# Foul Play: A Two-Person Demon-Hunting Stage Show

Team up as Baron Dashforth and his sidekick Scampwick in a theatrical, two-player brawler. Keep combos flowing to win over the audience in local or online co-op.

[PLAYNEXT](https://playnext.party/) · Published: 10/2/2026

![Baron Dashforth and Scampwick fight costumed enemies on an underwater stage as the audience watches.](https://playnext.party/steam-images/d877913b-de22-45d4-bc22-addb24856b1b/ss-7994c1bd5a9cdfc3fd1f38cf5d5144f032cb2085?width=1200)

In Foul Play, you and a friend take the stage as Baron Dashforth, a daemon hunter, and his sidekick Scampwick. This side-scrolling brawler supports two players in local shared-screen or online co-op. You are not clearing a demon nest in a realistic world: you are performing Dashforth’s adventures for an audience, and their mood is your measure of success. Combos, parries and throws keep the show moving; taking hits can sour the crowd and bring down the curtain. It is a focused choice for two friends who want a theatrical beat-’em-up, not a larger party game.

## The crowd is watching your combo

Most fights put you against a group of costumed demons and other actors on a long theatre stage. You can strike, launch an enemy into the air, follow with lighter hits, and use a dodge or parry when an attack is about to land. A successful counter opens up a special move: you might batter an enemy with a quick flurry, throw them into the crowd of foes, or drive them down into the stage. As you learn more techniques, these attacks give you several ways to carry a combo from one target to the next.

That combo is more than a score chase. Foul Play replaces the familiar health bar with the audience’s mood. A clean string of attacks and dramatic counters lifts the performance; getting hit or letting the fight stall puts the crowd off. If their enthusiasm falls too far, the show ends. When you keep a streak alive, score multipliers climb and the audience answers with cheers, waving arms and hats thrown into the air. The theatre turns a messy brawl into a performance you can read at a glance: the audience is judging both of you, not just counting defeated enemies.

The rhythm comes from switching between enemies rather than repeating one safe attack. A foe telegraphs an incoming strike, so you can parry and turn it into a counter. A throw can clear space or send an opponent into others; a launcher gives you a short aerial string before the next target closes in. Some enemies attack from range or move through the air, while heavier ones can interrupt your flow. The stages often fill with several threats at once, so each moment asks you to decide whether to extend the combo, move across the screen, or answer the enemy who is about to break it.

The presentation helps you keep track of that performance. Both characters have their own score and combo display, while the mood-o-meter keeps the shared show’s approval in view. When the audience is pleased, you see it in the stands as well as in the gauge. When the actors take too many hits, the mood drops and the crowd starts to boo. That link between spectacle and survival gives a simple beat-’em-up a clear group objective: keep the act entertaining enough to continue. The two score displays let you see how each fighter contributes, but the audience is reacting to the show as a whole. One streak can push the multiplier upward; a broken chain or several hits can put the shared performance in danger. That makes the mood gauge an easy point of reference even when several actors and effects are filling the stage.

## Dashforth and Scampwick share the stage

In co-op, one of you controls Dashforth and the other takes Scampwick. The pair fights through the same staged campaign rather than splitting into different roles or building separate classes. Each can attack, parry, launch and throw enemies, and both contribute to keeping the audience engaged. The two-player format keeps the action readable while still letting you cover different parts of a crowded stage.

Some moves ask for real timing between players. You can parry the same enemy together, then trigger a brief button-mashing tussle to decide who lands the finishing blow. It adds a playful rivalry inside an otherwise cooperative fight: you are still working toward the same audience mood, but the final hit is up for grabs. Other moments reward better synchronization. Each fighter can build a Showstopper, a short burst that doubles the combo multiplier; trigger both at once and the bonus rises to four times. That creates a visible payoff for saving the two abilities for the same stretch of enemies.

![Dashforth and Scampwick battle costumed enemies on a theatre stage beneath fight posters.](https://playnext.party/steam-images/d877913b-de22-45d4-bc22-addb24856b1b/ss-de492242871cdccd53779b947f751398db91f332?width=1200)

A second player also changes how some challenges feel. One act might ask for a long hit streak or a particular sequence, while another gives you a target to defeat last or a section to finish before time runs out. These demands can be awkward to manage alone while also avoiding hits, and the shared-screen partner gives the show another set of attacks and counters. Co-op does not turn the game into a tactical class exercise; the fun comes from two people feeding the same performance meter while the onstage chaos builds around them.

