super fun combos and overall just very smooth to play. you really cant ask for more when it comes to these kinds of games. The dev team did an amazing job.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first 5 TTRPGs in the order I played them 1. D20 Modern 2. Magical Burst (Homebrew Persona Hack) 3. Ark City Arcane Blues (my own game) 4. F.I.S.T. 5. Mothership (about a week ago) I wanted to play a lot of games but scheduling is difficult.
neutral · AI labelView post →one of the best games iv played ... made me remember Jazz Jackrabit from the old days
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Biggest drawbacks, and they are HUGE for me. Exploring is a big NO, the map layouts and shortcuts are just terrible. The movment is poor, the game feels like it eats alot of my inputs, and therefor makes to many of the attacks from enemies not possible to be avoided. The game migth be focused around combos for attacks, but everything more than a 3 attack combo is never happening in combat against any enemy that would not judt die long before the combo is finished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game, coming from Ori series this Metroidvania is just amazing. The art work, the bosses fights are really hard and intense but fun overall. Easy 9 out of 10 for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Acceptable One thing that's annoying is the cutscene before each boss fight that you have to watch every time you try it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nov. 2-9 — F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch will be free on the Epic Game Store. It's a good game!
positive · AI labelView post →www.twitch.tv/dariusthesnow Goood Morning Lodge Members in one hour we will be streaming F.I.S.T With a new game afterwards DO NOT STEAL MY HOT CHOCOLATE its cold outside! Come inside your own hot chocolate is waiting on the counter!
neutral · AI labelView post →Played almost two hours of F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch on Game Pass, and this game is excellent?! About to be my favourite Metroidvania to be honest! I got the second weapon, which is a massive drill; and the combos are f**kin’ stellar/hyped?! I am excited to play more after Rainbow Billy!
positive · AI labelView post →I played this game to prepare for the upcoming Zoopunk, since I saw that game's trailer and was very intrigued. The Chinese saw the bad press furries got ever since RainFurrest, and made a competent Metroidvania to boost their image. I had a lot of fun and it started off very strong, and while the cracks were starting to show around the midpoint, it did its best to finish strong. Gameplay Alright. You navigate through dashing, wall-jumping, double jumping. You also get 3 weapons to use in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played all of it on the steam deck, ran great for the most part but there were some instances where textures would not load after a few seconds. Didnt mess with the gameplay or anything but did happen, over all a very good metroidvania, easy for the most part until the very end the bosses get really hard for no reason. Cool style, highly recommened.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7/10 + platforming - combat so much ♥♥♥♥ you cant dodge and some bosses will delete 70% of you health in 1 second - healing is slowww and very limited + voice acting + high quality cutscenes + story + 16$ price + free music
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And another game beaten! F.I.S.T. was really good! I've wanted to play this one for a long time, I'm glad I finally did it.
positive · AI labelView post →It's just mid. Also, very bad dodging system.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combos are really hard to time, game does not respond well to input. Would be good but I'd generally just frustrating to get it to do what you want.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not really sure what to say besides good things and it is fun. It is what you'd expect from a metroidvania. In terms of movements it has double jump, gliding, (air) dashing, wall climbing, and platforming. And of course a lot of back tracking once you get new abilities. The game does do the old forumla of go to a new area, explore 70%+ the first time you've arrive, move onto the next map, and repeat until the end of the game. I love that the game mark most of the collectibles on your map when…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I go sleep, got a stream tomorrow and the F.I.S.T. after that then session 0 for my first Pathfinder 2e game on saturday THEN Lancer on Sunday need my energy
neutral · AI labelView post →Do a barrel roll
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LIVE 🔴 I'm doing Part II of my New Year indie game showcase with F.I.S.T, Murder on the Yangtze, Detention and Ghostlore! twitch.tv/atramentum_x
neutral · AI labelView post →Do you remember a game from 2003 called BlowOut? Of course you don't. If this game had released in 2003, it might be remembered in the same breath as BlowOut. But it didn't and released in 2021 instead, and as such, by today's standards this is simply a bad game. It is an absolute slog to get through but I persevered more so out of spite than actual enjoyment. BlowOut 20 years later is more memorable than this will ever be in 20 years. In a world where we've gotten some of the best in the genre…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had a great deal of fun playing this game! fun until the very end of the game. I highly recommend this game! don't even have a second thought about playing it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This looks like a great time to be had at any table! Check it out, F.I.S.T. Is an awesome game.
positive · AI labelView post →I've been experimenting with this a bit myself. One problem is that people speak strangely in video games. I don't normally run around telling people I'm gonna kick their but and throw lightning bolts at them so it's not obvious that I'm getting much grammar or vocabulary help. But I do end up listening to a bunch of voice actors speaking Chinese with proper accents. I figure that helps with my pronunciation and speech recognition. I try to repeat whatever they say for a little extra practice.…
neutral · AI labelView post →
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