Thrill Of The Fight: Opponent Breakdown

For a video version of this article check it out here on our youtube channel.

Here we break down every opponent available to go toe to toe with in Thrill Of the Fight by Sealost Interactive on the Oculus Quest 2 (and PCVR). With the exception of the special opponents like the ghost and zombie. We’ll save those for another time. Each opponent in Thrill Of the Fight has different characteristics and methods of fighting. If you’re interested in the Halloween fighters in the “Extra” menu then be sure to check out our article about them.

Don’t be fooled by the intensity of the game, it isn’t a question of physical fitness alone, some strategy is also involved. Some hit hard, some less so. Some are easy to knock out, others more so. Whether you’re struggling to defeat one of them, or just starting out and wondering what is in store, there’ll be something here for you. If you’d like a more beginner focused guide check out our article on the basics, like how to hit hard and win fights. Now let’s get into it.

Choose Your Character

Sparring Partner

Sparring Partner is a nameless, overweight older guy with a bunch of pads on and a funky shirt tucked into some funky shorts. The fight against him lasts only a single round. All in all he’s really easy. He can take a few good punches, but swings the most slowly and weakly of all opponents. He makes for a good single round warm up and not much else.

“Melky" - Alexei Petrov

After a warm up with the sparring partner the first true opponent is Melky. He’s a skinny, yet still shredded, guy with a short haircut and almost complete lack of emotion. He won’t feel much like a true opponent though. He’s really just a slightly better version of the sparring partner. He’s a little harder to take down, punches a little more quickly, and punches a little harder. His strategy is pretty straightforward. Block for a little while and then throw a few punches, almost like he’s on a timer.

“Ugly Joe” - Joe Nasato

Ugly Joe looks like Rocky Balboa if he kept boxing, but never made it off the streets of Philadelphia. He’s got a lazy eye and a face that took a million punches and could probably take a little more. A classic old school boxer still in the ring. His match goes on for three rounds, and here those rounds might be necessary. Ugly Joe is much harder to take down than previous opponents, requiring a lot of powerful hits on weak points in order to bring him down. If you’re not much in practice, you may have a very hard time with him. His blocking is pretty good, and his punches are fast and fairly hard. While he does not throw insane combos like later fighters, a couple of solid hits from Ugly Joe can knock a you down pretty quickly.

Despite this, Ugly Joe has his weaknesses. He’s not particularly fast on his feet, and sidestepping him in order to get a punch on his liver or the side of his head can be very effective. His strategy is very defensive, taking hits and waiting for you to tire yourself out before counter attacking when he has an opening. He is the first real challenge of the game, so watch out.

Want to see how to knockout Ugly Joe? Well check out the video of it here with commentary.

“The Raging Reverend” - Gene Priest

The Raging Reverend, just “The Reverend” from here on, is a short angry looking guy with a head that could generate enough power for a small village if you put solar panels on it. He is the polar opposite of Ugly Joe. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses he can be easier or harder than Joe. That’s because he is fast on his feet and fights offensively. He will take swings at you before even defending himself. Where Joe is a test of careful, slow offense, The Reverend is a test of patient defense and quick attacks. Unlike Joe, The Reverend goes down very easily with a hit or two to the jaw. However, he has a counter for this, and that is this very annoying defensive block that he uses.

He holds his elbow up over one side of his head, and his other hand over the other side of his head. Normally in this situation a jab to the face is called for, but that elbow easily gets in the way, making a solid hit on the face or chin very difficult. Doing this does leave his side open, so a couple of blows to his ribcage will cause him to drop his guard and leave his head open for a killing blow. All in all The Reverend will fold to a quick and precise offense launched before he has a chance to throw any combos. When The Reverend has taken hits he is very slow to counter attack before he recovers. Having an offense that is more overwhelming than his own will lead to victory.

“Luis The Lightning” - Luis Felix

The Lightning has all of the attributes of The Reverend, but more. He’s shorter and angrier. He’s fast, and hits quickly and hard. Though he has an even glassier jaw than The Reverend. He goes down very easily. The only problem is actually landing a solid hit on him. The Lightning is the first opponent who will actively dodge punches, and he does so pretty well. Especially after recently taking a hit, he will move his head out of the way of subsequent punches. This makes landing subsequent hits to get a knock down very difficult. Still, after wearing him down a bit it’s easy to bring him down with a single, glorious hook. The same strategy for the Reverend works here as well. Hit him hard and fast. Though he will actually counter attack fairly quickly, so watch out.

“The Spider” - Charong Kitsuwan

The Spider is tall and second only to Ugly Joe in ugliness. He looks like somebody told him you personally insulted his tiny hands right before the match, and now he has a personal vendetta against you. Though despite his intimidating appearance and height he is extremely easy to take down. He has has a jaw as glassy as The Lightning’s, and he doesn’t dodge. The trick is to land solid hooks on his broad chin, but it’s a bit more difficult due to that chin being so high up. Attacking fast is really the only easy way to win. While The Spider’s defense is terrible, his offence is almost unrivaled. His hands are small but they hit incredibly hard and fast. A single hit can quickly knock you down. Attack him fast and precisely. He’s practically a stationary target, though he will counter attack if the pressure lets up. His fight can last for four rounds, but good luck getting that far without him knocking you out.

