Streets of Rage 4

Setting a new standard for what a beat 'em up can be in 2020, Streets of Rage 4 captures the past and brings it up to speed with beautiful graphics and immaculate combat.

The main game is a short one, neatly wrapped up in a few hours. However, an Arcade Mode and Boss Battle Mode can be unlocked, along with a Battle Mode for those looking to fight with a frenemy. Of course, Online Play is also an option.

Streets of Rage 4 is the very best the series has ever been. Its hand-drawn graphics breathe new life into Wood Oak City and its inhabitants, the soundtrack is outstanding and the combat feels better than ever. Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games and Dotemu have managed to completely modernise the look and feel of Streets of Rage, expanding on the experience without losing sight of what made the original games so popular to begin with – and the handful of additions made to the action here serve only to enhance the classic core gameplay, resulting in one of the best side-scrolling beat 'em ups we've ...

Streets of Rage 4 is a surprisingly decent return to form for a franchise that's been collecting dust for over 25 years.

Streets of Rage 4 expertly revives a beloved beat-'em-up franchise with great music, visuals, and most importantly, solid gameplay.

Streets of Rage 4 impressively combines classic arcade beat-‘em-ups with modern day adjustments to create a fantastic sense of progression and reward in a retro setting.

Meet Streets of Rage 4 on its own terms and you'll discover a sometimes cheap, yet often rewarding revival of a once dead franchise. The soundtrack is stellar, art design fantastic, animations superb, and controls precise. But, if you expected all the former sins of the genre to be absolved after 26 years you'll have to look elsewhere.

Streets of Rage 4 is an excellent beat-em-up that fans of the original will not want to skip.

A beautiful, fluid homage to a classic beat-em-up series.

Video games have largely abandoned the humble beat-'em-up, a sub-genre superseded many times by faster, more thrilling action titles. Getting Streets of Rage 4 at this point feels a bit like your estranged but fondly remembered uncle showing up on your doorstep 26 years later with a beard and a redder face. It's great to see you, Uncle Streets of Rage, but where do you fit into our lives in 2020?

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For anyone hoping it would bring a little modern fluidity to a long-stagnant genre, you might have to moonwalk upwards from this one. But for Ragers, it's a sturdy score-attacking blowout to while away some hours, perfecting your flying knees and enflamed uppercuts, arguing over who deserves the trash salad.