One Finger Death Punch has been available for a while, but the Steam release feels like something worth highlighting. Like it or not, there's a sizeable group of people for whom PC gaming is accessed entirely through Valve's digital store. Frankly, it would be irresponsible to not tell them about the lightning-quick stickman brawler.
The title is a bit of a lie, in that One Finger Death Punch is best played with two fingers. Your stick fighter stands in the middle of the screen, and waves of enemies approach from both sides. As they get in range, you can hit left-mouse to attack left, and right-mouse to attack right. Through this simple control scheme, the game offers a frantic and varied range of challenges.
The simplicity is key, too. Achieving a flawless run always feels achievable, and it's that sense that you're just a few perfect clicks away from a flawless kung-fu performance that drives you to repeat and improve through the game's many levels.
Admittedly the art style is all over the place, which can be off-putting. There's little aesthetic consistency at work, which is normally the sort of thing that would bother me greatly. That it doesn't as much here is a sign of how pure and entertaining its central mechanic is.
One Finger Death Punch is now available on Steam for £3.19 / $3.99. Alternatively, you can pick up the Desura version for less than £1. You'll find last year's PC release trailer below.
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