Shakes and Fidget
Shakes and Fidget is a free-to-play, fantasy-themed 2D MMORPG that riffs on classic role-playing tropes with a steady stream of satire. Beneath the comic-book presentation is a familiar loop of quests, dungeons, gear upgrades, and one-on-one PvP, but the game’s appeal comes from its light, sarcastic tone and its largely automated battles that keep sessions quick and low-pressure.
 | Publisher: Playa Games GmbH Playerbase: High Type: 2D Fantasy MMORPG Release Date: December 09, 2010 PvP: 1vs1 Arena Battles Pros: +A memorable parody take on MMORPG staples. +Consistently amusing writing and flavor text. +Strong comic-book 2D art style and presentation. +Plays smoothly across multiple platforms. Cons: -Very limited combat animation and spectacle. –Few moment-to-moment choices once a fight starts. –Combat resolves automatically. –Progression can feel like repeated click, wait, and return. |
Shakes and Fidget Overview
Step into Shakes and Fidget’s intentionally silly fantasy world, where sword-and-sorcery heroics are treated like a punchline and nearly every quest description has something cheeky to say. It is presented in a bright, cartoon style that leans into the webcomic roots, and the overall structure is built for short play sessions rather than long, hands-on dungeon crawls.
Character creation gives you a deliberately exaggerated roster of options, letting you build a comic-themed adventurer from 8 races and pick from 3 classes. From there, the game pushes you into a steady routine of errands and dungeon attempts, sending you after absurd targets and equally absurd rewards. Progress is driven by upgrades, you equip your hero with countless joke-labeled weapons and armor pieces, and you can further enhance gear with gemstones for extra stat bonuses.
Outside of questing, Shakes and Fidget’s competitive side revolves around simple 1vs1 Arena fights and a fortress feature where you build up your own stronghold and test it against other players. The experience is designed to be easy to check in on from different devices, so it plays comfortably as a “second-screen” MMORPG where you manage timers, upgrades, and matchups without needing perfect reaction time.
Shakes and Fidget Key Features:
- Comedic Fantasy Tone – rather than playing the genre straight, the game constantly pokes at MMORPG clichés with sarcastic quest text and tongue-in-cheek writing.
- Comic-Style Avatars –create a stylized hero using a lineup of 8 races and choose between 3 classes, all presented with a playful, caricatured look.
- Huge Loot Selection –collect and equip a massive range of humorously titled equipment and accessories to keep your build moving forward.
- Arena and Fortress PvP –duel other players in 1vs1 Arena battles and engage with fortress offense and defense for longer-term competition.
- Play Anywhere Convenience –jump between PC and mobile sessions easily, keeping progression going without being tied to one platform.
Shakes and Fidget Featured Video
Shakes and Fidget Review
Shakes and Fidget sits in an interesting place between an MMORPG and a management-style RPG, it has the trappings of the genre but it rarely asks for fast mechanical play. Most of your time is spent choosing what to do next (quest, dungeon, shop refresh, arena attempt), then watching the results play out. If you enjoy optimizing a character over time and checking in for steady progress, it can be a satisfying rhythm, but players who want active, skill-based combat will bounce off quickly.
The strongest first impression is the presentation. The cartoon art, exaggerated character designs, and constant jokes make it feel distinct even years after release. Quest text and item names do a lot of heavy lifting, and the game benefits from being self-aware about the grind it is built on. When it lands, it adds personality to what is otherwise a very traditional set of RPG stats and upgrade screens.
Progression is straightforward and gear-focused. You are always chasing better numbers through equipment upgrades, gemstone enhancements, and incremental improvements that make the next dungeon run more feasible. This creates a clear sense of growth, but it is also where the click-and-wait structure becomes obvious. Your “decisions” often come down to selecting the best available quest reward, deciding when to spend currency, and picking which opponent to challenge, rather than executing in-the-moment strategies.
Combat, by design, is hands-off. Fights resolve automatically and the animation is limited, so the payoff is primarily in seeing whether your preparation and stats were enough. That can be enjoyable in the same way as a light autobattler or idle RPG, but it also means the game’s long-term variety comes from the meta layer (gear, resource timing, fortress development) rather than from new combat mechanics.
PvP is clean and accessible thanks to 1vs1 Arena battles, and it provides a practical benchmark for how your character stacks up against the server. The fortress system adds another long-term goal for players who like base progression and periodic rivalry. Neither mode is complicated, but both help break up the PvE loop and give you reasons to keep upgrading beyond dungeon completion.
Where Shakes and Fidget succeeds most is in being consistent and easy to fit into a routine. Multi-platform support makes it a natural “check-in” game, and the high playerbase helps the world feel active even when you are primarily interacting through menus. Its weaknesses are equally consistent: repetition, limited interactivity during fights, and a gameplay cadence that hinges on waiting as much as winning.
Shakes and Fidget Links
Shakes and Fidget Official Site
Shakes and Fidget Steam Page
Shakes and Fidget Wikipedia Page (German)
Shakes and Fidget Wikia [Database/Guides]
Shakes and Fidget System Requirements
Windows Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP
CPU: Intel Pentium or compatible
RAM: 1 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB available space
Mac OS X Requirements:
Operating System: 10.5 (Leopard)
CPU: Intel Pentium or compatible
RAM: 1 GB RAM or more
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB or more available space
The game is also available for both Android and iOS mobile devices.
Shakes and Fidget Music & Soundtrack
A dedicated soundtrack section is not available here yet, but the game’s audio generally supports the lighthearted, comedic tone rather than aiming for epic, cinematic fantasy. Expect functional effects and upbeat flavor that matches the cartoon presentation.
Shakes and Fidget Additional Information
Developer: Playa Games GmbH
Publisher: Playa Games GmbH
Story: Oskar Pannier and Marvin Clifford
Drawings: Marvin Clifford
Open Beta: November 18, 2010
Steam Launch Date: February 24, 2016
Development History / Background:
Shakes and Fidget is a free-to-play 2D fantasy MMORPG developed and published by the German studio Playa Games GmbH. It draws directly from the German webcomic of the same name created by Oskar Pannier and Marvin Clifford, which explains the heavy emphasis on punchlines, parody, and comic-book framing. Development on the original Flash-based version began in June 2009, followed by an Open Beta on November 18, 2010.
Since its 2010 beta era, the game has grown into a widely played title with over 40 Million players and support for 25 languages. It is available on PC as well as on mobile devices, and it later arrived on Steam on February 24, 2016, making it easier for players to keep progress connected across the platforms they use most.