“The Artist” - Hojo Mizushima

The Artist is an extremely focused looking guy with a receding hairline and a sweet moustache. Of all the fighters he is the most interesting to have a long, artful duel with through each of the four rounds of his fight. His style of fighting is extremely defensive. The Artist relies on being fast on his feet and quick to dodge punches. Rather than attack you outright he will wait for an almost absurd length of time for you to attack him, and then very rapidly counter attack. Even when wounded his counter attacks are fast and often very strong. Should his counter succeed The Artist will not hesitate to press his advantage and commence with a fierce flurry of blows.

Fighting the Artist should be done carefully. The previously best strategy of all out offense will not work nearly as well against him. Rather whittling him down is the best way to go. Carefully maneuver into the engagement and bait him into counter attacking. Block or dodge the attack, and counter the counter while his face is unguarded. Even then pressing the advantage can be dangerous unless The Artist is on the verge of keeling over. Attacking him can be very tiring, as he is extremely good at dodging, more so than any other opponent.

An alternative strategy for a very aggressively inclined player is to do the same, but go all out on the attack when The Artist’s defenses are down. This will require either very quick blocking of his counter attacks or simply absorbing the blows and resetting the attack. This strategy requires a lot of skill at seeing The Artist’s dodges coming, and adjusting aim in order to still land a blow. Therefore it is only recommended for more advanced players.

“The Duke” - Duke Bell

The Duke is a thick dude built like a pile of bricks and just enough corn rows to not be bald. He wears a very stylish purple outfit, though maybe he would look better in red. Where The Artist is a master of evasive defense, The Duke is a master of static defense. He blocks quickly, and his big hands block a wide area. More so he is just extremely tough. Knocking out The Duke is very difficult, even with many successive, devastating hits he does not go down easily. He does not strike extremely quickly, but he does hit very hard, and can knock you down easily. That being said he takes his time with counter attacks, though he will counter attack. If left alone he will go on the offense, though again he generally takes a few slower but heavy blows rather than quick attacks or a flurry of punches.

The best strategy against The Duke is slow pressure. Keep attacking him, but not so quickly that the exhaustion becomes too much before The Duke falls down. Punch him in the face so that he changes his guard and then hit him with a hook before backing off and coming in for another run. Otherwise hit him with a hook and then follow up with a solid face hit or an uppercut. Changing the location of attacks quickly will work just as well against The Duke as any other fighter, but those hits need to be on weak points and be very strong to be worth the energy. Score enough hits and a couple of very well placed blows will knock him down in later rounds.

“Matty” - Mateo Vega

Matty is the most stylish of all fighters with a red and blue glove combo and the most tight fitting shorts of all. He’s fast and can dodge, though not as well as The Artist, and he can take a few hits, though not as well as The Duke. If he has an appropriate opening his attacks can be very fast and strong, and he will push you. His style is fairly aggressive, though he will certainly give some room to breathe. He throws combos more than any previous fighter, and failing to defend from one of them can lead to a quick knock down. All in all he is quick and combines the traits of all previous fighters, though he does none of them the best.

Due to his balanced nature a variety of tactics can work against Matty. Whatever you are most proficient at will likely be the best option here. All out offense works against him, though his dodges can make this a very tiring strategy. Careful defense is another good strategy, though a single uppercut from Matty can put you on the floor. A mixture of the two is likely the best, since he is not overly hard to knock down like The Duke. Wait for Matty to attack and then counter attack fiercely with a few strong hits to weak points. Let him dodge and then strike again when he stands straight, or back off and prepare for another attack. Letting Matty strike first can also work as this will leave him exposed for a hook to the jaw.

“Moneymaker” - Edward Price

Here he is, Moneymaker. The big boss with the tacky golden gloves, deceptively skinny arms, and what looks like a glass jaw but certainly isn’t. Don’t be mistaken, Moneymaker is as tough as they come in Thrill Of The Fight. He hits the hardest and is the most difficult to knock down. His speed and dodging ability rivals even that of The Artist. He’s the last fighter and he’s the hardest. Most of all he has no weaknesses. If you’re going to fight Moneymaker prepare for one hell of a workout and a challenge. You’ll likely need to go for most if not all of the five rounds of the fight.

Since Moneymaker has no weaknesses, just like Matty, no particular strategy is strong against him. He will dodge, he blocks quickly, and he hits the hardest of all. Most of all he is extremely aggressive. Rarely will he simply stand by and block, unless he has taken a lot of damage and needs to recover. Instead he will constantly pressure you, attacking both with single hits and combo attacks. Those combos are lethal, and come from a variety of angles, forcing an extremely dynamic defense in order to stop them. Generally you’re better off just side stepping out of the way.

Just as with Matty whatever strategy you feel you are best at is likely to be the way to go. All out offense is possible, but will require extreme endurance and the ability to quickly dodge counter attacks to work. That is likely the least viable strategy. Just like with Matty a more careful approach is the best, though with Moneymaker the slightest slip up can end up with you out for the count. Defend carefully and counter attack quickly.

Once you defeat Moneymaker, congratulations! He’s the hardest fighter in the game. If you’re a real enthusiast try them all again on the next highest difficulty, or play with the settings. Setting the force multipliers to 1x each can make for a much more stable feeling fight. Additionally turning on drift protection can keep your hooks from drifting behind your opponent’s head. These both offer a little more realism and a little more challenge. That is, if the most intense workout in Virtual Reality isn’t intense enough for you.

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If you’re interested in Thrill Of The Fight but haven’t purchased it yet, it can be found on Steam for 9.99$ or on the Oculus store for either the Meta Quest 2 or PCVR for 9.99$. Happy Boxing!