$24.99Fatal Claw Nine lives, one underworld
A resurrected cat fights through a dark, hand-drawn world, stealing powers from infected foes and fusing them into new abilities.
Is Fatal Claw worth it?
Fatal Claw is worth it if…
- you want a Metroidvania that gets the fundamentals right and moves at a quick, lively pace
- you like earning new movement abilities and reopening old areas for secrets
- you enjoy experimenting with skill combinations to build your own combat style
- you're drawn to hand-drawn worlds that are cute and dark at the same time
- you care about a story with multiple endings and lore to piece together
Screenshots
Two claws, one very good cat
Kisha fights with a claw in each paw, and they do very different jobs. The Silver Claw's Blink lets you slip straight through an enemy's attack and punish the opening it leaves behind. The Golden Claw answers with a heavy charge attack for when it's your turn to hit hard.
On top of that sit the Engraved Skills you absorb from the Infected and the Inherited Skills you carry from the start, mixed together as you like. You learn each enemy's patterns and build a style around them, so a fight against a leaping horror feels nothing like one against a slow bruiser. It's quick, kinetic combat that rewards reading the room, then moving first.
Fusion recipes worth hunting for
Scattered through the underworld are hidden Fusion Recipes, and they're the reason to poke into every corner. Find one, and the Engraved Skills you've absorbed can be fused into something entirely different: sweeping area attacks, adorable transformations, or bombs whose results are, let's say, unpredictable.
Some fusions will reshape how you fight; some will explode in your face in a way you'll laugh about. Either way, a recipe found in a forgotten ruin turns old skills into new toys, which makes exploration pay twice.
An underworld that opens up
This is a proper interconnected Metroidvania map, and it's a varied one: ancient castles, strange natural caverns, dangerous modern facilities and hidden ruins, each with its own atmosphere. New movement abilities keep changing the rules. Squeeze through narrow passages, climb walls, float across gaps, and paths that were walls an hour ago become shortcuts.
The world itself has a story to tell. A fallen ancient kingdom has reawakened through the technology of the Commoners, survivors cling to hope down there, and rescuing them while following the traces they left reveals the truth about Kisha and the corruption. Multiple endings mean what you uncover matters. When you need a breather, there are costumes for Kisha.
Questions before you play?
Can you play it solo?
Yes, it's a singleplayer game from start to finish. The whole underworld, every boss and every ending is built around one player and one resurrected cat.
Is it hard?
Mostly on the gentle side, with a few spikes late on and in some platforming stretches. The combat is fast and can feel frantic in tough fights, but it's a welcoming entry point if this is your first Metroidvania.
Does it do anything new?
The Blink dodge, the two-claw setup and the hidden Fusion Recipes give it its own flavour, but the overall structure follows the genre's well-worn paths. If you've played a lot of Metroidvanias, expect a very well-made familiar meal rather than a strange new dish.
