River City Ransom: Underground

Developed by Conatus Creative, River City Ransom: Underground for PC is a sequel to River City Ransom by Technos Japan Corporation. The title caused a sensation on Kickstarter, on which it raised almost $220k. Yoshihisa Kishimoto – the creator of Double Dragon and the father of the whole beat’em up genre – is one of the creators working on the title. The studio is supported by Rich Vreeland, a compositor also known as Disasterpeace. Having created soundtrack for Fez, now he is in charge of composing the music to the production by Conatus Creative. The game is also available on Linux and Mac.

Story

The action of River City Ransom: Underground takes place almost 25 years after the story of the original game. The main heroes – Alex and Ryan – are already River City High graduates. Years before they took a stand against the local bullies in order to save Ryan’s girlfriend – Cyndi – from Slick, one of the gang leaders. Having defeated him, peace was finally brought to River City, but nothing lasts forever. Now that Alex and Ryan are grown-ups, Slick again poses a threat, so the two will face him and other gangs one more time.

The game offers 8 different playable characters, including Alex and Ryan.

Gameplay

The game by Conatus Creative includes more than 100 hand-drawn levels. The world in River City Ransom: Underground for PC is open. You can wander around, fight, change the equipment, and upgrade the character’s abilities. The core elements of gameplay have not been changed whatsoever – you still beat the bad guys by pressing just a few buttons. Your enemies are divided into ten different gangs. Moreover, each playable character has a unique fighting style, which makes the game even more complex.

Game modes

What makes River City Ransom: Underground different from its predecessor put out in 1989 is the availability of the multiplayer mode. You can finish the campaign on your own (single player), but the game also features the local and Internet cooperation. There is also an arena available for both local and online players. As many as four players can join a multiplayer game.

Technical aspects

River City Ransom: Underground for PC employs MonoGame engine, the same Fez was created with. The devs say the game is modder-friendly.

Last updated on February 24, 2016