Say hello to what is - in a sense - one of the coolest online multiplayer attempts in a long time. It’s innovative, free to download and play, and boasts very low system requirements.

The gameplay is in essence simple, yet the system itself is so complex I can’t imagine anyone actually completely mastering it. You can always get better at a game like this.

Toribash is a turn-based, martial arts style online game. Though the genre itself isn’t exactly a rare breed, this game stands out as genuinely unique due to its physics-based combat. While most fighting simulations simply call for the player to press a button in order to execute an attack, all motion in this game is determined by the states of the character’s many joints and muscles, which the player decides. Though there are many joints, for the most part there only four modes for each: Holding, Relaxing, Extending, Contracting. After the players assign the desired states, the characters move for ten motion frames, at which point everything freezes again and the players assign new modes according to any new situation that’s arising. Like I said, it’s a turn-based battle of coordinative skill.

Sound complicated? That’s only because it is. Lasting long enough to get any kind of high Belt Rank in the online multiplayer ranking system is certainly something to brag about.

Though single-player training is available, the online multiplayer is without a doubt the main attraction. In this mode there are two main rules: one, the player with the most points at the end of the match wins, and two, if a player’s body hits the ground he’s disqualified.

Who knew a 12.5 megabyte download could go so far? Toribash’s many available mods and game modes are sure to keep players coming back for quite a while, not to mention the creator’s frequent updates.

If you’re looking for something fresh and innovative, this just might fit the bill.

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