If you’ve kept up with a lot of the games I’ve covered before, you’d know that I love first-person melee combat. Condemned still reigns supreme as the shining example of how to do it perfectly, to me at least. But an outcropping of indie games has slowly been growing to challenge that. Labyrinth of the Demon King and Butcher’s Creek leaned into horror themes alongside their visceral combat. Viscerafest incorporated novel melee combat into what would’ve been a traditional boomer shooter. But Scirocco Thugs opts for a more score-driven approach to its bone-crunching blows, complete with a uniquely dingy setting based in Southern Italy.
Developed and self-published by BRIAN DAMAGE, Scirocco Thugs has received a revamped demo just in time for the Steam Next Fest. Am I a perfect candidate to give it a shot? I’d like to think so. Despite the demo’s small scope, you’ll be surprised to see how much it does right. And you’ll love to see what might be coming in its full release.
Flying Fists, Kicks, and Rusty Pipes
The demo is light on story elements. But to be fair, that’s far from the focus here. You’re in the shoes of Tugg DiMamma, an appropriately burly man of questionable repute, as you’re tasked with taking on droves of thugs and other dregs of society in an inglorious quest for revenge. No matter what, you need to get to the Don — and teach him a lesson he’ll never forget. Thankfully, you’re beyond capable of doing so. You have a pair of bear mitts on either arm, one capped off with a pair of gnarly brass knuckles, and you have a hell of a kick to boot.
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The core of Scirocco Thugs is formed around these two things: your fists and your kick. And surprisingly, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of both. Your fists make up your main attacks, which makes sense. Your kick, meanwhile, serves several functions. It’s another form of attack, sure. But it’s also a parry, allowing you to interrupt an enemy attack if you time your kick just right. It can execute foes, dispatching them quickly if they have a boot print symbol above their head. You can also perform a crude wall climb if your kick meter is full by just jumping, which allows you to navigate some obstacles or put some distance between you and your enemies.
You also have weapons. They’ll extend your range beyond what your fists can normally reach, they can be thrown, they deal exceptional damage, and they’ll break after a set amount of uses. It’s pretty standard stuff. Something I did notice, however, was that heavily damaged foes will actually limp around at a snail’s pace, allowing you to attack other foes more freely if you’re trying to set up some sick combo attacks.
Regardless of how you decide to dish out punishment, everything you do will add to a growing combo meter at the top of the screen, adding more and more points to your total multiplier until you take some damage or the meter naturally runs out. It’s in your best interest to avoid damage at all costs because of this — not only because you only have so many lives before you’re forced to restart a level, but because your total points at the end of a level will unlock extra goodies, like cheats and extra levels.
You have three difficulties to play around with in Scirocco Thugs, if the demo is anything to go by, and you’re missing out if you never give the hardest setting a shot. Sure, you take twice as much damage, but you’re also given a handful of special enemies to fight that you’d never get to see otherwise. Otherwise, most of the game’s challenge will come from your positioning in every battle.
Positioning is really important in general. Not only will this allow you to avoid attacks and dish out your own, but you can also setup chains of finishing moves that knock down foes, add to your overall combo score, and make some much-needed breathing room. Towards the end of the demo, enemies even started flinging sharp projectiles at me, demanding even more footsies or a careful kick to parry the projectile in mid-air. The full game promises the occasional use of firearms as well. The ability to take down a foe from a distance is already extremely powerful in a game like this, and with how hectic the demo can get, it’ll certainly be a welcomed addition.
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Should You Play Scirocco Thugs?
I’d say yes, you should play Scirocco Thugs. If I had any complaints, I would’ve liked to see more ranged weaponry available in the demo just to get a taste of what to expect from the full game. It’s fun to speculate, don’t get me wrong. But I would’ve liked to at least get a taste of how powerful they’d be. Likewise, I feel like the actual environments you battle enemies in are a little limited. Something like a hazard that I can kick enemies into would really add some extra depth and strategy to how I want each encounter to play out. The core of what’s here is already really strong. But I’d like to see how it could be strengthened further.
Regardless, Scirocco Thugs reminds me of PlatinumGames’ MadWorld in that its simple, but not so simple as to be mindless. It’s challenging, but its mechanics are easy enough to master that anyone can get decent enough at it with a little practice. It’s visceral, it’s a little silly, and above all else, it’s just plain fun to pick up and play. Nowadays, when I seem to be busier than I’ve ever been before, that’s something that I can definitely appreciate.
You can try out Scirocco Thugs for yourself on Steam.
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