The legacy of Batman Arkham Asylum is storied and twisted, especially now. But even if the game’s reputation is retroactively altered by Rocksteady’s latter work, it will always survive thanks to one visionary mechanic that has become part of videogames’ lingua franca – that little flashing thing above your head whenever an enemy is about to hit you. Blending inspirations from Cyberpunk 2077, Sifu, and Hotline Miami, a new roguelike game feels like a nastier, crunchier version of Rocksteady’s 2009 breakout. This is Kiborg, and you can try it right now for free.
You are Morgan Lee, the de-facto leader of the resistance on a hellish prison planet called Sigma. In Kiborg, there is no game over, no retries. Lee remains safely in his base and sends out thousands of his clones to complete missions. If a clone dies, so be it – you just print another and try again. This is where Kiborg becomes a roguelike game.
Every run is permanent, but you also have the freedom to experiment and replan. Even if a clone is killed, the tech they have collected will return to base and you can use it to customize and strengthen your loadout for the next excursion, with hundreds of possible combinations.
That’s the big picture. Moment to moment, Kiborg is a mix of third-person shooter and rugged martial-arts brawler. For the most part, you’re in a stand-up fistfight, chaining combinations a la Sifu while dodging and countering like Arkham’s Batman. On occasion, however, Kiborg drops the camera behind Morgan and gives you a gun, at which point it turns into an energetic, neon-dizzy run-and-gun game like Hotline.
While the release date for the full game is still unknown, as of today, Tuesday August 13, you can download and play the free prologue, Kiborg Arena. Here, the narrative is stripped back and your goal is simple wave defense. It’s a way to test and learn Kiborg’s in-depth combat systems before playing the game proper.
Mix cybernetics with conventional melee and hot swap between fists and firearms. You can also unlock permanent upgrades and, of course, enjoy Kiborg’s Verhoeven-esque gore effect. If you want to try it out, head here.
Otherwise, wade into the other best fighting games, or maybe scope out the rest of 2024 and beyond with the best upcoming PC games on their way to you.
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