A side-scrolling street fight
Streets of Rage 4 is a beat 'em up that plays like the classic arcade games: you walk through a stage, beat up waves of enemies, and reach a boss at the end. The series veterans Axel, Blaze and Adam return with new moves to take back Wood Oak City from a new group of criminals. The game runs across 12 unique stages and uses fully hand-drawn animation from the studio behind Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap.
Playing together
You can clean up the city alone or with a friend online. Offline, up to 4 players can team up to take the city back. The game also has Online PvP and Remote Play Together. If you would rather fight your friends than alongside them, there is a Battle Mode for that. When you want a break from the story, Boss Rush Mode lets you team up and run through the bosses in a row.
Before you start
The soundtrack is a big part of the series, and this entry keeps that going with tracks from Yuzō Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima, Yoko Shimomura, Harumi Fujita and Keiji Yamagishi, among others. You can also play with the music from the previous Streets of Rage games. A dozen former characters from the series are unlockable and playable in their original pixel versions. Expect classic gameplay with new mechanics layered on top, plus braised chicken everywhere.