This is an early prototype for a fighting game I'm working on. I'm not sure if the final game will be a PICO-8 title, but prototyping in PICO-8 is fast and responsive, so I'm using it to work out the mechanics. I'm opening this cart up to the public in order to get feedback on how it plays, and I'll add more to it as development continues.

At the moment stages 0 through 4 are available. Each fighter has two or three meters, depending on the stage: <W>ill [in red], <B>reath [in yellow], and <G>uard [in blue] on Stage 4. Will is your will to fight; if it runs out you're done! Breath is like stamina; it recharges over time. Both taking action and getting hit costs breath, and if it gets low, getting hit hurts more. Guard is for blocking punches.

Controls

Z: Punch
X: Brace for pain (hold it down)

If you're low on breath, punching won't do as much damage.
Bracing costs breath as you hold it, but getting hit while bracing halves incoming damage.

Controls (Stage 2+)

X+< or X+>: Dodge

Dodging takes a small step left or right, which can dodge an incoming attack (negating all damage) and keep other enemies away at the same time. However, you can't dodge if you don't have enough breath, and dodging can't be done consecutively: There's a 1 second cooldown before you can dodge again: if your helmet is gray, it's not time yet!

On Stage 3+, watch out for hooks! A hook is a punch that comes in from the side, and if you dodge in the same direction as the hook, it'll still hit you!

Controls (Stage 4+)

X: Guard (hold it down)
Z: Counter (situational)

Guard takes the place of Brace from Stage 4 onward. Guarding costs some of the new guard meter, and getting hit while guarding takes a chunk of it away. However, guarding doesn't cost any breath (in fact, it continues to recharge during guard) and any blocked attack does no damage at all! Guard recharges slowly, but dodging an incoming attack restores a good chunk of the guard meter as well.

If you punch right after guarding an attack, you'll perform a counter instead of a punch. Counters do the same amount of damage, but they're much faster.

Notes

In total, eight stages are planned, and later stages will get more complicated.

Stages 0, 2, and 4 should be winnable; Stage 1 should not. The goal of Stage 3 is to get the boss to block (at about 3/4 health). If you can actually beat Stage 1 or 3 let me know; that means my code isn't working!

~Thank You For Playing~