Fighting hits the toy box in Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination

Ever mix toy line when you were a kid? That’s more or less the idea behind 2D fighter Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination.

Action figures face off in Knock Off

Here’s something altogether unique, as goes the realm of fighting games, and a title that genre fans might want to check out. That’d be developer Bit Bot‘s upcoming Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination. It’s a 2D fighting game that features a cast of characters that look like they could easily have been included in an 80s/90s toy line or two.

That’s kind of the idea too, as these heroes and villains are wholly original, right down to their in-universe histories. Yes, “histories”, as Bit Bot has actually crafted back stories for each of its brawling action figures. And on top of that, there’s a surprisingly cool story at play. Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination stars the toys of a kid named Johnny. And the thing about his collection is that it’s made up of, well, bootlegs.

That being the case, you can imagine that things might heat up with the addition of Maximus. The armored menace is a big, bad sci-fi trooper and also Johnny’s first licensed toy. Needless to say at this point, that’s going to cause some bad plasticized feelings.

“Everything about Knock Off‘s era of tactile nostalgia and deep yet simple VS combat speaks to me as a gamer and the kid I once was,” said Frank O’Connor, former Halo Franchise Creative Director and current Creative Director at Bit Bot. “Action figures, toys and video games have always been about kindling and energizing imagination – not replacing it – and that notion is absolutely incandescent in Knock Off‘s DNA. Combining those things and lensing it through a child’s eyes has been inspiring and above all else, fun.”

Johnny’s toys were never name-brand, but they were always legendary. When Maximus, Johnny’s first official brand-name action figure, arrives and shakes up the arena, Johnny’s beloved bootleg toys must prove that off-brand doesn’t mean outmatched.

Bit Bot press release

Plastic fighters, deep gameplay

Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination sounds like a pretty well-rounded fighting game. According to the press release, players can look for “air combos, launchers, EX moves, and spectacular supers”. That’s all while keeping with a design that looks to be “easy to pick up yet challenging to master”.

The main chunk of that action will play out in a single player arcade mode. That won’t be bare bones either, as Bit Bot says to expect a “fully voiced narrative”. Stages will include hidden Easter eggs too, plus what sounds like one heck of an unlockable. That’d be a “retro beat-’em-up minigame” that plays out in side-scrolling fashion. How cool is that?

Versus fans shouldn’t worry either, as one-on-one online will be supported as well. That’ll stock “rollback netcode, customizable matchmaking, and global ranking systems”. That’s sounding sharp enough alright, though we should also point out that there’s no local multiplayer mentioned. If true, that’d be a bit of a puzzling choice.

Getting back to more positive elements though, Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination has what sounds like a fantastic post-launch roadmap planned out. According to Bit Bot, the title will have “roster expansions featuring new fighters and special guest characters, new stages, and much, much more”. The mind reels at who those “guest characters” might be.

As for the launch however, stay tuned, as there’s no date set just yet. Right now, we know Knock Off: The Battle for Imagination will be along some time in 2027 for the PC, PS5, and XBOX Series X|S. Wishlisting is open now for it, and you can check out even more on the game’s official website.