I NEED MORE BARE KNUCKLE!
If it wasn’t clear enough from my preview at PAX East this year, I’m eagerly anticipating Streets of Rage 4. Every new bit of information we get for the game just makes me want it more. I want to play it so badly that I might actually die from waiting. I suppose I survived long enough for Tool to release a new album, so I can weather this storm.
Anyway, IGN has uploaded a little over seven minutes of new footage and I’m hugely impressed. The soundtrack is tight, the visuals are incredible, and I just love watching thugs get knocked around. Beat-em-ups are a pure joy to me for how viscerally engaging they are. You don’t need to learn complex combos or deal with XP bars and various equipable items. You just walk straight at foes and punch them in the face. Who doesn’t want to do that?
Thankfully, we’ll all have a chance to do so next year. Streets of Rage 4 will be heading to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch when it releases sometime in 2020.
7 Minutes of Streets of Rage 4 Gameplay – Gamescom 2019 [IGN via YouTube]