Defensive brawler Way of the Passive Fist is out now

Way of the Passive Fist is a different breed of beat 'em up. Most single-player brawlers are all about rolling through levels like a wrecking ball and chaining together flashy attacks, but Household Games' indie fighter is all about defence. You parry and dodge your opponents' blows, tiring them out until you can simply nudge them over nonchalantly. It's out today, and might be worth checking out.

You'll be fighting large groups of enemies, but they'll face you one at a time, giving you plenty of opportunity to patiently block their combos as you watch their stamina bar deplete. If you time your parries and dodges just right you'll build up your own combo meter, which you can spend to fight back. Your rebuttals range from punches to a 'Super Attack' that kills any enemies in sight.

You play as The Wanderer, setting out to save Zircon V, an old mining colony. The game has both story and arcade modes as well as deep difficult customisation, so you can play with lots of sliders until it's as easy, or as hard, as you want it to be.

It's certainly different, and could be one for players that like fighting games but not the button mashing that comes with them. The aesthetic is straight out of the 90s, which will instantly appeal to some.

It's $15/£11.39 on Steam and the Humble Store, if you're interested.

Samuel Horti

Samuel Horti is a long-time freelance writer for PC Gamer based in the UK, who loves RPGs and making long lists of games he'll never have time to play. 

Latest in Fighting
The four Ninja Turtles, back to back, slam their shells into Brainiac
Great moments in PC gaming: Injustice 2's over-the-top super moves
2XKO promo image - Ahri
2XKO fans despair for a 2025 release as Riot pushes back a planned 'larger-scale global playtest' in favor of a 'much smaller one'
The Joker in MultiVersus
MultiVersus is somehow using its dying breath to go full looney tunes and put out what may be one of its best patches, and now fans want it to be saved
Virtua Fighter 5 key art
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. isn't just a PC port of a 19-year-old game: it's the reason a diehard fighting game community can 'finally reach out and play with each other across the world'
Tasmanian Devil
Multiversus director addresses fans angered by its upcoming closure: 'You're entitled to what you say and think, but when there are threats to harm it's crossing the line'
The Joker as he appears in a trailer for fighting game Multiversus
The true victims of Multiversus closing are the people who bought that $100 Founder's Pack
Latest in News
A ghoul player character standing next to another ghoul
'You are hereby conscripted': Fallout 76 players demand newly-transformed ghoul players help them mine radioactive ore
A hunter in Monster Hunter Wilds shows off their snazzy new earring while striking a pose.
Monster Hunter Wilds' next set of event quests let you snag a snazzy earring, plus armor and weapon decorations
Nvidia Vera CPU
Nvidia reveals Vera, a new CPU with 'custom' cores which could be very exciting for its upcoming premium PC processor
HP Omen 45L gaming desktop
This Redditor rocked up to Best Buy and bought an RTX 4060 gaming PC for cheaper than its extended warranty, saving $1,195 and their friend from buying a console
The Marvel Rivals character Magik with her gold-colored sword extended toward the screen, her tights ripped
Marvel Rivals' devs like throwing in curveballs 'to make the roster more interesting,' meaning we'll probably get more characters like Squirrel Girl and Jeff the Land Shark
Marvel Rivals crosshairs - Star-Lord flying up towards the camera with his guns at the ready.
'We balance for fun, first and foremost': Marvel Games' executive producer discusses Marvel Rivals' priorities and why competitive balancing comes second