Streets of Rage 4

8

One of the better new nostalgic sequels out there that can stand on its own 2 feet. From an objective sense it has the best fighting, depth, roster and bosses in the series. I will stake take the classic Streets of Rage 2 for the foundation it set, the music and the old school arcade feel, but this brought up a lot of good memories and is fantastic to replay.

Fun, but ultimately flawed beat-em-up with a wild difficulty curve. When it flows well it plays great but the controls can be clunky at times. Had a fun afternoon with it but tried following up at the point where I got stuck and did not have fun. Overall good game.

As someone who's not like, really huge on beat em ups, as someone who tends to suck at them, and mentally fought with myself to make sure I went through Normal mode with zero assists used, this is a fucking amazing game to play.

It's crazy how much fun it just becomes on top of the excellent enemy design when you have situational specials to use, creating an elegant dance between going for maximum damage and dodging attacks. From taking care of overwhelming damage coming your way by sweetly timing your defensive super, to charging at an enemy's startup attack with an aerial, it's ridiculous fun to give and avoid receiving hits. There's even a training mode (or well, a battle mode that can figuratively act as one) and 4+unlockable different characters to play, each with their own attacks and specials that differentiate them. The toolset you have is so versatile that it's honestly a no brainer to the devs that they put in a battle mode.

The bosses are mostly all fantastic too, forcing you to go for proper whiffs and proper micromanagement, with some of the better ones throwing multiple enemies on screen you have to manage while going for these combos. There's a couple stinkers but it feels like it never missed.

By the end of it I was boiling with high praise to give it, even despite a few subliminal issues like star powers being basic shmup bombs, it was an excellent short and sweet experience. I'll probably go back to it at some point to play it on higher difficulties, or go for higher rankings by going for more optimal combos.

Bonus: You also get to kick the shit out of a lot of blue pigs in this game.

This is at the same time the best belt scroller i have played, and at the same time the game that made me once realize that i dont enjoy this genre all that much.

First of it looks absolutly majestic, and its animations also feel top notch. Its really satisfying to feel the impact of strikes on the enemies, and animations have a nice weight to them. At the same its a very responsive game, and generous when it comes to i frames and tells.

The story is not something i can comment on because i skip every single cutscene. Perhaps that is a plus, you can skip everything that is not gameplay in this game. Its very true to its arcade origins, in the sense that there is no forced walking or exposition, and even boss intros are just few short seconds long.

The soundtrack is decent while playing the game, but outside of it is just a bit too flat.

The gameplay really does nothing really innovative in the genre, except that its really solid. Enemies have good AI, trying to outflank you and pulling off counters, but at the same time with proper practice you can wreck hordes without getting hit. The 5 different characters that the game offer have very different playstyles with different mobility, health and reach, and of course moves. It does its best with the 2d style it uses, making the player consider space, combo time, reach and the environment on screen, and this is essencial in the tough boss fights that the game offers.

Its short but sweet, offering a true arcade experience with new gen visuals. It doesnt manage to break free of the 2d limits though, and as such it doesnt reach the heights that 3d beat em ups can do. That said, its a fine good time.