FINAL FURY News

We’re thrilled to announce that FINAL FURY is part of Steam Next Fest. If you’ve been following our progress in previous blogs you’ll know that the team has been on quite the journey of discovery over the past year to find and tap into the essence of combat.

Now it’s your turn to discover the fruits of their labors firsthand. So what are you waiting for? Head over to our store page and download the demo!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Community Activities[/h2]

It wouldn’t be much of a festival without some fun things to do now would it?

We’re pumped to announce all the awesome FINAL FURY activities that are taking place during Steam Next Fest!

Whether you’re competing in our Double Elimination Tournament, climbing the ranks in the Leaderboard Chase, or just hanging out in the community, there’s something for every player.

And yes, there are some cool prizes up for grabs!

It’s all going down on Discord so head there for all the details but here’s a summary:



[h3]🎮 Leaderboard Chase [/h3]

📅 15 October 2024 - 10:00 CET / 00:00 PDT - Leaderboard Starts
📅 26 October 2024 - 18:00 CET / 09:00 PDT - Leaderboard Ends

Want to focus more on consistent grinding? Our Leaderboard Chase is here! It’s all about the combination of matches played and win ratio, so the more you fight—and win—the higher you’ll climb.

[h3]🏆 Double Elimination Tournament [/h3]

📅 18 October - 19:00 CET / 10:00 PDT - Tournament registration closes
📅 19 October - 10:00 CET / 00:00 PDT - Tournament begins
📅 19 & 26 October - 22:00 CET / 13:00 PDT - Saturday Sessions
📅 26 October - 22:00 CET / 13:00 PDT - Tournament winners announced!

Our tournament will follow a double elimination format, so even if you take a loss, you’ve still got a shot at the prize! And guess what? You can self-organize your matches at your convenience.

Signing up is easy - just add your details to this form. We’ll then draw the bracket randomly and post it so you know who you’re up against first.

Head over to Discord for the full rules and how to report your inevitable victories!

[h3]🎉 Pub Quiz & Competition Finale[/h3]

📅 26 October - 22:00 CET / 13:00 PDT - Pub Quiz

To wrap it all up, we’re hosting a Pub Quiz on October 26 to test your FINAL FURY knowledge, fighting game trivia, and gaming smarts!

Expect a fun mix of questions about FINAL FURY characters, mechanics, and VR facts, alongside more general gaming and fighting game trivia. It’s a great way to celebrate the event and win some final prizes.





[h2]Top FINAL FURY Pro-Tips from the Dev Team[/h2]

Alright, fighters, listen to your coaches!

We wanna get you ready for the big fight—so it’s a good thing you got us in your corner! The devs recently sparred for an internal tournament and we collected some of the best tips from our own FINAL FURY champs.

Here we go, in no particular order

[h3]🥊Normal Moves[/h3]

• It’s fun to punch as fast as you can, but don’t get too carried away! Punches won’t stop an opponent from grabbing you if your reflexes aren’t fast enough to counter them..
  
• Always be blocking! Don’t forget to put your arms up—block those incoming shots.
  
• Stay light on your feet! Always be ready to dash to dodge a grab and counter grab.
  

[h3]🥊Special Moves[/h3]

• Ranged attacks cancel each other out: Tempest’s Arctic Blasts and Glitch’s Tac-Bombs, for example.
  

[h3]🥊Neutral / Spacing[/h3]

• When in doubt, space it out. This one takes a little bit of practice (and some patience), but keep in mind the range of your opponent’s attacks before you go in swinging. Oftentimes, the fighter who plays the neutral game the best will come out on top.
  
• Classic fighting game tactics work! Try to bait an attack (like a throw or an Arctic Blast) from your opponent, then punish them as soon as they whiff!
  
• Be unpredictable! Don’t fall into a pattern; that’s a one-way ticket to getting yourself KO’d.
  

[h3]🥊Tempest[/h3]

• Arctic Blast like a pro! Form your hands to one side like you’ve got a snowball, then push out like you’re launching the attack!
  
• Try to be blocking constantly so it becomes much more comfortable to do the Artic Blast by moving your hands from the blocking position to the side of your neck.
  
• Artic Blast is more of a defensive ability than an offensive one, since Tempest's strong point is maintaining a constant attack.
  

[h3]🥊Glitch[/h3]

• Glitch has weaker punches, but a long reach. Use them to keep your opponent at bay.
  
