Fights in Tight Spaces wonderfully reimagines action movie showdowns Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Fights in Tight Spaces wonderfully reimagines action movie showdowns Bourne again. Feature by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 13 Nov 2020 39 comments Have you ever seen those Sherlock Holmes films by Guy Ritchie, the ones with Robert Downey Jr in? Oh they're not that bad, come on. Guy Ritchie's Holmes has this ability to plan out fights before they happen. He imagines all the blows he's going to land, mentally weighing up their pros and cons, then chooses the best option, performing it in a blur of precise strikes. He barely raises a sweat as his systematically destroyed opponent crumples in a heap on the floor. It's very cool. Fights in Tight Spaces Developer: Ground Shatter Games Publisher: Mode 7 Platform: Played on Xbox Series S Availability: Out now on Xbox Game Preview (for Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X) for £16.74, with a free trial, and coming to Steam Early Access in Feb 2021. No firm date for 1.0 release yet. Fights in Tight Spaces reminds me of Sherlock Holmes. Mind you, it also reminds me of Neo, and of Jason Bourne and James Bond and John Wick and even Jackie Chan (I sense a theme here) - all of these very neat, very controlled, close-quarters fighters, who look like they're in trouble but it's really the enemies who are. It's about being the surrounded action hero who's about to show everyone why they're the action hero. Given that, Fights in Tight Spaces probably doesn't sound like a turn-based game. But this is where the magic comes from. This is what allows you the Holmes-time to plan out what you're going to do. You're presented with a puzzle, a huddle of assailants around you, and you have to work out how to get out of their paths while simultaneously messing them up. What you can do depends on the cards in your hand. Because on top of everything else, it's also a deck-building game like Slay the Spire. You begin with a thin, default deck of cards and then add to it, and hone it, as you go along, choosing from rewards after battles and upgrading and removing cards at relevant places along the way. Cards, then, represent everything you can do - even move. You cannot move around the tight fighting space without a relevant card allowing it. And this is a big thing, because movement in Fights is everything. That is a very tight space! Also, note my one point of health. I think I won this encounter despite it! Impressive, aren't I? You can win by going toe-to-toe with enemies, and applying block cards and counter-attacks to cope with their damage, but it's a bit risky. Also, it's ugly. It goes against the spirit of the game. This is a game about pirouetting through danger, navigating a (mostly) melee minefield, while wrong-footing enemies and leaving them exposed to your attack. Or, even better, each other's attacks. And honestly, you'll need all the help you can get. Fights in Tight Spaces is hard. I've only been playing a couple of hours, granted, but I haven't been able to clear even one of the missions, because I've been sloppy and not thoroughly considered what each enemy is going to do turn-by-turn, and landed myself in trouble. Think of missions, incidentally, as Acts in Slay the Spire: a multi-route flow-chart of places to stop on your way to a boss. There are battles in various tight spaces - alleyways, kitchens, tattoo parlours - to choose from, as well as text-based scenarios, places to heal, and places to upgrade your cards. Watch on YouTube The toughness only makes me want to try again, though, and when things go right, it feels badass, as though your enemies never stood a chance. And you can bask in your victory a bit afterwards, replaying the encounter from a zoomed-in cinematic camera angle. You can see me doing this in the video embedded here. In other words, I'm a fan. Fights in Tight Spaces has found a way to distil my favourite part of action films while finding a strong new angle for the deck-building genre I'm fond of. It's not quite finished - it's in the Xbox Game Preview program at the moment, so bear that in mind, but there's a two-hour free trial for a taste. Give it a try! Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 3 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store