Streets of Rage 4

Bone crunching beat em up action with stunning hand drawn style

Streets of Rage 4 is a triumphant revival of Sega’s classic brawler, successfully blending old-school side-scrolling combat with modern polish and depth. It respects the originals while confidently updating almost every aspect, from mechanics to presentation.

Gameplay remains gloriously simple at its core—walk right and wreck thugs—but the new combo system, juggling, wall bounces, and special attacks give fights an addictive rhythm. Each character feels distinctly different: Blaze is agile and precise, Axel is a heavy hitter, and newcomers like Cherry and Floyd bring fresh movesets that reward experimentation. The 12 stages offer varied enemy patterns and hazards, keeping encounters from ever feeling repetitive.

Visually, this is one of the most stylish beat ’em ups available. The hand-drawn, comic-inspired art bursts with color, expressive animations, and punchy visual effects that sell every hit. Performance is smooth, even during chaotic screen-filling brawls.

The soundtrack is a genuine highlight, mixing new electro tracks with nostalgic nods to the original trilogy. Contributions from Yuzo Koshiro and other composers deliver an energetic, club-ready score that perfectly matches the action.

On touchscreen devices, controls are surprisingly responsive, with clearly laid-out buttons and decent customization. That said, this type of game truly shines with a physical controller, especially on higher difficulties or in Survival-style challenges from the Mr. X Nightmare expansion.

A nice bonus for longtime fans is the retro content: unlockable pixel characters, classic soundtracks, and hidden old-school areas that double as a loving museum to the series’ past. The lack of multiplayer on certain processor types is worth noting, but on supported hardware, co-op adds a ton of replay value.

Overall, Streets of Rage 4 is a superbly crafted brawler—deep, stylish, and respectful of its roots—easily one of the genre’s standout entries.