Streets of Rage 4

Whether you've played a Streets of Rage game or not, you've likely played a game in its genre. Streets of Rage is a beat 'em up series, where you keep moving from the left to the right of the screen, and punch and kick bad guys until the level is over. Often you'll face a boss at the end of a level. This is the same type of setup for all of those old Konami arcade games. You know the ones. The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the 1989 arcade game, and Turtles In Time), X-Men, etc. There are more than those, but you get the point.

The good news is that beating up the bad guys is just as good as it has always been. Streets of Rage 4 follows the formula of its predecessors to a T. It does this while also adding some new characters, a new art style, and more composers to the soundtrack. In this case, there aren't too many cooks in the kitchen. Streets of Rage 4 continues the tradition of having a great soundtrack. The Streets of Rage 2 Soundtrack is my personal favorite. I even have it on vinyl. The game allows you to customize what music you are listening to at any given time. The soundtracks of the original three are at your disposal. (heavy breathing)

Though the art style is a new hand-drawn style, there are pixelated versions of the original cast that can be unlocked for play. At first, I thought the new art style was going to be too different from the original three, but I've grown to love it. I really appreciate the original character unlocks, and they've been really fun to play as. It is fun to see the mix of the old and the new. There is an easter egg to play in 16-bit levels in the game too! The game continues the tradition of finding roast chicken, apples, and more, in destroyed tables and garbage cans that can replenish your health. There's no better pick me up during battle than a freshly roasted chicken that you find after kicking over a phone booth. Yum!

Streets of Rage 4 supports local co-op with up to 3 other friends, or you can play co-op online with one friend. So far I've only played this on my own, but I've had a great time with it. The fighting, characters, enemies, environments, and the music all hit the right notes for me. I rate this game FUN out of 5. Streets of Rage 4 is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PS4 .