Streets of Rage 4

Who would have thought that old school 2,5 D side scrolling beat'em ups are still great fun today? Streets of Rage 4 stays true to the tested concept and adds a modern touch in all the right places. Local multiplayer co-op is supported and probably the most fun way to experience the game although single player works great, too. My only point of criticism is that the game is a bit light on content. Some branching pathways would have added to replay-ability. However, thanks to the Devs for supporting Linux and Mac versions.

This game is amazing: it succeeds in paying a huge respect to its predecessors while extending the gameplay to meet 21st century's players expectations at the same time. It is so cool that it is a sequel and not a reboot! Here are my pros and cons: PROS: - Wonderful graphics and animation - Musics are great too, of course the retro ones but the new ones too - Game action is just amazing! Gameplay is tip top: devs made use of the extra-buttons to give more control. Skills of the characters are nice - Up to 4 players with a friendly-damage disabling option (a must-have!) - Works fine on a rather basic computer: I managed to play the game flawlessly in FullHD on a weak 2012 ultrabook, much slower than the minimal requirement (ultralow voltage, 6 GB RAM, GeForce 620M) - No-DLCs: lots of free items to unlock CONS: - Game is not so long (but so were the original games) but it is not so easy for an average gamer like me - I wish there were a sound test menu to listen to the wonderful soundtrack! I highly recommand buying this game. It totally met my expectations and this is quite rare! Congratulation to the devs for such a game!

In my review, I want to focus on the Mac experience across an array of hardware—lower-end to a little higher end—to try and give fellow Mac users an idea of what to expect. Please remember that your mileage may vary, but all-in-all this game delivers a good experience on most modern Macs. On my HIGHEST END machine, a 2009 Mac Pro (6 core CPU, 32 GB of RAM, AMD RX580 GPU, running Mojave), the game runs comfortably maxed out at 60 fps but only very minor hitches now and again, nothing terribly noticeable even if you're hawk-eyeing the games built-in FPS monitor. On my LOWEST END machines, a close tie between a 2016 12" MacBook (m5 CPU, 8 GB RAM, integrated graphics, running Big Sur) and my maxed out 2013 13" MacBook Pro (i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM, integrated graphics, running Mojave), I was able to get a surprisingly playable experience with the following settings: Resolution Scaling: 70% Graphics Preset: Medium V-Sync: Turned OFF On the earlier stages, you might be able to get away with higher settings (I had it at the game's default 100% resolution scaling, High Preset, and V-Sync on), but a good stress test for the game is Stage 6's boss fight and Stage 7 (titled "Skytrain"), both of which ground to a halt with settings too high. Also note that the experience on a laptop is best on the internal screen ... I found trying to run the game on my Thunderbolt Display was just too demanding on my MBP. Given that the device is nearly 8 years old, it's a difficult ask to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p, so I'm not at all upset over it. So, even on aged hardware, you can turn down settings and still get a great experience out of this title. I just beat it for the first time today after purchasing it last night, looking forward to unlocking more as I go. The game (and its art style) scales extremely well across lower and higher end hardware, so don't be disappointed if you have to turn it down a bit to get good frame rates, it's still a beautiful game!

Having played every other entry in the series before this one, I can say that, without a doubt, Streets of Rage 4 is the perfect sequel. Includes elements of the gameplay from the previous entries and expands upon them with the addition of both air and wall juggles, charged heavy attacks, Air Special Moves, Star Moves (which act as super moves), and my personal favourite new addition: replenishable health. Specifically, when you use a special move, you spend health, as per usual with beat 'em ups, BUT if you don't get hit and hit more enemies a bunch, you can replenish the health you spent! Effectively incentivising more usage of specials, which I appreciate. You also have multiple modes to choose from, from Story Mode, Arcade (doing the entire Story on a single credit) Boss Rush, Versus, the option for offline and online co-op, and if you buy the DLC (which I absolutely reccomend!) you also get Survival Mode and 4 extra characters. Outside of that, you can unlock more characters by playing the different modes and breaking certain score thresholds, as well as more content in the game's gallery, which is a neat little novelty I always appreciate, since it gives players incite into how things came to be, and what could have been. As far as customization goes, each character gets 4 different palettes to choose from, and you can choose to play either the modern soundtrack, or the "Retro" soundtrack, which consists of a selection of tracks from SOR1 to 3. Aesthetically, the game has a gorgeous 2D hand animated style that I simply CANNOT get enough of it. Backgrounds are lively and full of colour and interesting details, some even referencing the previous entries (and a certain reocurring object in an interactive manner too!) without getting becoming obnoxious, and the characters just have fantastic, fluid animation without breaking the flow of battle or compromising attack frames. Overall, a very solid package, that I feel is absolutely worth it.

Love this game. Keeps the feel of SOR and still feels like a current era game