• Glitch’s Tac-Bombs don’t hurt you! Use the trigger zone as a kind of shield. You can get closer to opponents and damage them if they go in for a grab.
  
• Glitch’s Tac-Bombs can be shot BEHIND your opponent. Apply enough offensive pressure, and you might be able to back them into the bomb’s trigger zones without them realizing it
  

[h3]“This isn’t working. We need to rethink things.”[/h3]

It’s not often you hear these words and it’s followed by good news. Yet, that’s exactly what happened after our FINAL FURY public playtest late last year. We had stages built out, animations made, and systems in place. We even got positive feedback from players! Still, it hit us like a long range haymaker from Glitch—we needed to rethink the combat controls.

In a VR fighting game. THAT isn’t a decision you make lightly when you’re so far along, but it was the absolute right call. We believe so much in the potential for FINAL FURY, from the dev team trenches to the studio heads of Kluge Interactive, we went quiet for a few months and got to work.


We chronicled a bit of this in a recent blog post, but today let’s dig deeper into what that involves: Going back to prototyping and drastically re-evaluating something so core to FINAL FURY’s design. Then, we’ve got a fun surprise for all you VR fighting fans (a new demo!)…but we’ll get to that in a minute.





[h3]Re-Prototyping How You Fight[/h3]

FINAL FURY’s original control scheme relied heavily on reflexes, requiring players to simultaneously juggle multiple inputs. In a game like Synth Riders, having complex gestures involving 3D floating elements works great as you feel a musical flow. In a fighting game, though, it pulls you out of the moment-to-moment tactics against an opponent.

So, how do you go about finding the right way to play? To avoid going down endless rabbit holes, we stuck to a “two-month rule” while exploring new control schemes: Have a clear goal for success or failure and two months to explore an idea.

“Respecting the timebox at all costs was hard but essential—it was the only way to answer key questions without getting lost in endless iterations,” says Game Design Director, Seb Samson.

Think about this re-prototyping process as if you’re mapping out a dungeon. The point is to not go in circles or miss out on items before finding the exit—with the “treasure” here being how we manage the cognitive load. That is, the game’s mechanics should be intuitive with complexity as an optional advanced layer when you apply strategy.

Here’s what we found, step-by-step, along the way.





[h3]Back To Basics[/h3]

Nothing was sacred–we went right back to the most basic core mechanics to ensure each aspect stood on its own. One mechanic at a time, we tweaked everything until it felt right.

Then we began testing basic combos.

1. Punching vs. Punching: Exploring timing differences makes an impact on how you play. Slower, more deliberate punches felt more impactful and satisfying than faster, weaker ones. Even now, we still explore the range between physically sound and instant punches. For instance, we removed a "fly back" animation during the final implementation post-prototype.
   
2. 
   
3. Moving and Punching: Adding movement introduced a new layer of complexity and fun. Here, dodging was tweaked for more fluidity, allowing players to smoothly evade incoming blows and set themselves up for a counterattack. [Here’s a pro-tip: Hold down the movement stick and if you see an incoming move, tap the dodge button at the right moment to set yourself up to respond.]
   
4. 
   
5. Blocking and Punching: Refining defensive mechanics around blocking and punching came next. In the first implementation of FINAL FURY, you had to hit symbols to block—you were relying on reflexes. The blocking needed to be more flexible and strategic, allowing for different hand positions and a more dynamic defense. Most importantly, clashes between player attacks and enemy blocks needed to feel fair and balanced.  
   

We made a point of building each combination of new controls as a self-sustained gameplay. It may sound head-slappingly obvious, but this became the turning point. We formed a solid foundation. Next comes the balancing act between complexity and accessibility, implementing strategic input that doesn't overwhelm the player.





[h3]Becoming Your Fighter: Special Moves and Gestures[/h3]

Everyone, deep down, wants to perform a Street Fighter-esque “HADOUKEN!” gesture—not through some half-circle joystick flip, but by moving your hands into position and feeling like it’s launching from your palms. We’re aiming for something to feel powerful, natural, and easy to pull off in FINAL FURY.

The catch: Gesture recognition needs fine-tuning to prevent conflicts with similar moves. If a player gears up to launch a distance attack, then plans to dash in, grapple, and punch, each requires bespoke movements. Playtests revealed that players often rest their arms between key moments, which could unintentionally trigger certain powers.

