Entertaining arcade brawler: Streets of Rage 4 distributes fat retro bells

The "Streets of Rage" series, which grew up in arcade halls, finds its way onto contemporary gaming platforms. Thanks to its successful implementation, the newest part of the thrashing classic also captivates younger generations in addition to retro gamers.

Wide, freely explorable landscapes, a deep story and multi-layered characters – "Streets of Rage 4" by developer Dotemu does not have all that to offer. And yet the retro brawler is convincing because it concentrates on the essentials and takes you on a little journey back in time to the arcades of the 90s with its gameplay, look and sound.

The fourth part of the spanking series, which started on the Sega consoles and is therefore not necessarily widely known in Germany, is based on the story of the predecessor. Serial villain Mr. X is sending his offspring into the race this time – the Y twins. They terrorize the city with hypnotic techno music. Former police officers Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding team up with girlfriend Cherry Hunter and half-android Floyd Iraia to stop the Y syndicate.

A lot of steam behind it: Special attacks clear up in chaotic mass brawls.

The four characters that can be selected at the beginning play slightly differently. Axel is the all-rounder, Blaze is particularly athletic, Cherry is extremely agile and Floyd is the somewhat clumsy muscle man. Depending on the level and enemy types, changing characters can be an advantage. Adam Hunter, Cherry's father, also unlocks a fifth type of player who is even more agile than the starter quartet with a very effective slide function.

Wild button presses rarely bring success

The gameplay corresponds entirely to the classic arcade machines. In a level scrolling from left to right, the player boxes, kicks and braves himself through to the final boss. With different combinations of strikes, two special attacks and the jump button, three of four buttons on the controller are already assigned, the remaining button is used to pick up objects.

Streets of Rage 4 – (PlayStation 4)

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There are two types of special attacks: an irreparable attack that requires stars to perform. This effective all-round blow can usually only be used two to three times per level. The second particularly strong attack can be used at any time, but draws energy from your own life bar. The combat system looks simple, but mere button mashing rarely brings success because there is no way to block. You can dodge, but the impact of enemy attacks is usually unavoidable.

So the player has to arm himself with objects such as knives, electric tasers or even the mop to defend himself against the onslaught of opponents. And depending on the level type, villains and sinister shapes also vary: in the ghetto there are street thugs, in China Town kickboxers and in the museum you are faced with neo-punks with poison gas. The end bosses are much stronger and have special attack patterns that need to be seen through. Caching is only carried out after completed levels. There is also a small potential for frustration. If you get the piggy back at the end boss and lose all lives, you have to start the level again.

Nostalgia trip to the 90s

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It only gets really fun in multiplayer. Offline, up to four players can fight together at the same time, what it takes. Online then it gets down to business in duo mode.

The whole game is kept in a comic-like look, which gives a real retro feeling with a sensational soundtrack. In addition, pixelated characters can be unlocked from the previous parts and the music of the first three parts can be selected.

Without the nostalgia glasses, the fourth part of the spanking series may have looked a bit out of time. But the makers deliberately opt for retro. Those who get involved in the tricky levels will be very well entertained for three to four hours. Even gamers will find that out when they haven't spent all their pocket money in arcade halls at a young age. "Streets of Rage 4" is proof that it doesn't take an innovative idea to bring out a good game – a retro-style parenthesis for the big game developers, who are often wrong in the game.

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