Four protagonists deal with fanatics who do not believe in a disease that has generated a pandemic and try to solve it in a different way: with the strength of their own fists. This is the brazilian game fists of repudiationa satire in which any resemblance not it’s a coincidence.
The idea for the game came up in 2020, but in April 2021, the Brazilian indie studio Braindead Broccoli created a funding campaign in Catarse. The goal was BRL 5,000 for “a classic beating game” so that you “feel all the revolt of those who can no longer stand people on the street without a mask”. In 45 days, they raised more than R$50,000 for final development, and the game was released for Windows and Linux in August 2022. This week, the macOS version finally arrived in partnership with the developer QUByte.
O gameplay above shows the essence of the game: choose a character and go following denialists who refuse to wear a mask, are once morest vaccines and do not take precautions once morest VOC…, I mean, the nameless virus of this fictional pandemic in the game. ????
Frame-by-frame animated art alongside authentic and detailed Brazilian scenery (with lots of references and easter eggs) make the 2D environment look modern and fun to play. The four characters have unique moves that you learn along your journey in the city. Plus, local co-op multiplayer allows up to four players to play simultaneously.
Political and religious leaders are also enemies within the game, distributing fake medicine, lying regarding isolation and doing everything to sabotage SOS, the Optimal Health System. The commander of fanatical conspiracyists and denialists is also part of the hateful villains who, by the way, have names beyond creative — among them, Tiozão do Zap.
Bringing a peculiar experience and with an indicative classification of 14 years old for “Language vulgarity, insults, profanity, blood and cartoon violence”, Pusos de Repúdio is a playable social critique that may not please both poles, but it is still an important game and brave. Not just on the progressive side, but because it’s regarding Brazil naked and raw — something the games industry avoids for market reasons.
The game is short, but has several challenges following each level, with an easy-medium difficulty level and a fair price. The game is available for macOS by Steamfor R$16,90. If you want to try it out before paying, there is a downloadable demo version at the same link.
It goes without saying: this post is not aimed at a political debate; use the comments below preferably to talk regarding the game itself.
