This is the first game that I've played since Persona 5 that made me pause every few minutes just to bask in the sheer style on display. Streets of Rage 4 absolutely radiates panache and confidence in every aspect. The gorgeous art that has become synonymous with the wizards over there at Lizardcube (shout-out to Ben Fiquet!) is paired up beautifully with flashy, kinetic combat and it all comes together to make one of the very best beat 'em ups that I've ever played.
Serving as a follow-up to the 1994 title, Streets of Rage 3, this game was designed both as a love-letter to the legacy entries in the franchise, as well as a breath of fresh air to the genre as a whole. Beat 'em up experts, Guard Crush Games, were brought in to co-develop this title and you can feel their prowess at work. I love a good, straightforward brawler, but Guard Crush elevated the genre here, adding layers of depth and additional mechanics that make the game harder and much more satisfying. By the end of my time with this game, it felt like Streets of Rage 4 had become the new benchmark for the genre.
If you've played a beat 'em up before, Streets of Rage 4 should feel familiar and immediately comfortable to handle. The pace of movement and basic combat is excellent and has a nice flow to it. Each character has unique abilities and special attacks, like the dazzling, beautifully animated Star Moves, which require you to collect stars throughout your current stage in order to access these powerful attacks. This game also introduces air juggling, as well as being able to juggle an enemy off a wall with repeated attacks. These aren't the only new mechanics, but that gives you an idea of the kind of brilliant, fresh ideas that were added to Streets of Rage 4.
I have not played the other Streets of Rage titles, so I can't really speak to the story developments that unfold in this game. From what I gather, the plot picks up a decade after the events of Streets of Rage 3 and it looks like most characters from the previous games return, many of them with incredible looking new designs.
I've mentioned it a few times, but the art in this game is seriously breathtaking. The design for each and every attack is unbelievably cool. I found myself bouncing between each character just to see their crazy looking special moves in action Every single character looks so great. I especially liked Adam Hunter's new design and played as him for the remainder of the game, once I unlocked him. The stages also look amazing, as I've come to expect from Lizardcube. For a city in ruin, it's so beautiful.
The soundtrack is absurdly good in this game. The famous and phenomenally talented composers of the previous games, Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima returned, alongside Olivier Derivière and the inimitable Tee Lopes. Though I haven't played the earlier Streets of Rage games, I have heard their soundtracks, and Streets of Rage 4 channels much of the same 1990s urban hip-hop infused sound. Many of these brawler games have almost generic sounding chiptune soundtracks, so to hear something so markedly different, and aesthetically fitting like this, was a cool experience.
Streets of Rage 4 is a special game. From the beat 'em ups that I've played, I feel comfortable putting this right at the very pinnacle of the genre. Between the stunning artwork and the intensely satisfying combat, with its refined and deep approach to brawler mechanics, you're in for a real treat. For the ultimate experience, I recommend getting with your friend(s) for some couch co-op, get some pizza and sodas and live like you're in the 90s again.
VERDICT: Essential
Reviewed on PC
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