Typefighters Steam Edition Review

Developed and published by Christian Reuter, Typefighters is a typing battle that tests players’ skills and vocabularies.

The game’s first mode of play involves words moving across the screen that players can choose and type out at will, earning points for each completed word. Most of the game’s other modes are this simple, too: pick a word, type it quickly, and hope your opponent is slower than you. The whole experience reminds me of non-typing battle games like Super Smash Bros. and Brawlhalla – player-driven and skill-based, but too often unfair.

To be fair, though, some elements of Typefighter brought unexpected – and very welcome – difficulties beyond typing speed. Game modes like “Projectiles” force players to come up with words while typing the opponent’s words to defend themselves. While the game’s first handful of game modes felt more like exercises than actual “game” modes, I found the more creative modes to be, if only for brief moments, fun. There were moments of being so excited that I’d successfully fended off an unpredictable or complicated word from the other player that I forgot it was my turn to come up with a word.

In the “Creativity” game mode, I found myself repeating droll and similar words because the pressure of competition made it tough to think quickly and abstractly. These are the game’s strengths, along with ample setup options and online multiplayer support (I personally didn’t see any public games open, but played with a friend of similar typing ability and didn’t notice any issues).

Typefighters isn’t without weaknesses, however, as its modes of play really only serve to blend type-offs and think-offs in various combinations. The “Lines” mode, for example, plays a lot like any other non-creative mode, and in most cases the faster typist wins. Moreover, because the nature of winning the game is so skill-oriented rather than being influenced by situations that arise, any amount of difference in typing ability will typically lead to easy victories for one player – and a heap of frustration for another.

In my opinion, this game should absolutely be played in schools. It forces players to flex both typing skills and creativity in a competitive arena – in which typing usually isn’t involved. For only $2, it simply can’t be judged with the same severity as a full-fledged video game, and as a product with a small scope, it mostly accomplishes what it was meant to. The next time I get together with some over-competitive friends who are good at typing, Typefighters will be on the docket.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.