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| Double Fine Productions returns to its experimental roots with the physics-heavy world of Kiln. |
By Jon Scarr
I've spent decades punching things in video games, but I've never had to mold the fighter on a virtual pottery wheel before I could actually use it. Kiln is the latest bit of wonderful weirdness from Double Fine Productions and Xbox Game Studios, and it’s a project that takes a "what if" scenario and runs with it until the glaze cracks. It’s a physics-heavy arena brawler where you don't play as a person, but as a spirit inhabiting a lump of clay. If you’re looking for a snappy, traditional fighter, you’re in the wrong place. But if you want a project that challenges your engineering brain as much as your reflexes, this is a hit.
This experimental project feels right at home in the Double Fine catalog, sitting comfortably next to other offbeat ideas that shouldn't work but somehow do. The game asks you to care about the structural integrity of your character as much as its combat moves. I found myself thinking about the thickness of a clay rim more than my win-loss record during the first hour. It is a slow burn that requires a high tolerance for wobbly physics and occasionally frustrating controls. Once you accept that you are a haunted piece of pottery rather than a martial artist, the whole experience opens up.
The game doesn't hold your hand through the learning process, which is a breath of fresh air in a genre that often over-explains itself. You learn through failure, usually by watching your carefully crafted pot shatter into a hundred tiny pieces because you made the neck too thin. It’s a punishing loop, but it is one that rewards genuine experimentation. You aren't just playing a game; you’re learning a digital craft that happens to involve smashing into other people's art.
Kiln Details
Platform: Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Genre: Party, Online Multiplayer Brawler
Game Modes: Multiplayer
Molding Your Vessel in the Wedge
The heart of Kiln isn't the fighting. It’s the preparation you do on the wheel. You begin your journey in The Wedge with a "vessel," a basic clay form that you pull and squeeze into shape using a simple two-button system. I spent my first ten minutes just trying to figure out how to give my tall vase enough base heft so it wouldn't tip over the moment an opponent delivered a heavy strike. You aren't just choosing a character class here. You’re building a functional physics object from scratch. If you mold your pot to be too top-heavy, you'll struggle to keep it upright during a fast-paced scrap.
It’s a system that rewards the kind of tinkerer who likes to live in the menus. You'll find yourself constantly tweaking the distribution of your clay to find the sweet spot between height and stability. I ran into a wall against defensive-heavy opponents because my stout bowl shape lacked the reach to bypass their guard. I went back to the wheel and pulled the clay into a tall, slender cylinder that completely changed how I approached the fight. It proves that the sculpting isn't just a visual flair. It is the core activity that determines whether you win or lose.
The game gives you a significant amount of freedom to break things, too. You can add handles or glazes that give your vessel some personality, but the actual shape is what matters for the brawling. The trial-and-error process of seeing your wobbly creation actually move for the first time is a favorite part of the experience. You quickly learn that every gram of clay has a purpose. Ignoring the mass distribution is a one-way ticket to a quick death in the arena. I highly recommend molding a wider, flared base for your pot. It saves you from the physics engine knocking you flat when an enemy connects with a glancing blow.
Physics and Shape-Based Combat
Once you step into the arena, Kiln transforms into a brutal simulation where drive is everything. You don't just press a button to swing an arm because you don't have any. Instead, you use the sticks to build up torque and let the procedural animation do the heavy lifting. It’s clunky by design. I remember trying to connect with a heavy strike using a big cylinder build and missing so badly that my own force sent my clay vessel tumbling off the edge of the platform. It’s the kind of game where you're fighting the controls as much as the enemies.
This isn't a game for the impatient. The learning curve is steep because the game expects you to understand how heft and force interact in a 3D space. You’ll spend time just learning how to move without falling over your own rim. But when you finally time a move correctly and watch your clay hammer slam shatter an enemy into a hundred pieces, it feels earned in a way most modern action games don't. Your attacks are tied directly to your shape. A chalice might give you a hurricane-style spin, while an hourglass trades aggression for a time-slowing effect. You’re seeing the direct result of the vessel you built.
The procedural nature of the combat means no two fights play out the same way. Sometimes the physics work in your favour. You'll catch an enemy in a loop that sends them flying. Other times, a stray piece of debris will trip you up at the worst possible moment. It’s hostile and often acts as something unfair, which aligns it more with "Souls-like" games than your average party brawler. If you can't handle a bit of jank in your combat, you’ll probably find the whole thing more annoying than innovative.
The Frantic Havoc of the Quench Arena
The core of the experience is Quench, a 4v4 objective mode that serves as the ultimate test of your pottery skills. Matches are a frantic struggle to gather water and douse the enemy team's kiln three times before they do the same to yours. It’s a total mess in the best way possible. I spent an hour getting bullied by a team that focused on high-speed, spindly bottle builds that could carry water and zip away before I could react. I realized only after several losses that my wide, slow bowl build was a total liability in a mode that requires this much movement.
Difficulty is the main hurdle here, but it's fueled by skill rather than AI. Kiln doesn't apologize for its brutal learning curve. Some team compositions feel genuinely impossible to break until you realize you need a specific mass distribution to counter their drive. It’s a meta-game of engineering as much as it is a test of combat reflexes.
Double Fine Productions clearly intended for this to be a "hop in and play" experience. While a session might only last an hour or two before the limited map rotation sets in, the stakes in every match feel high. There is no filler here. Every match is a unique challenge because you never know what kind of monstrosity the opposing team has cooked up on their wheel. I wish there were more modes beyond Quench, but the focus on these physics-heavy showdowns keeps the pacing tight. It's a focused gauntlet that demands you respect the clay.
Kiln Is a Weird Success for Double Fine and Xbox Game Studios
Nobody had to make a game where you mold your own pottery fighter, but I’m glad it exists. Kiln is a short, sharp shock of innovation that isn't afraid to be difficult. The limited map variety isn't an issue because the whole game is a focused gauntlet. The story is almost non-existent, and the physics will definitely drive some people up the wall. But the combat is focused once you master it, and the variety of vessel builds is a genuine test of your engineering skills.
This project proves that there is still room for weird, hardware-pushing ideas that don't fit into a standard genre box. It is a game about possessed jars fighting for water, and it carries that premise with total commitment. You will likely spend as much time laughing at the ridiculous physics as you will cursing them. That balance is hard to strike, but Double Fine has managed to find the fun in the frustration. It’s an easy recommendation if you want something that looks and plays like nothing else on your console.
You'll want more of it when it ends, but that’s better than a game that overstays its welcome. It’s a project that clearly mattered to the people who built it. That passion shows in every fingerprint on your clay vessel. If you’ve got a couple of hours and a high tolerance for frustration, Kiln is worth every minute you put into it. It’s a weird, wonderful experiment that proves there’s still room for new ideas in the brawler genre.
Kiln Review Summary
Liked
- Double Fine signature weirdness and innovation
- Unique Vessel System rewards tinkering and engineering
- Physics-based combat feels earned when you deliver a hit
- Excellent performance on Xbox Series X|S
- Procedural animation makes every fight unique
Didn't Like
- Steep learning curve and brutal difficulty spikes
- Limited content at launch with only one primary game mode
- Physics engine can occasionally sabotage a perfect play
Overall Assessment of Kiln
Gameplay: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4 / 5)
Presentation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4 / 5)
Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4 / 5)
Story / Narrative: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2 / 5)
Fun Factor: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3 / 5)
Overall Value: ⭐⭐✨☆☆ (2.5 / 5)
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