Anger Foot Review (PC) – Kick It!
I mentioned in my Schim review that sometimes we all just need something cosy and twee to relax with. Whilst true, gamers also need something on the other end of the spectrum: a game to just go absolutely nuts in, in the most cathartic and violent way. Fortunately, there’s Devolver Digital for that, and their latest offering, Anger Foot.
A one-angry-man war against corruption and the retrieval of his sneakers, Anger Foot is as high octane a game you can get without mainlining substances (I mean, I assume). Ridding gangs with a mighty kick and some firepower, this first person kicker is a fast-paced, neon-tinged rollercoaster of cartoon violence and lowbrow humour. Devolver’s modus operandi, if you will.
But will it go up against their esteemed label stalwarts like Hotline Miami, Katana Zero and Broforce, or is going to trip itself up? Let’s kick things off and find out.
The Bare-Footed Cheek Of It!
I normally start reviews with the plot, the narrative drive to really set the scene and invest you, the reader, about what’s going on. Sometimes it’s really complex, others I have to tread carefully around because I don’t want to spoil. In the case of Anger Foot, however, it’s neither.
Our protagonist, a man with a face like the Nemesis, the greenness of The Incredible Hulk and a shorter pair of denim shorts than Chuck Norris, likes trainers (sneakers if you’re not familiar). Needing one last pair of Preemo-branded kicks, he gets them… until his prized possessions are literally ripped from his home. As I would be if someone stole my record collection, this angers our hero.
This laced-up larceny fuels the rage across Shit City, which has us kicking the hell out of four gangs, corrupt cops and a sneering overlord in the Crime Minister. Our first gang is the Violence Gang, before moving on to the Pollution Gang, the Business Gang and lastly, the Debauchery Gang. Sounds like if Adult Swim made a Captain Planet reboot.
It’s as tangental as a plot gets: angry man gets angry about stolen footwear, ends up freeing city from depravity and corruption. Attune your brain to that level of plot alongside My Friend Pedro and you’ll have a good time.
Can I Kick It? Yes, I Can
If you hadn’t gotten the gist yet, Anger Foot involves kicking. Enemies, doors, windows… err, random trash flies that hover about, it can be booted. And not unlike Duke Nukem’s mighty boot, there’s a lot of power behind each kick. Would make for a pretty lame experience otherwise.
So, Anger Foot is a first person booter, putting Mr. Foot in linear, often corridor-based levels and tasked from getting from A to B. Much like, essentially, any platformer or indeed most of Devolver’s catalogue. Players start each mission with nothing but wits and anger, and will hopefully finish the level in the same mood.
But notice I said “platformer” above? That’s right, there’s also a lot of precarious platform hopping, tenement blocks to leap over to and boxes to scale. Oh yes, this isn’t just a runner-kicker, it’s a runner-kicker-jumper-shooter too.
Kick Ass And Shoot Trouble-Guns
Go with it, I wanted to make a They Live! reference somewhere. Yes, as well as the jumping and kicking, guns also come into play. So, how does it control, is the purpose of this segue. Is it cumbersome and clunky, or on par with its other fast-paced stablemates?
Fortunately, it’s the latter. I’ve mostly been playing on Steam Deck (we’ll get to performance in a bit), and it’s easy enough to handle. Much like your standard FPS layout, you move and aim with the thumbsticks and jump with A (or X were it on PlayStation, etc). Kicking is assigned to both left trigger and bumper, with shooting on both the right-hand side. Guns are picked up automatically, and thrown when depleted, either automatically or by choice, that can be toggled.
There’s some interactive sections between levels, but during the actual carnage one doesn’t need to worry about door puzzles, keycards or any of that faff. It’s in, run, kick-and-shoot, try not to die, rejoice. But whilst that all sounds simple enough, there’s a decent challenge element to it too. Well, besides the “it’s pretty nails as difficulties go” challenge.
They Were Ugly Before I Booted Them
One of the more striking aspects of Anger Foot, besides all the kicking, is the style. As I say, it’s a Devolver-published game. They love all the weird, wonderful and talking banana nonsense, so this fits right in. It’s vibrant, to say the least.
No one looks, politely, human. Enemies are all hood-like caricatures, the stereotype slum enemies. But not only that, there’s also anthropomorphic enemies too. The ones that look like Jacket from Hotline Miami have alligator heads, the police look like pigeons (I think). Everything has a weird Justin Roiland/Rick and Morty… chunky-ism, I suppose. But that’s not a criticism, just my take on it.