## Every chapter is another performance

Dashforth’s story is presented as a set of recollections. Across five plays and 22 acts, he recounts the demon-hunting adventures that made him famous, with Scampwick at his side. The journey ranges from desert scenery inspired by Cairo to the depths of Atlantis, and the actors shift from one strange enemy costume to the next. You might be fighting wolves in one scene, then seeing an undersea creature enter under blue-green lights in another.

The theatre never disappears behind the scenery. Stagehands haul props away and bring new pieces on; a set can change while you are still fighting across it. Costumed demons are performers in the show, and the seated crowd remains visible along the front of the screen. That framing gives the levels a storybook quality: a fierce fight can end with a curtain call, and an obvious prop or actor waiting in the wings is part of the joke. The shifts between plays keep the visual setting moving without pretending each encounter takes place in a separate naturalistic world.

Dashforth’s recollections build toward a mystery around his father and the events behind the “foul play” of the title. The story is light on extended exposition; its personality comes through in stage business, character exchanges and the contrast between grand heroic narration and low-key backstage gags. The scenery, costumes and audience reactions carry much of the tone. If your group likes a comedy that keeps a straight face about demon hunting while letting stagehands wander into view, the setting has more identity than a generic city street or dungeon corridor.

## Challenges give you reasons to return

Acts include optional challenges that change what the current scene asks of you. You might need to reach a hit streak, perform a certain move, finish within a time limit or leave a boss until last. The goals often encourage a different route through a fight rather than a new campaign rule. Completing all the challenges attached to an act can earn a charm, which gives you a small bonus such as making combos easier. The game also unlocks additional stage tricks as you progress, so your move set grows beyond the first few attacks. A parry can even turn a projectile back toward the enemy who launched it, giving a defensive move a different job in the right scene. That helps the challenge list vary the way you approach familiar fights: one goal may reward a long uninterrupted combo, while another asks you to use a counter or manage the order in which enemies leave the stage.

You can return to completed scenes to chase missed goals or improve your score. That works well for pairs who enjoy replaying a short section to land a cleaner combo or earn another star. The Showstopper and parry systems offer enough timing to make a familiar wave feel different when you are trying to keep a streak intact. A boss scene can interrupt the ordinary procession of enemies, while the optional tasks add a reason to pay attention to how you finish each act.

The tradeoff is that the core loop stays recognizable for a long time. Enemies may arrive in new costumes and backdrops, but many fights still ask you to juggle, counter and clear groups while guarding the crowd meter. If your favorite brawlers keep changing enemy behaviors and combat options throughout a campaign, Foul Play can begin to feel repetitive. Its best variety comes from the performance goals, the other player’s timing and the theatrical staging rather than a deep roster of distinct combat systems.

## A compact co-op fit for two

Foul Play offers both local shared-screen and online co-op, with room for two players. One person is Dashforth and the other is Scampwick; there are no extra seats for a larger group. If you want a compact game for two friends to play together, the pairing carries through the same stage-by-stage adventure. Online co-op is listed for two, but whether a public partner is available is uncertain. If that matters to you, plan to play with someone you know.

A wired Xbox 360 gamepad is the recommended setup. A controller is a sensible option for a brawler built around quick counters and repeated attack strings. The local mode is shared-screen, so both people can follow the same fight and audience meter without separate views.

Foul Play is at its strongest when your pair enjoys arcade-style action, score goals and a comedy that treats its own stagecraft as part of the combat. The co-op is direct: the two of you fight the same enemies, keep the audience on your side and occasionally race to land the final hit. If you want a four-player hangout, highly varied enemy behavior, or a sprawling set of character builds, this show has a smaller cast and a narrower rhythm. For two friends who want to see how long they can keep a crowd cheering, that focus is the point.

## On Steam

- **Play together:** Online co-op, Remote Play Together
- **Steam reviews:** Mostly Positive, 80% positive of 651 reviews
- **Playing now:** 0
- **Platforms:** Windows, macOS, Linux
- **Controller support:** Full
- **Developer:** Mediatonic
- **Publisher:** Epic Games

[View on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/244810/)

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Source: https://playnext.party/en/games/foul-play/

Language: en