REVIEW : Streets Of Rage 4 – Mr. X Nightmare (PC)
Following a positive response to last year’s release, there were a few unanswered doubts about Streets of Rage 4’s prospective future. However, all of the new faces are abundant in the new DLC.
As with the original Streets of Rage 4, no component of this DLC feels rushed or an afterthought. The three new characters are all enjoyable to play, well-differentiated, and significantly upgraded. Estel and Max are both heavy brawlers, with Estel’s Blitz abilities providing her with some severe horizontal spacing chances and Max remaining the crowd-control favourite he has always been. Shiva’s quick-but-methodical technique distinguishes him from other faster combatants. He retains his wall-jump ability, allowing him to juggle even more adversaries as they are pummelling against the map’s sides.
What could be even more striking than these individuals is the Survival mode, which was hinted at in a previous teaser as having a roguelike style. This is true, with up to four local players able to battle across randomised arenas filled with a diverse array of opponents, bosses, hazards, and goodies to collect. Following the completion of a level, a permanent upgrade can be added en route to the next, further enhancing Streets of Rage 4’s combo-led scoring potential; bonus jumps, elemental upgrades to abilities, AI companions, and stat buffs all combine and stack upon each other, ensuring that every path to (probable) defeat adds another twist or layer to the playthrough.
It’s the kind of game mode that builds on Streets of Rage 4’s combat’s proven capabilities while also injecting some delightful mayhem. Mr X Nightmare has received new weaponry, including the trumpeted swordfish, what appears to be a durian fruit, and a slew of others, all of which will occupy each randomised Survival mode location. In addition, individual levels in this mode combine motifs from the original game with brand new artwork, low-resolution arenas based on sequences from previous titles, and many bosses that appear to span the whole series.
Later stages offer many bosses at once, including ghost replicas of the most cunning heroes, as these encounters have never been seen before in a Streets of Rage game. It’s a mode that will put veterans to the test while also resulting in unique character builds.
A new mode and three new characters would have been enough to justify the DLC’s price, but there are also new moves for every playable character, including the lower-resolution members of the gang. In addition, levelling up in Survival mode unlocks new specials, blitz attacks, and so on, which may subsequently be used in other gaming modes.
This means that all new animations have been added to the Streets of Rage 4 roster, with some even introducing new voice lines and understanding which specific loadout of moves a player favours should effectively breathe new life into the game as a whole.
It will also take some time, and players should expect to spend a significant amount of time maxing out move-sets for even their favourite characters. However, when combined with the game’s post-launch quality-of-life improvements, this is the best and most confident version of Streets of Rage 4. When Castle Crashers first arrived on Xbox Live, fans were content to pay for a few new characters and weapon skins, but the Mr X Nightmare DLC appears to have been treated with the same care as the original game.
