Pocket Bravery – PS5 Review

Fighting games are a tricky thing to get right. In many ways, the audience is well-served by the big guns. Indie efforts are there but, without the backing behind them, they can flounder a little. Pocket Bravery by Statera Studio is a retro-inspired fighting game that has been around for a couple of years on PC. It’s now been ported to consoles and I can confidently the transition has been handled well.

Modes are plentiful. I started in the career which focuses around Nuno, an imprisoned youth looking to get revenge on the gang that wronged him. It is a tough campaign. On the surface, it’s a short one with a couple of bouts in each location. It serves as an icebreaker to show off the rest of the cast but it is incredibly tough.

It has a set difficulty which can spike wildly. For every other mode, you can pick a challenge from the settings menu but the career sticks to the default. Seasoned players might not have an issue with this. As someone more towards the novice end of the scale, I’ve hit the wall relatively early. The AI is brutal and, whilst some routines are there to force you into learning techniques, it feels very rigid and aggressive.

It’s a shame because there a few set-pieces that make the story feel interesting. It begins with Nuno punching his way through prison fodder, sometimes against two opponents. Nuno meets up with Mingmei and the part that’s troubling me has the two squaring up in concurrent battles. It’s smartly presented and tweaks the usual format in some clever ways.

Controls are primarily focused around the face buttons for attacks. You have light and heavy kicks and punches which are easy to handle and you can mash out some decent combos. There’s plenty of depth on offer with throws, throw escapes and counters in the mix. There’s some simple meter management with special moves you can trigger. Blocking is as easy as holding back but that also opens up the potential for guard breakers.

It’s really enjoyable, although one problem I have is with the interface. The button prompts favour a fight stick but I would’ve loved to see the Playstation icons there instead. The controls can be entirely remapped and an input buffer can be set. For a game that is so customisable, it’s a pity I can’t tweak how those buttons are displayed in game.

There is a simplified control scheme available for absolute beginners although I prefer the original inputs. Having a simpler way to bash out combos makes me feel like I’m missing out on something more direct. Whilst I am an uncoordinated swine, I think the default controls are accessible enough. Even in one-sided bouts, I felt there was enough time to think and try to combat what’s being thrown my way. The smaller stature of the characters seems to give the stages more room.

Outside of the story mode, you’ve got the typical arcade options, training modes, combo practice and each mode has a degree of flexibility. It’s very full-featured and I can really respect that. You have plenty of tools to tinker with, particularly when it comes to practising. Arcade mode allows for a little bit more narrative and helps flesh out the cast. It’s a quicker ladder to climb and can feel more focused than the actual story mode.

Online is populated, albeit with small numbers. I’ve had no issues getting matches going but it does surface player numbers directly to you and which lobbies they reside in. For now, it’s a sign players are turning up. Hopefully that remains steady. The AI can be robotic at times so fighting human opposition offers a more unpredictable test.

Pocket Bravery has a very clear aesthetic. The inspiration is obvious from the name and super-deformed characters. In action, the pixel art is detailed and it’s animated fluidly. I quite like it. Cutscenes prefer to show a cleaner look, although I’m not a big fan of how everyone looks in it. Their short stature leads to limbs with more muscles than sense.

Matches are easy to follow and, despite some of the flashier movies, the action is pretty straightforward. Each match opens with a brief stage introduction. These have a nice fluidity to them. It’s worth seeing them once just to see how well it’s done. It’s the typical globe-trotting locales but they do have plenty of variety. That can be boosted even further with the extra stages available in the shop.

I think the cast has a distinct look and their move-sets seem varied. I haven’t spotted much in the way of overlap so, I would hope, there is something for everyone. There’s certainly some familiar archetypes. Arshavin is a grappler, Nuno is something of a beige starter. He’s got a nice overhead kick that I found tricky to reliably pull off. Sebastian has a boxing move-set featuring a really nice shimmy you can instigate.

Musically, the stages have their own themes, whilst it can be tough to listen out for them during combat, they seem decent. Each fighter has their own battle cries and they do appear to be in their native tongues. There’s also a fairly competent commentator on hand to shout-out breakers, first strikes, low health and so on. It’s pretty good and does a solid job of informing you whilst you focus on the fight.

Pocket Bravery is a carefully considered fighter that gives players plenty of ways to play. The extensive training modes can be helpful to new players, although the difficulty of the story mode was a step too far for me. There’s still plenty to enjoy and, whilst the character roster is a little small, there’s a diversity that can lead to some interesting match-ups.