Streets of Rage 4 brings Sega’s beat ’em up series back, and it does so without apology. Dotemu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games built a sequel that trusts the original trilogy’s formula: walk right, hit what stands in front of you, keep moving. The game continues the story of the Sega Genesis trilogy released in the 1990s. It came to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Linux and macOS in 2020, Stadia in 2021, and Android and iOS in 2022. It is very good.
Trailer, via Dotemu.
Wood Oak City, Ten Years Later
The story picks up a decade after Mr. X’s death. A new Syndicate has risen in Wood Oak City, and it is led by his children, the twins Mr. and Ms. Y. Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return, joined by Cherry Hunter, Adam Hunter’s daughter, and Floyd Iraia, an apprentice of Dr. Zan.
The four fight through the streets, and the police arrest them on false accusations. They break out of their cell and are never charged; the game moves straight to Mr. Y’s offer. He approaches them in the cell, reveals the force works for him, and offers a deal. They refuse. Officer Estel Aguirre corners them, Adam appears to help them escape, and a tip sends them to Chinatown, where Shiva tells them the Syndicate plans to control the city with a hypnotic signal.
That plot is thin, and it knows it. Streets of Rage 4 treats story as a reason to keep walking, not as a burden. The brainwashed Max fight and the Syndicate’s music show exist to justify the next stretch of pavement.
Combos, Star Moves and the Health Trade
The combat is where the game earns its place. Up to four players fight locally, or two online, against waves of enemies, using disposable weapons and item pickups. Standard attacks, throws and Blitz Moves return. Special attacks cost health — but here players can win that health back by landing follow-up attacks without getting hit.
That single change rewires every fight. It turns a defensive retreat into a gamble worth taking.
- Star Moves: unique super combos, paid for with Stars collected in each level
- Wall juggles: opponents can be bounced off walls and other players for longer combos
- Character traits: Max’s wall jump and grappling jump, Shiva’s weapon parry and air combo, Floyd’s long-range grapple
Story Mode carries players through each level, with a stage select unlocked after clearing it. Lives are limited by difficulty, though points earn more. Lose them all and the level restarts, with optional assists that add lives and Star Moves at the cost of a reduced score.
The hand-drawn visuals come from the team behind Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, and they hold up in motion. The animation is loose and readable, which matters more in a beat ’em up than detail.
Where It Sits
Streets of Rage 4 sold over 2.5 million copies by April 2021. An expansion, Mr. X Nightmare, followed in July 2021. Those numbers are a signal, not a verdict, but they track with the game’s quality. It drew an 8.3 out of 10 from a 12-outlet critic aggregate.
The campaign has a stage select and multiple difficulty tiers, and the source does not say how long a full run takes.
Two things decide whether this holds up a decade from now:
- The health trade — spending life on a special and winning it back on the follow-up
- The combo system — wall juggles and Star Moves that reward a player for never stopping
Everything else — the Y Twins, the hypnotic signal, the island base — is furniture. The mechanic is the argument: Streets of Rage 4 understands that a beat ’em up lives or dies on whether the next punch feels worth throwing. It does.
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