First Reviews: Streets of Rage 4 - Legend Returns
Today marks the release of Streets of Rage 4, a continuation of the iconic beat'em up from the 1990s. The launch is accompanied by numerous and very positive reviews of the game.
- Developer: DotEmu, Lizardcube, Guard Crush Game
- Publisher: Lizardcube
- Genre: beat'em up
- Hardware platforms: PC, PS4, XONE, Switch
- Others: the fourth part of an iconic series of beat'em ups; cartoonish visuals; multiplayer modes (cooperation and PvP)
"Legend of beat'em ups," "hit of the 90s" - for many beat'em up fans these terms are equivalent to the Streets of Rage series. Today, 26 years after the release of the last part, the fourth game in the series is finally launching on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Streets of Rage 4 has already been checked by reviewers, thanks to which we got the first review scores for the production. So let's see if SoR4 is another triumphant return of a legendary franchise or a classic example of unnecessary resurrection of an old school series.
Selected reviews:
- God is a Geek - 9.5/10
- Destructoid - 9/10
- Shacknews - 9/10
- Wccftech - 9/10
- Easy Allies - 8.5/10
- IGN Spain - 8,5/10
- Attack of the Fanboy - 4/5
- GamingBolt - 8/10
- Hardcore Gamer - 4/5
- IGN Italy - 8/10
- Twinfinite - 8/10
- Dual Shockers - 7/10
- Game Informer - 7/10
- IGN - 7/10
- Push Square - 7/10
As things are, fans of Streets of Rage can breathe a sigh of relief - the three studios working on the game (DotEmu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Game) have delivered. Even authors of less enthusiastic reviews did not score the game below 7/10, and in these cases, too, the reviewers did not hide the fact that they were still having a very good time playing the game.
The combat is very rewarding in spite of a fairly simple system and equally uncomplicated premise characteristic of the genre (read: go right and beat everyone on your way with fists, various objects and special attacks). However, it's not a so-called button masher - the game keeps up with other retro productions also in terms of difficulty level and mindlessly pressing of buttons won't take us far, especially in boss fights. Luckily, we can adjust the difficulty: Streets of Rage 4 offers five difficulty levels to choose from, as well as the option to play with up to four friends in local mode or one friend over the web (also in PvP mode). Speaking of choices, the game starts with five characters, but there are 17 playable characters in total.
The impressions are intensified by the excellent audiovisuals - we can feel every blow we've landed or received. According to many, Streets of Rage 4 is the prettiest representative of beat'em up games on the market, and the sound does not lag behind either. The game also takes into account the possibility of an aesthetic time travel - appropriate options will enable us to play with graphics from the 90s, accompanied by music from the first two installments of the series, compozed by Yuzo Koshiro.
So we have rewarding combat and great audiovisuals, which seems to be almost everything we could expect from an outstanding video game. Why, then, are there no 10/10 awards? There are several factors, but they basically boil down to one thing: Streets of Rage 4 is an old-school beat'em up, with all its advantages and disadvantages. The limited combat system took its toll on some reviewers and after some time the fun became a bit too repetitive, especially when the game started to recycle some bosses. There was no major revolution in gameplay, which basically does not differ from the scheme of classic beat'em ups from the 90s. The game is also quite short by today's standards, as long as we don't want to play numerous times (for example, by using other characters).
Many reviewers also had accusations about the plot. Even in the most critical texts, the authors mention that they managed to (almost) get involved in the story of SoR4 at the very end, but in the end the events are, at most, a pretext for completing subsequent locations. Other reviewers were more forgiving, but even they talked about disappointment with the ending - the game doesn't even give us a cutscene before showing the ending credits. There was also one objection to the technical side: a journalist at Attack of the Fanboy mentioned occasional fps drops. It's rather not a question of optimization, because the issues happened regardless of the chosen graphic settings.
In the end, we have to admit that the three developers delivered exactly the game their fans were hoping for. Streets of Rage 4 is a triumphant return of a nearly 30 year old franchise and a true rarity for fans of beat'em ups. They may also be interested in the Limited Run Games' Limited Collector's Edition (which includes a soundtrack CD, a collection of in-game graphics, a steel figurine and a couple of other extras) which will be on sale tomorrow in PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions. Others may appreciate the production as well - the oldschool gameplay won't last long, but players shouldn't regret the time spent with the title.
