Fighting Juggernauts Bundle Is Casual-Friendly

I want to start this off by saying that while Phenixx Gaming is a Humble Partner, I didn’t write this article with that in mind. I wanted to cover this particular bundle because I think it provides a decent gateway into one of my favorite genres: fighting games.

The Fighting Juggernauts Bundle went live last week with a fine selection from across the genre. There’s something for everybody with 3D, 2D, platform, and even a simple rhythmic brawler. I will be honest that not every game in this bundle has as strong of an online community as they once did, but for the additional content they offer or even being able to play it with friends, it’s a fantastic deal with each game alone worth the price of admission. Most of all, it’s a great way to try out and see what kind of fighting game might click for you.

The bundle is separated into three tiers: a “1 item bundle”, a “3 item bundle”, and a “9 item bundle” (two of these are discounts for season passes of one game though). I’m not going to go extremely in-depth for each one, but I think a quick summary of the important information should suffice!

In the “1 item bundle” is One Finger Death Punch 2. The story doesn’t have huge importance here so there’s no need to worry about playing the original. If you’ve ever seen those cool kung-fu stickmen fighting animations made in Flash that were insanely popular over a decade ago, then this feels like an interactive version of those.

All you need to know is that in this game there are only two buttons you need to press to play. Each button corresponds to each side of your stickman as you fight against waves of enemies and bosses in a rhythmic pressing fashion. It’s not so much a fighting game as it is a brawler, but it’s fun to play and is still satisfying in short bursts.

The “3 item bundle” adds Slap City and Mortal Kombat XL. The former is a platform fighter ala the Super Smash Bros series. The game is fun at a casual level, but it does have a pretty deep technical side to it that will really let you master the game.

Unfortunately, the online player base on Steam isn’t too big and it’s likely some of that player base transferred over to the developer’s most recent title, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. There’s still fun to be had in this whacky game though, and it’s a perfect game for parties and get-togethers.

Mortal Kombat XL is the culmination of the tenth main entry (technically titled Mortal Kombat X) in the bloody and gory series along with all of its DLC. It’s one of the many 2D fighting games on here and it comes with a wonderful cinematic campaign mode that NetherRealm Studios has become known for having. The story is a continuation of the previous game but introduces a lot of new characters and a time skip, so newcomers can still enjoy the story. There’s a huge variety of characters to play as, from favorites in the series to wonderful horror movie icons such as Alien, Predator, and Jason Vorhees.

The game does have a small, but dedicated community that still plays it on Steam, due to preferring the faster-paced gameplay over the slower and strategic gameplay of its sequel, Mortal Kombat 11. Lastly, there’s a simple enough tutorial mode to walk new players through the mechanics present in the game.

Finally, the “9 item bundle” includes Killer Instinct, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, Injustice 2 Legendary Edition, and SoulCalibur VI with two coupons for its first and second seasons. There’s a whole lot to unpack there, so I’ll try to be concise.

The first is the absolutely wonderful 2013 title, Killer Instinct. Even if you’re not a fan or haven’t played the previous games in the mid-’90s, it’s very obvious that this game was made with a lot of love. It’s one of the flashiest fighting games with an abundance of spark effects that when combined with long combos, blood-pumping Mick Gordon tracks (whose music you might recognize from the recent Doom games), and a screaming announcer, makes for an absolute hype experience. The included tutorial is pretty great too.

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid might be a lower-budget game, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. The game differs from the others in this pack by being a 3v3 game, where you fight with a team of characters. It’s a simple game to pick up with a decently high skill ceiling if you want to get really good.

If you’re a fan of Power Rangers you’re sure to enjoy playing as your favorite rangers and villains, but it’s still plenty of fun if you’re not too familiar. The story mode isn’t presented in the most exciting way, mainly with still images of characters talking to each other and occasional slightly animated cutscenes, but the voice acting from the original actors and a story focused on the popular villain Lord Drakkon make up for it. A decent tutorial rounds out this title with highly-polished gameplay.

Another game by NetherRealm Studios in this bundle is Injustice 2 Legendary Edition. It’s another 2D fighter that includes the base game and all of the DLC, but the gameplay stands out from Mortal Kombat XL by being easier to pick up and being more customizable when it comes to character costumes and abilities. Every move also has a lot more impact, as they nail the feeling that you’re fighting with DC superheroes.

Visually the game looks incredible, which is apparent in both gameplay and the cinematics from the campaign. For a game that’s a sequel and has an associated comic, the story is still pretty easy to get into. Like other NetherRealm Studios games, there’s a tutorial included that covers everything. The biggest flaw with the game is the grindy loot box nature of character gear that you can unlock. As awesome as you can make characters look, getting the gear for them is a total slog.

The final game in the bundle is SoulCalibur VI, the first and only fighter in this bundle on a 3D plane. There are a lot of different mechanics when it comes to the gameplay, but a wonderfully in-depth (albeit, slightly hidden) tutorial mode covers everything you need to know. Further information is also provided on each character’s style of play, which can vary drastically. The characters and story focus on early events in the series, with later fan-favorites and guest characters (such as 2B from NieR: Automata) sprinkled in, especially as DLC.

Visually, the game looks great with wonderfully designed characters. A character creator lets you take advantage of this to customize characters or spend hours creating your own beautiful/bizarre fighter. There aren’t too many chances to see the character models outside of gameplay though, as their personal story routes feature a lot more drawn visual novel-esque cutscenes than in-engine animated ones. These are all voice-acted though and there’s a lot, so I do feel that it’s a nice trade-off. There’s also a bigger story mode for a created character.

The game does have some issues depending on who you ask. Not everyone is a fan of the aforementioned style of cutscenes. Some fans also take issue with the character creator, which expanded in some ways when compared to previous games in the series but also pales in comparison in terms of available options.

However, the community-agreed worst aspect is online play. Besides Slap City, SoulCalibur VI is the only online game in this bundle that doesn’t use rollback netcode and instead uses delay-based netcode. Explaining that is a whole other piece in itself, but to make it short: online isn’t likely to be smooth unless you and your opponent both have a great internet connection or live in the same region. There’s a lot offered here, but the less-than-stellar online functionality is a huge detriment if you plan to play more than local play.

That did go on a little bit longer than I meant to, but I can’t help it. I love fighting games, even when I’m not great at all of them. It was so fun to see the fighting game community grow so much when GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- came out this year. It’s always been a pretty niche genre due to the practice needed, a majority of a player base moving onto sequels, and the struggle between satisfying a casual audience and a competitive one.

The important thing is that the games here do provide a great balance between both needs, and I think the rise in fighting game players has led to the realization that it’s okay to play them however you want. You don’t have to follow metas if you don’t want to or play a certain way. Fighting games are meant to be fun most of all, and if it feels fun to button mash as a flashy character that’s rarely picked online, then go ahead and do so. If you just want to win, you’ll certainly find like-minded people as well.

Of course, a portion of the bundle does go to charity which is always a wonderful thing and I don’t need to explain the benefits of that. If you’re looking to get into fighting games or just try out a particular few that you’ve never had the chance for, I do highly recommend this bundle. I can tell you from personal experience with most of these that there’s a lot of unique content here in terms of gameplay and plenty that’s focused on single-player if multi-player is not your jam. The Fighting Juggernauts Bundle is live until November 3rd, 2021.