Clawpunk review

With its untamed wild blend of tumultuous action, roguelite progression, and hard rocking soundtrack, Clawpunk channels the same chaotic spirit as Broforce’s latter levels. Sure, the stages might be vertical and combat more focused on lightning-dash melee attacks. But like Free Lives’ action-movie parody, a fluctuating tempo and chain reactions that decimate enemies and the environment alike will keep you on your toes.

Clawpunk’s core mechanics are abundant but not excessive. Movement borrows from classic platforming games, but fighting delivers a wealth of options. You can claw, kick, shoot, hurt grenades, and use temporary weapons. As your cat is unleashing feline fury, you’re also building a special rage meter that delivers a unique attack for each of the game’s nine playables.

Violent Venn Diagrams

Best of all, Clawpunk’s destructible environments, varied enemies, and field hazards mesh with the flexible combat system. The result is a refreshing sense of variety and capricious pacing. One second, you’re brawling in tight corridors, the next you’re jumping through open zones to escape from a succession of canister explosions. Clawpunk clearly marks each blast radius and one of the best moments is finding the safe place between overlapping denotations.

Expectedly, aggression is encouraged. The more carnage you cause, the quicker you recharge abilities and fill up your rage meter, eventually going invincible to tear through anything that stands between you and the stage exit situated at the bottom of the playfield, sandwiched between two gigantic saw blades.

Paws to the Wall Action

Clawpunk’s structure revolves around five themed zones, each broken into nine procedurally-generated stages, culminating in mini-boss and full boss battles. The first four zones can be tackled in any order, letting players pick their favorite path, while the last zone raises the stakes to deliver a climactic finale brimming with challenge.

Meanwhile, Clawpunk’s roster boasts nine distinct playable cats, each with their own weapons, stats, and special abilities. For example, Buck excels at brute force, tearing through foes with raw power, while Dash is built for speed and agility, capable of double-jumping and lightning-fast movement. Later cats become even more specialized, like one on a pogo-stick and another in a grenade-dispensing wheelchair. As such, experimentation is encouraged as you unlock Clawpunk’s cast.

A Litter of Playable Purr-sonalities

Pleasingly, obtaining new cats is a gradual, satisfying process. As you clear stages and rack up chaos, you earn Chaos Coins, which can be traded to unlock new feline heroes or meta-upgrade cards. Each cat adds a fresh dynamic to your squad. Since every run is structured around nine lives (with each cat serving as one), mastering all heroes, and learning when to tag in a new one, offers plenty of replayability.​​ There’s also a healthy amount of incentive, since you need another mousers, as Clawpunk is stingy with health.

Clawpunk’s long-term appeal is rooted in the inclusion of collectible upgrade cards. These permanent meta-upgrades let you attach various boosts to individual cats, like movement enhancements, extra damage effects, or abilities that mutate their powers. Finding and equipping the best cards adds a strategic layer, encouraging you to evolve your approach across subsequent runs.​

Nine Lives to Learn, Nine Lives to Lose

The meta-game is elegantly woven into the roguelite loop. Cards and chaos coins offer powerful incentives to keep coming back, whether chasing better grades, perfect runs, or invaluable upgrades. Difficulty scales depending on the order in which you tackle zones and since ‘Ironcat’ mode raises the challenge ceiling even higher, even experienced players should find reasons to return.​ But there’s the thing: I found myself tackling stages just to see if I could do better, with any earned rewards being a friendly dividend.

Clawpunk’s presentation is mostly commendable. Largely, the pixel art is punchy, the destructible cyberpunk cityscape feels dynamic, and the soundtrack, which is filled with hard metal and synth, ratchets up the intensity at every turn. That said, enemies can get obscured behind coins, leading to a bit of frustration. The game’s pulled back perspective gives you time to react to the chaos unfurling around you. But if you’re playing the game on a portable system, Clawpunk’s small sprites can be difficult to differentiate.

Pixel Purrfection, with a Just a Single Hairballs

Clawpunk is a fiercely inventive roguelite, pairing explosive combat with engaging progression systems. Its feline roster, flexible upgrades, and procedurally chaotic stages keep each run feeling distinct. Meanwhile, the game’s meta-loop ensures there’s always something worth chasing. While the occasional readability issue is present, this is a charmingly unhinged experience that’s easy to pick up, hard to put down. If you like relentless action that tests your ability to foresee pandemonium, Clawpunk can feel like digital catnip.

Clawpunk was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.