The world itself is bright and eccentric too, all exaggerations for comic effect (both book and humourous). Explosions have that XIII-style cloud to them, guns are large, Goldeneye replicas. Bad guys move with an over-the-top goon look towards you, all giving it that “Yes this is as daft a premise as a game called ‘Anger Foot’ could be” vibe. And I love it.
My only slight grumble is the music. Again, I’m a massive fan of both Hotline’s and Katana Zero’s soundtracks (why yes, I do have them on vinyl, thanks for asking) and was pleasantly surprised that this is similarly upbeat. It’s got a weird… how do I put this politely? Eastern Bloc techno vibe to it. Don’t ask me to explain, I just know what I mean. Which is great, except when it feels like the same track on loop after the umpteenth attempt at a level.
Pumped Up Kicks
Whilst Anger Foot is extremely linear, in that players literally follow a lined map of levels, it does have a strong degree of challenge and replayability. Much like the recent Trials games, or the Hong Kong Massacre, Anger Foot has a star-based challenge system.
Each level has three stars, and you’ll get one star for finishing the level by default. Which you should, as some of them are bloody hard. But unlike HKM, which has the same challenges for all levels, Anger Foot mixes it up a bit. Some are challenging but straight forward, like doing it with only kicking and no guns. Then there’s some that except players to clear levels in obscene times, which are nigh on impossible the first time round. This is where the rewards come in.
Stars mean currency, and currency means more sneakers. New kicks means, besides charming and funny footwear, different perks. Like the above not-Chucks, that replenish a bullet per kick, or the sandals that resurrect players once upon death. Y’know, like that beardy dude did in history’s longest-running fiction novel.
Which is helpful, because the fine line between death isn’t as straightforward as “one hit kill”. Sometimes you might soak an additional hit, others shot offscreen. The key is to play about with what footwear you like, or go barefoot for the “standard” challenge. Then, if one is feeling saucy, go back and try and earn more stars.
Two Left Feet
If I had to level any criticism at Anger Foot, the list is quite small. No, it being hard wouldn’t be up there, but I can see why some might reach for that low-hanging fruit. Yes, it’s a difficult game, they do exist. If it was easy, it would be boring. No, my issues are more along the technical side.
Firstly, enemies are programmed to just charge at you when they see you. Which is fine, it creates hilarious moments of kicking a group in a narrow corridor like a hammer-less Oldboy moment. But there are times when an enemy’s arm clips through the doorframe, and collision detection still works on it. It loses the effect when you can hang back and kick someone through a wall.
The other issue is that whilst gunplay is a feature, the focus is more on kicking. So, why does the game insist on putting hard to reach enemies with guns on say, other rooftops? It breaks the flow if players have to stop, aim, fire and risk being one-hit killed by someone else. Maybe it’s a skill issue, and woe betide me for not having MLG responses, but there are times when a two-minute level breaks down and you have to constantly restart.
Otherwise, it’s the repetitive music that gets annoying. Yet, weirdly, you wouldn’t want to play it without it. Make sense of that if you will.
Stamp Ya Feet
In conclusion, Anger Foot is about as much fun as you can expect from Devolver, which means Free Lives clearly read the room. It’s certainly up there in terms of frustrating levels of fun, prompting that annoyance and one-more-go mood in equal measure.
There’s a lot in here, with four base gangs to take out in about sixty levels, even before adding in the challenge factor. For those masochists that want to unlock everything, they’ll be here for a while. The levels are fast when done properly, with instant restarts upon death. A few pacing hiccups don’t detract from the overall fun.
Yes, the game is difficult. If one isn’t used to this kind of challenge, or haven’t played any of the aforementioned, then it might seem jarring at first. But it’s easy enough in concept to get into, so it’s down to the player to decide if it’s worth it.
I had an absolute blast, despite the occasional latency issue on the Steam Deck, and will keep kicking myself until I’m done. Hotline Miami 2 didn’t break me, this won’t either… hopefully.
Another crazy entry to Devolver’s catalogue, Anger Foot fits right in like a well-worn shoe. It’s violent, it’s daft, it’s challenging and like most others in the stable, it’s so instantly one-more-go-again that it becomes addictive. Lace them up and go kick it. Hard.
Anger Foot is available now on PC via Steam, and is compatible with the Steam Deck.
Developer: Free Lives
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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