The TakeOver

Great visuals and combat. Feels like every good old school beat em up rolled into one glorious package. Only downside is almost every boss has a spin attack that they just spam on you constantly. Other than that, love it.

It's the 10,000th Final Fight/Streets Of Rage-style beat-em-up out there, but it's actually a good one that tries to be different from the pack. First up, it looks fantastic with the comic book-style art & quality graphics (no cheap pixel stuff here), a solid soundtrack and there's good variety in the gameplay. It emphasizes a balance of combo attacks and weapon use, plus other attacks that give you a brief power boost. There's even one driving/shooting stage which I really enjoyed. I picked this up on a big sale and it's turned into a great bargain bin find. Even at full price I recommend it as one of the better games I've played in the genre, not only better looking but plays great too. And since there appears to be a sequel in the works, this is a good time to give it a try.

A very solid brawler, made even more impressive by the fact that it's a largely solo developer. Great artstyle and animation and the kind of cheesy story that fits well with this kind of game. I especially like how the dev managed to integrate firearms in a way that doesn't feel clunky or disruptive to the flow of combat. Some of the bosses are a bit cheap and it could have used a bit more varied moveset, but those things are coming in the sequel, which I can't wait for! A solid fun time, especially with a friend.

Released in 2019, it's 2026, but controls are still as bad as in japanese PC ports from 2000s. Avoid.

I love the level design, graphics are great. Music is good. I heard the track on the first level and said "huh early 90s dance, sounds like Strreets or Rage. The composer did a good Yuzo Koshiro impression" Then I come to the discussion board to find out it was Yuzo Koshiro lol!! Anyway, some of the movement and animation is Janky but the moves are there. I wish I could save my game and pick up where I left off. I am not sure why there is no 8 way movement with a d -pad. This is a big oversight and was a big minus for me. I havent finished it yet, just played through the first level but had a lot of fun. That is what counts Overall all I am looking forward to Takeover 2 and may by it on launch.

A perfectly alright brawler! Be sure to enter the practice mode to learn about launchers and finishers in lieu of a moves list. My favourite thing about it is the run button. You can run by double tapping, too, but using a button to run makes it much more of a constant presence in how you play. It lets you relocate and reapproach very quickly and lets this game break away from the pace of most other side scrolling brawlers. That in turn makes up for the fact that the air juggles are quite rigid and limited in this game and there isn't a lot of room for mobility otherwise, which keeps your skill expression pretty reigned in compared to something like Streets of Rage 4. The biggest negative is that enemy variety is low and general aesthetics are pretty samey, so making progress isn't necessarily changing up the vibe the way you want from one of these. The music is very cool, however, and even though the characters look CG-y and stiff in a way that may put some people off, it's tapping into a particular 90s PC game look that I find strangely appealing. If anything, having three different art styles in the same game is odd, and the cutscenes straight up look like they're out of a…