Game Name: Streets of Rage 4
Developer: Dotemu, Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games
Publisher: Dotemu
Release Date: April 30, 2020
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Introduction
Ever since that i first heard that Streets of Rage 4 was going to be released, I knew that I wanted to play this game.
i will admit that I was a huge fan of Streets of Rage 2. The music and gameplay was the best in the series. I also loved the characters the most. So, when looking at the trailer for this game, I figured that it would be a throw back to the original trilogy. Let us see if this game is fun!!
Streets of Rage 4 - Trailer
Gameplay
If you have ever played one of the previous games, then you will feel like you are at home. The game is a modern take on the old school beat 'em up.
For this review, I will be only looking at the story mode as this is the only mode that I did play. There is an online Co-op mode and Arcade mode as well, but I have not played them yet. That review will come at a later time.
First of all, there are a few returning characters and there are a few new characters. You can choose Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, Cherry Hunter, Floyd Iraia, Adam Hunter (Only unlocked after stage 4.)
So you have the classics like Axel Stone (Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3), Blaze Fielding (Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3) and Adam Hunter (Streets of Rage 1). The new editions are somewhat decent as well.
Floyd Iraia: He has immense strength. However, the trade off is that he is as slow as mollasses.
Cherry Hunter: She is the daughter of Adam Hunter. She is very quick but she is easy to get off her feet.
I will not go into all of the characters as this is part of the fun. Finding out which one matches your play style. I for one really liked Adam Hunter. He felt like he was the most well balanced character in the game. Unfortunately, on your first play through, you can only unlock him after stage 4.
In the end, there are 12 stages and playing through it, took me about 2.5 hours. This is much longer than the hour or so of the previous games. Then again, the previous games started out at the arcade.
While, you play, you can interact with your surroundings. It is a little more fleshed out than in previous games. In addition to tables, chairs and barrels, you can also interact with Crane-balls that when hit, they can swing to hit you or your enemy for an immediate take down. Like in previous games, you can pick up bats and knifes, along with swords.
Streets of Rage 4 - Sample Gameplay
Bottomline
I think this is a very enjoyable game to play. The story is weak as expected but I am not playing for the story. I am playing to smash buttons and kick some butt.
I miss these types of arcade like games and I think this game fills that void. I was able to obtain this on Gamepass. So this means that I did not have to pay for the game. However, I think that I will purchase it for 20$. For me that is just the perfect price for the amount of fun that you can have.
I initially played on easy just to see how the story unfolds. However the next time that I will be playing, I will be going through the other difficulties. There are 4 modes I believe, Easy, Normal, Hard, Hardest, Mania. Do not be deceived, Easy is not as easy as you would think.
The soundtrack is as good as ever. You have the opportunity to choose the older soundtracks, but the new tracks are equally good. It has that cyberpunk feel to it which is awesome.
I also enjoyed the cut scenes. The scenes themselves are just storyboards to get to the next stage, but it had that comic book feel which I really enjoyed. The only gripe that I have is that, the text goes too quickly and it was difficult to read it on stream. So I gave up at some point.
All in all, I enjoyed the fast paced gameplay and it did pull on my nostalgia strings. If you were a fan of any of the previous games, you will enjoy this very much. I also think that for newer generations of players this could be enjoyable. However, I do recognize that it is a different type of game. If you are looking for a Mortal Kombat type game, then you will be disappointed. This is a game that you pick up, play for an hour and then put it back down.
Yes, I mentioned that the game lasts about 2 hours in a half. But this is what I love about these games. You play until you are fed up. There is no need to complete it if you do not want to. It is not like Fallout or Skyrim where you have this need to complete quests and the story.
I know that I will be playing this on stream for a while. Next, I will see how the co-op and the online modes up. Keep you guys posted on the progress.
Have you played Streets of Rage 4? Did you like it? Let us know at the coordinates below.
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