New fighting games come and go, with many failing to live up to the larger titles. Why play the new indie game when the latest release of Street Fighter, Tekken, or Smash Bros is always available? (Though I know some fans would kill me for calling Smash Bros a fighting game.) Komi Games’ Mighty Fight Federation, published February 24th on PS4 and PS5, aims to do just what others have failed: create a competitive fighting game with layers of depth that doesn’t compromise on a fun, party-like atmosphere.
Komi Games want Mighty Fight Federation to be eSports ready, and it isn’t just the eSports tab on their website that tells me that. The tutorial goes in-depth on the variety of controls, and although you learn what each button combination does, it alludes to the existence of combos. Missions will have scripted combo tests for the player, where if they don’t land a specific input chain, they won’t pass. The depth is in your face and here to stay.
Mighty Fight Federation has two sets of input types: normal and special. You activate a special by holding a button and pressing one of the other inputs to get a completely new one. I found this design to be incredibly simple but endearing. Although I was playing with a PS4 controller, it felt similar to playing with an arcade stick in the way that tons of input combinations opened up. I wouldn’t consider myself a skilled fighting game player, but I could immediately tell the levels of depth available. Just by exploring the roster of characters and the inputs, you can explore a ton of strategic complexity.
A huge pillar of MFF’s gameplay is the physics. Hitting a player will send them flying and bouncing off the walls. It might seem like a miniscule inclusion, but this opens up for satisfying juggle chains. Fighting game progression systems work primarily on just improving the players’ range and quality of skills. I know that when I land a multi-hit juggle combo, I have improved myself exponentially and it can be incredibly pleasing to do so. Komi Games clearly know how the fighting game community operates and have gone to lengths to prove it.
A criticism I have is that Mighty Fight Federation has a strange disparity between target audience and design. Fighting games with depth like this tend to have audiences that skew older. And with Komi Games’ focus on FGC eSports, this seems to be pushed even further. But the humor and design seem to target a younger audience. When Heckwolf told me to “Like and subscribe” after first loading up the game, I started to expect a completely different, more casual experience. The characters began dropping cheesy one-liners to be expected on a kids cartoon, but then the game wanted me to do a 5+ multi-hit combo. Similar titles like Smash Bros have a younger audience oriented design, but their implementation is much more digestible due to the characters all already being liked and known, setting established expectations. I found Mighty Fight Federation’s roster relied too heavily on gimmicks and dialogue to distinguish themselves rather than just relying on their interesting fighting gameplay and character design (which they do have).
Despite those issues, I do look forward to what Komi Games do with their title. After a bit of digging, I even found them hosting their own tournaments on their official YouTube channel. A developer that knows how to market their game for eSports in both game design and publicity will surely attract a dedicated community. I recommend checking out Mighty Fight Federation to any player that’s looking for a new fighting game to test their skills.
7/10
Check Out the Might Fight Federation PlayStation Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://fightmighty.com/
PlayStation 4 Review
My name is Devon Huge. I'm passionate about writing, art, games, and lists that are one item too long.
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