We take a step away from casual games and into the indie realm with Toribash, a violent 3D fighting multiplayer game with some very involved controls. It’s a game that takes a lot of effort to master, but is also extremely rewarding once you get the hang of it.

Toribash is the creation of Singapore-based Nabi Studios, and it’s grown to become a bit of a phenomenon that includes a community of over 12,000 active users, and nearly as many replay videos on Youtube showing off spectacular fighting moves created in the game. But to understand the appeal of this quirky game, you have to start with the fundamentals.

There are always 2 figures made up of spheres representing muscle groups, and you control them to make them move their limbs and fight one another - except in multiplayer games, where you and your opponent send your moves to each other, turn by turn. There’s a lot to learn in how to click on the right muscle, selecting Compress, Extend, Hold or Relax at the right time, in order to jump forward, punch, kick, grab and defend against your opponent. One wrong move and you could very easily send yourself falling over in all directions. Just a simple punch or kick will take many clicks of the mouse, since there are so many body parts that you can and must control! No, it’s not an easy game to learn. But it’s really rewarding to achieve that impossible jumping kick, or to grab your opponent and smash him into the ground. You can record replays to upload for other users to see, whether it’s in your own practice sessions fighting a static target, or in online games against ther Toribash players.

And it’s violent - this is a game you may want to keep away from young children. Even though the figures are intentionally abstract, with just simple eyes on their round faces and no real distinguishing marks other than the color of the blocks and spheres they are made up of, the violence can still disturb some people. If you put enough pressure on a joint, or any body part for that matter, it will break off with a meaty crack or a crunch. At the default game setting, drops of red blood will spill as well. It’s not uncommon for a match between skilled Toribash players to become a darkly comical farce when limbs and heads go flying in all directions!

Over the years, Toribash has been updated and improved many times, and it’s now available for free for both Windows and Mac platforms. There are countless user mods available, which are all bundled with the game, offering weapons, anti-gravity, giant sized characters, sumo characters, and many other simple changes that make a whole new game when you use these settings. And there are a lot of settings to adjust, but the settings screen doesn’t have simple check boxes - you have to actually type the setting numbers you want. In that sense, it isn’t a well polished user interface at all, it’s more of a simulation program for expert users. Even people who might be into hardcore games might not find the interface to their liking.

Granted, this game takes a lot more learning than most others out there. But if you’re willing to visit the community forum, read up on gameplay tips, and play through the game over and over to master the deadly flying kick, your video might be the next one that Toribash users will be chattering about!

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(10 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)

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