A beat 'em up with a comic book look
Mayhem Brawler is a side-scrolling beat 'em up set in an urban fantasy city, drawn like a comic book with hand-drawn backgrounds and frame-by-frame animated characters. You play as officers of Stronghold, a super-powered law enforcement agency, and the story follows Dolphin, Star, and Trouble during a routine patrol call that spirals into something much bigger for the city. Combat is built around combos and special abilities, with 5 playable characters facing 30 enemies, including 12 unique bosses. The soundtrack runs throughout and the story is fully voice-acted, with subtitles available in 11 languages.
Playing it with friends
The game supports offline co-op for up to 4 players, so a group can sit down together and work through the stages side by side. If your group is spread across different places, Steam's Remote Play Together lets one person run the game and others join in over the connection. Either way, everyone fights the same waves of street gangs, werewolves, street wizards, and the goons sent by a megacorp run by vampire houses. Co-op teammates share the combat load, using their combos and abilities together to get past the tougher encounters.
Choices decide where the story goes
Between the fighting, the group makes decisions that change the flow of the story. Those choices lead to one of three different endings, so two playthroughs can land in different places in the Mayhem Brawler universe. It is worth knowing that the endings are tied to what you pick, not just how well you fight, so talk it out with your group before committing to a decision.
Before you start
Expect a 90s arcade-style beat 'em up with a modern coat of paint: 2D side-scrolling stages, unique combat mechanics, and boss fights that break up the brawling. The game can be played solo or with others, and it runs as a single shared experience rather than separate matches. Settle on who plays which character, since 5 characters are available, and keep in mind that the choices you make together are what steer the run toward its ending.