It’s nothing new to see games based around first person combat mechanics in VR, but Final Fury’s approach feels fairly unique. It’s a title built to evoke the spirit and feel of classic 2D fighting games, such as the Street Fighter series, in virtual reality; for the most part, it’s pretty successful.

Though the roster of characters is pretty small, they’re infused with a great deal of character and variety, and the controls are cleverly implemented, as well as responsive.

Pulling off special moves is hugely satisfying, especially as you’ll be mimicking classic Street Fighter-style poses to throw elemental projectiles, for example.

Certain moves will pull you out of your character’s viewpoint and into third person, so you get an out-of-body-experience while you successfully smack your enemy with a spectacular attack.

Standard moves are pulled off in a very physical and tactile way, with punches executed in exactly the manner you’d expect (that is, by actually punching with your fists), and blocks handled by bringing your fists up in front of your face. Movement in the arena, and dashes, are less physical in nature, using the joystick and button combinations. Likewise for some ranged or weapon attacks, which can use the controller buttons as well as physical motion.

There’s a robust single player mode with various difficulty levels and unlockables, but what’s perhaps most exciting for fighting game fans are the online multiplayer options, supported by rollback netcode. Even more exciting is that Kluge have had professional fighting game legend, Justin Wong, on board as an advisor, which goes a long way in giving players some faith in the game’s underlying mechanics.

Kluge, being responsible for the stunning rhythm action game, Synth Riders (quite possibly my favourite VR game of all time; certainly my most played by far), have also given Final Fury a superb, pulse pounding soundtrack as well as beautiful, vibrantly colourful visuals.

For fighting game fans, Final Fury is a fairly peerless experience on VR, and though it doesn’t feel as deep as many 2D fighting titles, it is much more accessible as a result, and its reliance on physicality rather than memorising endless, complicated button combos evens the playing field quite a bit.

There’s still enough depth for genre veterans to get some enjoyment from the game, of course, and its roster of colourful characters, and flashy neon pyrotechnics, should prove enjoyable for gamers of all experience levels to get their fists on.

Final Fury is out now for Meta Quest and Steam VR. Many thanks to Kluge Interactive for providing me with a game key for review purposes.

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