There are good surprises, and then there are delightful surprises. When the fourth instalment of popular beat-em-up franchise Streets of Rage was announced after a 24-year wait, it most definitely fell into the latter category. Unleashing a new, modernised art style soaked in a wave of nostalgia, it brings back the memories of the good ol’ Sega Genesis days, while promising a more exciting action-packed journey for both old-time fans and newcomers alike.
Following its recent trailer reveal, a new batch of screenshots for Streets of Rage 4 has since surfaced, and it’s shaping up to be a crisp, colourful game. Like the debut launch teaser, these images are hardly much to pass judgment, but they do provide the best look at the title so far, and serve as a fine, delicious visual feast – hand-drawn HD sprites, vibrant colours, shadow definition, and all.
And here's a short gif/video segment of Streets of Rage 4 gameplay (as featured in the @IGN article) #SOR4 pic.twitter.com/ifeZO8qoYA
— Lizardcube (@lizardcube) December 28, 2018
The brainchild of developer Lizardcube and publisher DotEmu, this fourth game is set ten years after the events of Streets of Rage 3, with Axel and Blaze returning as playable characters. An accompanying gif provides a short glimpse of the game in action, which seems to harbour plenty of potential for air juggles and combos, as well as a visual resemblance to the forthcoming Windjammers 2 – another one of DotEmu’s projects, who also worked on the Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake – but with more grit.
Apart from the two characters, there’s no official word on other additions to the roster thus yet, though the team has confirmed that will be more available to players. The playable boxing kangaroo is a popular choice, so perhaps it’d be wise to keep an eye out for it (fingers crossed!) when Streets of Rage 4 arrives sometime in 2019 to unannounced platforms.