Take the grab. Originally, it was possible to perform punches from the sides, but that could conflict with grabs (and vice-versa). To solve this, we made grabs and punches more restricted, but mutually exclusive. We isolated the side zones for grabs—after all, both hands are used when you grapple a foe. This combination of creating zones and conditions made grabs more responsive. Better still, it opened the door to "anticipation" phases, creating opportunities for the opponent to react and also create feints to fake out players.

We similarly added proximity-based triggers for power moves. It made the system feel more natural and instinctive, reducing the need for complex gesture chains. The development of new animations for specific characters helped make these gestures feel distinct and meaningful in every case.





[h3]More Hands-On Testing![/h3]

Up to this point, it was just a small group spitballing and redefining the combat in FINAL FURY, according to Samson. The real test began as we shared our prototypes with the larger FINAL FURY team—and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Everyone appreciated the new direction and felt more connected to the action. We also gained invaluable insights. One great example: People play differently—standing or sitting—and we need to account for that. This highlighted the importance of more flexible controls.

Also, not all gestures are created equal. How you instinctively form a ranged attack can vary whether you grew up playing Street Fighter or watching something like Dragonball Z. [HINT: In FINAL FURY, form your hands together to one side of your body to form Tempest’s Arctic Blast attack.]

Making adjustments in gesture detection and how throwing punches feel is an ongoing process even now. The learnings we hope to gain as we continue development doesn’t stop here. In fact, this is as good a segue as any for some exciting news we have coming!



[h3]A New Tech Demo, Playable Oct 14[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We took the time to go back and redesign core combat components and bring it to where we are now. The results of that hard work will soon be in your hands. A demo is coming during Steam Next Fest 2024.

So where do you come in? Glad you asked! Starting Oct 14 YOU get to experience everything that we’ve been talking about here. We have a demo going up and you are invited to join us! You will get to play as two of the FINAL FURY fighters – Glitch and Tempest – each with unique skill sets and play styles. Spar offline against AI or challenge a buddy online, we want to put you into the intergalactic arena and hear what you think!

Then, join our Discord and tell us what works — or what could use more work — as we continue building this VR fighting game of the future.

We couldn’t have come this far without the love and support of our larger community and we appreciate everything you bring to the fight even now, in these early rounds.





[h3]Community Tournament[/h3]

As a celebration of our involvement in Steam Next Fest we want to find out who in the community is the king or queen of the intergalactic ring. To that end, we’re running a tournament to answer that question.

There are more details on our Discord but if you want to get involved sign-up to participate by filling in this form.

[h3]WELCOME, FIGHTERS![/h3]

Join us as we turn back the clocks and take you on a journey into the development process of making FINAL FURY.



[h3]Inside Look at FINAL FURY: Building a Better VR Fighting Game[/h3]

Taking FINAL FURY from concept to reality hasn’t been easy. Delivering a VR fighting game that’s both intense and intuitive means being nimble enough to change approaches when needed and make sure that the fighting feels right. That’s where the dev team is at in the process now.

We’re excited to go behind the scenes to break down how the team went from rough ideas to a more polished game in proper fighting form.

[h3]The Idea: How FINAL FURY Began[/h3]



The concept for FINAL FURY comes from a love of arcade classics and translating that into a fresh take on VR combat. “How do you make every action, from throwing punches to dodging attacks, feel as real as possible?” That was the question we kept asking ourselves from the start. Translating this vision into a functional game presented some interesting challenges, particularly in balancing the immersion of VR with the complexity of fast-paced combat.

[h3]Bringing the Vision to Life: Prototyping and Iteration[/h3]

"Building a VR game isn’t just about the visuals—everything has to feel right."

During the early stages, the development team focused on prototyping the core mechanics. This involved a lot of trial and error to make combat feel fluid. The team experimented with different control schemes, camera perspectives, and combat animations to find the right mix.

One of the biggest challenges was creating a sense of rhythm in the combat. We know, we know, we make Synth Riders–but this is different. It wasn’t just about making the game responsive; it was about making it feel natural. This led to the realization that the 3 “C’s”—Camera, Character, and Controls—would be critical to the game's success.

[h3]The 3 “C’s”: Camera, Character, and Controls[/h3]



CAMERA

"The right camera perspective makes all the difference in immersion."

