‘Kings Of Kung Fu’ PC Game Pays Tribute To Classic Martial Arts Movies

“Kings of Kung Fu” is a new fighting game available on PC through Steam from publisher Digital Tribe Games and developer Jae Lee Productions. The game is meant to be a tribute to classic kung fu movies from the 1970s and 1980s, which often starred Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, among others.

The story of the “Kings of Kung Fu” is about the mysterious Red Ronin, who makes a tournament for 14 martial arts stuntmen, each of whom must face each other in one-on-one combat to determine the winner. The winner must then take on Red Ronin himself to win the grand prize and be the star of his or her own kung fu movie -- and thus step out of the shadow of being a martial arts stuntman. (Chan began his film career as a stuntman in movies that starred Lee.)

According to Siliconera, the game has 14 different characters, each based on a famous kung fu actor. Jean Claude Van Damme, for example, is the inspiration for the John Deux character in the game. The name is taken from the Frank Dux character Van Damme played in “Bloodsport 1988.”

A news release from publisher Digital Tribe Games states that each fighter will have a different style and more than 100 offensive maneuvers to take on other martial artists. In addition to the various attacks, players can also block, grapple and even counter-attack other fighters, which should add some depth and complexity to the game’s battle system.

Fans who aren’t experts on fighting games have nothing to fear here, as the developer has stated that any casual player can pick up the title and play it. Hardcore fans of fighting games also will appreciate that they’ll have more than 100 moves to master, each move completely unique to each of the 14 different fighters.

“Kings of Kung Fu” is available now on PC through the Steam online store for $5.99, but the game currently has a 50 percent discount on Steam. Fans who want to know who each fighter is based on can check the game's Steam Community page.