Radiant Entertainment has made good on its promise to deliver a free Community Edition of its 2.5D fighting game, Rising Thunder, so you can duke it out with your buddies online at no charge.
The game features a bunch of robots that you can choose from for your fights. Each has a unique design, personality, and special moves, which are easy enough to learn even for novice players – and that’s pretty much it. The developer had to abandon Rising Thunder after the company was acquired by Riot Games, but promised to release a build based on the alpha, so fans of the early version could enjoy it.
You can now download the game here (601 MB), and there’s also a basic open-source server that you can set up or join for online matchmaking. You can simply unzip the game client and start throwing punches offline, but if you want to play with others over the internet, you’ll want to join this Discord channel to find out about when servers are up and running. The team has also graciously put out a goodie package (2.1 GB) that includes concept art, videos from earlier versions of the game, and more.
In my brief test, the game ran fine, with responsive controls and smooth animations. The art style features vibrant colors for the characters and environments, and it doesn’t look dated in the least. If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, this is a good way to go.
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