Getting the camera right in a VR game is key to making sure players feel truly immersed in the action. Initially, FINAL FURY used a mix of first-person and third-person views, but this led to a somewhat jarring experience. The frequent shifts between perspectives were distracting and pulled the players out of the moment.

To address this, the game now utilizes third-person perspectives sparingly - only during moments of player inactivity to give certain moves a more cinematic punch while minimizing the chance of motion sickness (something we’re activity monitoring). Non-visual feedback, like audio cues and haptic responses, also got enhanced to keep players grounded in the game world.

For example, when charging up Tempest’s Arctic Blast move, the player puts hands together and the controller ramps up vibrations. Who knows? Maybe it’ll tempt players to shout “Hadoken!” as they launch attacks.

By streamlining the camera system and minimizing distractions, the game now keeps players more engaged in the action, allowing them to focus on the core gameplay.

CHARACTER

"Clear enemy animations help players react faster and stay in the zone."

Combat in FINAL FURY needs to be fast and intense, but early versions of the game had a few hiccups that made it feel more chaotic than strategic. The challenges here were three-fold: Attack animations were often too slow which left key moments diluted due to an excess of superfluous motions.

Characters’ movements felt similarly sluggish. Players also had an information overload with a floating UI and various VFX. Just trust us, not a good thing. Combined, this made it difficult for players to anticipate attacks and effectively respond.

The solution: Make opponent animations clearer and more deliberate. With key attack signals highlighted, players have more time to recognize and react to incoming threats. This change helped create a more predictable combat rhythm, where players could get into the zone and enjoy a more strategic and satisfying battle experience.

In addition to tweaking animations, simplifying the visual effects surrounding combat helps draw attention to what matters. Initially, the screen could get overwhelmed with feedback, making it hard for players to focus on the action. By reducing these effects, players can now concentrate more on their enemies and less on deciphering what's happening around them. In short, FINAL FURY’s combat immerses players in the action without overwhelming them.

CONTROLS

"Simple controls mean quicker reactions and more fluid gameplay."

Controls are the backbone of any great combat system and FINAL FURY went through several iterations to get them just right. Early on, the control scheme involved a mix of arm movements and button presses, which sounds cool in theory but didn’t always work well in practice. Hardly surprising, but more complex controls often led to frustration. Excessive inputs wound up being too restrictive, especially during intense combat sequences where quick reactions matter most.

Recognizing this, the developers simplified the controls and streamlined gestures.

The responsiveness of key movement (dodging, blocking, and counterattacking) also improved. These are crucial actions in any combat game, and the team obsessed over making sure they felt natural. By enhancing the speed and accuracy of moves, the game now allows players to more effectively own their actions in the arena.

This emphasis on dynamic pacing ensures that the rhythm of combat feels natural, maintaining a battle flow state. Whether executing combos or evading attacks.

[h3]Don’t Play as a Fighter, Be One[/h3]

"We need players to feel like they’re the ones throwing the punches, not just controlling a character on-screen."

A core goal of FINAL FURY has always been to make players feel like they’re not just playing a game, but stepping into the shoes of their character. This sense of physicality is key to the FINAL FURY experience—the idea that players are directly in control of every punch, special move, and throw.

Ultimately, we want the player to feel like a fighting game hero in direct control of a match’s outcome, not someone guiding the action from a distance.

To achieve this, the development team focused on ensuring that every action in the game felt impactful and responsive. The attacks, special moves, and throws must fulfill the fantasy that YOU are the character. The feeling of connecting with a punch, pulling off a special move, or delivering a backbreaking throw needs to feel visceral.

By integrating more direct control mechanisms and refining the feedback players receive during combat, FINAL FURY makes sure that every movement feels like it’s coming directly from the player. This creates a deeper sense of immersion and makes every fight much more personal.

[h3]Let Everyone Fight[/h3]

"Balancing complexity with accessibility is key."

While FINAL FURY was designed with hardcore gamers in mind, we truly want it to be approachable enough for anyone to grab the controls and feel ready to fight. As you’ve read here, everything the team’s done from refining camera and attack timing to the UI and animations has been done to make fighting more accessible to all. FINAL FURY is the result of countless hours of iteration and refinement perfecting the camera, character, and controls while emphasizing getting physical. Whether you’re a seasoned VR gamer or new to the genre, we’re designing FINAL FURY to offer an easy-to-pick-up but hard-to-master experience, with a rhythm that we think will keep you coming back for more.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing even more about the next steps of FINAL FURY’s development along with some exciting news. Be sure to join our FINAL FURY Discord so that you can be among the first to know what’s coming!

