Punch Club 2: Fast Forward

Punch Club 2: Fast Forward is a martial arts management simulation by Lazy Bear Games. Instead of controlling every punch yourself, you develop a rookie fighter, plan their training and decide how they split their time between work, rest and competitions.

The story is set in a garish cyberpunk city full of corruption, questionable technology and references to 1980s action movies. As your fighter rises through the leagues, they try to uncover the disappearance of their father.

Punch Club 2: Fast Forward was released on July 20, 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. The iPhone and iPad version followed on August 22, 2024.

The standalone second part was developed by Lazy Bear Games and published by tinyBuild. The Iron Fist expansion was released on July 22, 2024.

Punch Club 2 is available for Windows PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and iPhone and iPad. The PlayStation release includes PS4 and PS5 versions. On Xbox, the game supports Smart Delivery and is optimised for Xbox Series X|S.

The Switch version is a release for the original Nintendo Switch, not a separate Switch 2 edition. The iOS version uses touchscreen controls and has a different purchase model from the PC and console versions.

In Punch Club 2, you plan a fighter instead of fighting the matches yourself, as in a classic beat 'em up. You improve their physical stats, learn techniques and put together suitable attack and defence abilities for upcoming fights.

Won fights and completed tasks give you access to more schools and techniques. The skills you combine affect how your fighter reacts to different opponents in the ring.

Punch Club 2: Iron Fist was released on July 22, 2024 and adds its own robot league to the game. You build and upgrade a robot, manage a workshop and take to the ring with new attacks, defensive abilities and modifiers.

The add-on adventure introduces its own technology tree and a story about a secret robot society. Iron Fist requires the base game. The Complete Edition bundles both.

Punch Club 2 requires at least an Intel Core i3-7100 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 4 GB RAM and 2 GB of free storage on Windows. Steam lists a GeForce GT 1030 or Radeon R7 240 as the graphics card. DirectX 11 is required.

The recommended setup lists an Intel Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 1650 or Radeon RX 6500. The game is designed for a 64-bit Windows system.

Training, jobs, eating and sleeping all compete for the same limited time in Punch Club 2. If you train constantly, you lose time to earn money. If you only work, you prepare worse for important fights.

You decide how your character organises their days and when extra tasks are worth it. Money goes toward looking after the fighter and their athletic progress.

In Punch Club 2, you fund your career with jobs and assignments. You can work for the police, take on shady clients and uncover side stories.

Completed tasks bring in money, but they can also unlock new fights, training schools and skills. The city is more than a backdrop between two tournaments.

The story follows a young fighter whose father vanished before he was born. After twenty years in his mother's house, he sets out through a city shaped by corporations and crime.

The story combines the dream of a successful sports career with a family drama and many references to old action movies. Technology and illegal training methods open up extra paths, but they also carry risks.

The iOS version of Punch Club 2 was released on August 22, 2024. It includes a free 45-minute play session. After that, the full game can be unlocked with an in-app purchase.

The mobile version supports touchscreen controls and also offers the Iron Fist expansion as a purchase option. Installation requires iOS or iPadOS version 17 or later.

Punch Club 2 is a single-player game with a German user interface and subtitles. On Steam, it supports achievements and cloud saves. The Switch version offers handheld, tabletop and TV modes as well as touchscreen features.

Fights are influenced by prepared abilities and the fighter's condition. A direct online co-op mode is not one of the listed game features.

The PlayStation version of Punch Club 2 offers adjustable difficulty levels and an adjustable game speed. You can pause the game and it supports manual saving. The PC version is listed with full controller support.

On Windows PC, you can design your own fighting leagues in Punch Club 2 and share them with others. In the league editor, you set the number of participants, the appearance, the stats and the techniques of the opponents. You can also set various conditions for their behavior.

Before you publish a league you've created, you have to win it yourself. Other players can then find these challenges on Steam and try them out. The league editor is not available on consoles.