Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Furi’ on the Nintendo Switch

Review Fix chats with the Game Bakers’ Emeric Thoa, who lets us know all about the dual-stick sword-fighting/shooting mayhem that is Furi on the Nintendo Switch.

Review Fix: What was it like to develop on the Switch?

Emeric Thoa: It was a big improvement since the WiiU. A lot of the development features and process have been improved, it’s much more streamlined. It’s also a pretty simple process overall, as the Switch focuses on gameplay more than on social features for instance (no achievements or share screen or whatever adds complexity to the development of the core game).

Review Fix: Any hurdles?

Thoa: Of course, the framerate was the big hurdle. It took us three months to even know if we’d be able to bring Furi on Switch. But we finished by finding the right optimisations. The ones that wouldn’t affect the game (not visually nor in gameplay). For instance, the hair and coat of the MC have physics-based movement in the PS4 version and are animated in the Switch version, but you can’t tell the difference visually.

Review Fix: How does this version stack up with the other versions?

Thoa: IIn terms of performances and visual, it’s similar to the PS4 version. The gameplay is even better than on the PS4 release because it benefits from all our updates and improvement since that date. And the Switch version also includes the DLC “One More Fight” and the ability to speedrun in Furier difficulty.

Review Fix: Why must someone play this game on the Switch?

Thoa: Well, by nature, the Switch allows to play the game on the go, which is pretty cool when you are this close to beat a boss but you need to go somewhere. Also, Furi is still a pretty unique game and it’ll be a nice addition to the Switch line up who doesn’t have that many beat’em up at the moment.

Review Fix: It’s been a year since the game’s original release, what makes the gameplay still fresh?

Thoa: I’m still waiting for a game that will be “like Furi”. I’m actually very excited by No More Heroes 3 that will come on Switch (this year I guess). But Furi is going to keep being fresh for a long time, it’s a very original blend of shooting and sword fighting, and the character design and music gives it a ton of personality.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Thoa: We are working on something, and I can’t tell too much at the moment, but it’s going to be a very different game. Furi is Furi, and we are very proud of it. Making another Furi like game would be choosing the easy road. We need to surprise, to make new stuff.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Thoa: It’s been incredible to see how the fanbase grew over time. People became very fond of the game. We’ve received a lot of messages saying it’s a very “satisfying” experience. This makes me very happy and I’m very grateful to the players who have supported us until now. We’re making another game thanks to them!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG2vW4u6r4I[/embedyt]

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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