A staff, some pirates, and medieval China shot like a 70s kung-fu movie.

The community's gut is harsh: 9 Monkeys of Shaolin edges out only 11% of games when people pick without thinking. And the criterion-by-criterion read hammers it home. Attachment, the wish to rediscover it, and the soundtrack all sit at the very bottom, ahead of barely 1% of the field. Controller feel too, on few votes, but a beat'em up losing on that ground stings. Two lines lift their head a little: fun, ahead of roughly one game in five, and above all the art style, brushing the middle of the pack. The tension lives there, in the gap between a punchy brawler built for short bursts, and questions that ask about attachment, memories and music. The game has nothing to answer with.

In the modern beat'em up, the bar is high. The genre is alive again, and you need flawless feel or an identity that hits. The love letter to SNES and Mega Drive is sincere here, but the community does not see the mark of the greats.

So, who is it for? For you if you like isometric brawling, solo or co-op, with a staff and a fully committed kung-fu look. Much less so if you want a game you will still remember in ten years.