Review: Streets of Rage 4 explained to parents

Streets of Rage 4 Featured Ecran Partage
What parents need to know

Choose your 4 favorite fighters and battle hordes and hordes of enemies in multiple levels. Streets of Rage 4 proposes to continue the famous saga of SEGA released at the time on the Genesis/Megadrive console.

Streets of Rage 4 Boxart PS4 Shared Screen
Streets of Rage 4 Boxart Switch Shared Screen
Streets of Rage 4 Boxart Xbox Shared Screen
Release date: April 30, 2020

Developed by: Guard Crush Games / LizardCube / DotEmu
Published by: DotEmu
Available on:
Playstation 4 (physical format, blu-ray or digital format, download),
Playstation 5 (physical format, blu-ray or digital format, download),
Steam PC, Mac OS X, Linux (digital format, download)
GOG PC, Mac OS X, Linux (digital format, download)
Nintendo Switch (physical format, cartridge, or digital format, download),
Xbox One (physical format, blu-ray or digital format, download),
Xbox Series (physical format, blu-ray or digital format, download)


Type of game: Progress combat game (also called Beat’em all, beat’em up)
Average game time: 20 minutes

Estimate of the total duration of the game:
3 hours to finish the story.
9 p.m. to complete everything.

Business model: Need to buy the main game.
Adventure extensions can be purchased separately online.

Number of players:
– 1 to 4 players
– From 1 to 2 players per online game.

If you want to buy Streets of Rage 4 on Steam (for PC, MacOS X or Linux), click here.

Players3+ 7+ 12+16+18+
NeophytesCroix-2-01-Ecran-PartageCroix-2-01-Ecran-Partage
IntermediateCroix-2-01-Ecran-PartageCroix-2-01-Ecran-Partage
ExperiencedCroix-2-01-Ecran-PartageCroix-2-01-Ecran-Partage
Very easy to play. We move forward and press several times on the attack buttons. There is, however, a great depth of play for those who will dwell on it.
Difficulty
Jauge Verte Ecran Partage

Several difficulty modes are available and there is something to satisfy the most hardcore players as well.

Violence, fear, nudity?
Jauge Jaune Ecran Partage

Everyone fights with punches, foot, knives, firearms, magical attacks (fire, wind, ice, electric).

Some characters are dressed in costumes highlighting their chests, or buttocks, as well as animations specific to these parts of the body. Some of the characters are in tight suits.

Level of language used
Jauge Jaune Ecran Partage

The protagonists provoke and taunt before or during the fighting. The phrase “p*ss off” appears during the game.

Positive message
Jauge Jaune Ecran Partage

It is possible to teach teamwork through this game, as long as you are well supervised and surrounded, but that’s it.

Minimum reading level required
Jauge Vert Pale Ecran Partage

Very little text. Playable without knowing how to read.

Additional costs ?
Jauge Vert Pale Ecran Partage

Extensions will be available in the future.

Minimum level of execution on the controller required
Jauge Vert Pale Ecran Partage

The game is enjoyable to play with the controller, even for beginners.

Principle of the game

You don’t have to have played Streets of Rage 1, 2, or 3 to enjoy this game.

Choose your favorite hero and advance through the levels by hitting all enemies to advance. Multiple bonuses can be unlocked as progress, including characters from previous installments, can be unlocked in their original large pixel version of the Genesis/Mega Drive.

For an in-depth explanation of the game, please see this article.

Local game modes

Main Story Mode: Follow the progress of the heroes in their quests to defeat the crime syndicate and their bosses, the twins: Ms. Y and Mr. Y.
From 1 to 4 players.

Battle mode: Take on your friends in a closed arena of your choice, inspired by the levels of the main story. From 2 to 4 players.

Boss Rush Mode: Take on all the bosses in the game one by one in an arena, without having to go through the levels. From 1 to 4 players.

Arcade mode: Make the whole story without losing and try to get the highest score. From 1 to 4 players.

Online gaming modes

You can play online if you pay for your console’s subscription:

All local modes are available online, they are unfortunately only playable at a maximum of 2 players per game (while you can play 4 people on the same offline console).

It is not possible to play with a person playing on a different platform (console, computer).

However there is no one online. The servers are empty. You have to organize yourself with friends who also have the game to play it on the Internet.

Extensions

A new extension has been announced. The only details revealed for now are in the video below:

Conclusion

Streets of Rage 4 is a great game. The care given to all facets of the game makes it unavoidable. It’s a lot of fun to go through it with your friends and try out the many possibilities offered by the characters. The sound design, that of the levels are also impeccable.

Only the online mode, limited to 2 players, not optimized in terms of performance and without communication between the different consoles leaves something to be desired.

More information about the game: Official game page

Recommendations

If you like this game, you will like…. Maybe not:

Scott Pilgrim Boxart Shared Screen

Which is not as good as Streets Of Rage 4.

About Marc Shakour

Former video game programmer, columnist, teacher, competitor ... Marc has always been very familiar with the world and industry of video games. He decided to help neophytes about it, to discover new universes, worlds and fantastic creatures.

View all posts by Marc Shakour