[h3]WELCOME, FIGHTERS![/h3]

It’s been a while, we know. You’re wondering what’s going on with the development of FINAL FURY and we appreciate your patience. So, here’s the deal:

[h3]Building a Better VR Fighting Game[/h3]

For the past six months, we’ve been heads-down, making some massive changes to FINAL FURY. We’re talking a complete overhaul of the game’s core systems, mechanics, and overall feel. Here’s a quick tale of the tape:

• New Combat System: We’ve redesigned the combat UI, removing distracting elements that detract from the fight, putting you more in control and in the moment. The orbs are gone in favor of landing direct blows guided by your own hands!
  
• Multiplayer Improvements: We rewrote the networking code based on beta feedback. We’re now using rollback baby! Our goal: Allow you to play with fighters from different regions without a hitch.
  
• Physical Impact: We’ve focused on making the fighters feel more physical. Animations are now more impactful, making you feel like you’re really in the fight. When you land a hit, you’ll know your opponent feels it.
  

"When it comes to creating an arcade-style fighting game, having the right feel is incredibly important. We've taken that time to do this right—to make sure that every part of FINAL FURY feels fresh and exciting. It’s been a lot of work, no doubt, but the results are what matter.”

-Seb, Game Design Director



[h3]What’s Coming Next[/h3]

Here’s our promise to you:  We’ll be dropping new content regularly as we build up to something really special in a couple of months.

Here’s what’s coming:

• Regular Updates: We’ll start sharing updates more often, with behind-the-scenes tours, dev insights, and deeper looks at FINAL FURY’s fight card.
  
• Community Fun: We’re planning some cool community events and Q&A sessions with the dev team. We want to keep you in the loop and get your feedback!
  
• Big Reveal: All of this is leading up to something pretty cool. Trust us, it’s gonna be awesome!
  

"You folks mean the world to us, and we’ve been working hard to make sure FINAL FURY lives up to your expectations. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been up to and hear what you think."
-Rob, Producer





[h3]Join the FINAL FURY Leagu..(We mean, Discord)![/h3]

We’re pumped for what’s next!This is just the start of us, reconnecting with you. We’ve got more blogs coming that’ll dive deeper into the new features, character designs, and the revamped combat system.

As we gear up, drop in our Discord and jump into the chat to share your thoughts and hype. Your feedback is super important as we move forward.



Thanks so much for sticking with us.

Stay tuned and keep fighting!

–The FINAL FURY Team

[h2]WELCOME, FIGHTERS![/h2]

Inspired by the golden age of arcade fighters, FINAL FURY promises epic head-to-head matches, immersive visuals, innovative controls, a varied roster of characters, and fast-paced gameplay tailored for newcomers and veterans alike.

Highlights from today’s captivating new trailer include exclusive gameplay footage, atmospheric cinematics, and two new characters: Lida—a master manipulator who commands a legion of deadly scarabs—and Valdan—a revenant who uses an infernal blade to exact his vengeance upon other fighters.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Along with the Open Beta invitation and gameplay trailer, here is a list of features and modes coming to the game at launch:

• Innovative VR combat, combining arcade-style fighting mechanics with physical gameplay
  
• Nine playable fighters, each with a unique move set, arena, and personality to match
  
• Single-player battles against CPU opponents in the Arcade and Versus modes
  
• Online competition via matchmaking or private matches
  
• Heart-pumping music, original soundtrack composed by Zardonic
  

[h2]EXPERIENCE FINAL FURY FIRST HAND![/h2]

For the chance to be among the first to experience FINAL FURY, VR players are welcome to sign up for upcoming playtests and exclusive developer insights at https://finalfuryvr.com/




The FINAL FURY Open Beta is coming to Meta Quest and SteamVR early next year. Players eager to get a first-hand look at the game are welcome to sign up for the beta and exclusive developer insights on the official website, wishlist the game on Steam, and join the community of fighters on Discord.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782760/FINAL_FURY

Thank you so much for supporting FINAL FURY! We’re so excited to continue on this wonderful journey with you all, and we look forward to hearing your feedback in the days to come as we march toward the launch of our Open Beta early next year.



[h2]SEE YOU IN THE ARENA, FIGHTERS![/h2]