It’s no Turtles in Time, but it’s still pretty great.

Beat ‘em ups come a dime a dozen. In the 90’s, I couldn’t go two feet without running into one in an arcade or finding one at my local game rental store. Even now, when most of what I just mentioned has become extinct, we can still find a plethora of titles in the genre. It really means something when we find one that stands out from the pack, and Fight ‘N Rage does just that. Not by having a bunch of gimmicks, but by being precise, fun, and smooth as butter.

Taking place in a dystopian world where humanity has been enslaved by mutant animal humanoids, players take on the role of three heroes as they fight their way through the ranks to take out “The Boss” who runs this new world with an evil iron fist.

Platforms: XB1, PS4, Switch, PC
MSRP: $19.99
Price I’d pay: $19.99

With a simple three button layout, Fight ‘N Rage is deceptively complex. Using only a single attack button, one would think there’s not much to the combat. They would be wrong. Using directions with the analog stick for movement, as well as the jump button, a standard attack can change from a punch to a sliding attack, or an air combo all depending on what the player is doing. While the tutorial shows the main move set, there are plenty more attacks and maneuvers to be discovered through experimentation. The final button is for special attacks that can be used with or without the special meter full. When the meter is not full, using a special attack will take some of the character’s health, it’s a risk-reward for when players need to get some enemies off them for some breathing room.

Each character has different stats along with the special moves. Gal has short reach, but her speed makes up for it, F. Norris has a shorter health pool but serves almost like a glass cannon, and Ricardo, the bull mutant, feels a lot like a wrestling tank. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, but still all feel very viable in the grand scheme of things.

The AI and the way the game is set up helps the player with a lot of the bad tropes that come along with the beat ‘em up genre. I can’t count how many times I would get stun locked in a game because I accidently ended up with an enemy in front of me as well as behind me. In Fight ‘N Rage, they combat this will the ability to always end a combo with a throw. This allowed me to beat up on a guy in front of me and before the guy behind me could get in a hit, I would be throwing the enemy that I was beating up into him to knock him back. It’s small things like this that really make the game above the rest.

There are numerous unlockables in the game as well, not only with character variants, but also with just how the game plays. There are numerous paths to take while playing the game depending on what the player does. This then leads to different endings for each character as well. Along with that, players can also unlock more difficulty levels for that extra challenge.

Visually, the game has a lot going for it. The pixel art style feels right out of the 16-bit era. The game also features multiple “old school” filters to make it look just like I was playing an arcade machine. Ultimately, I turned these off, especially the bubble look of the screen to make it look like an old CRT. It’s neat, but not for me when I’m playing for longer periods of time. The soundtrack is a major standout. It has that rock feel that fits in with the 90’s aesthetic perfectly and each song is catchy as hell.

The only big detriment the game has is the lack of online co-op play. It has full three player co-op locally, but no online play. While understand, this means I will never be able to experience playing with other players since most of my game time is limited to online play. It would have been a great addition if they could have implemented it through.

I did also experience a soft lock while playing. I’m not sure what even triggered it either. I had finished clearing a screen of enemies and I guess loading the next screen made it lock up. That was the only time it did it, but I do want to mention it since I lost a bit of progress.

Fight ‘N Rage is a fantastic beat ‘em up. It has simple controls, good mechanics, and a lot of diversity to go along with it. Fans of this genre should not hesitate to pick this one up and even if you only play solo, you’ll still have a fun time with it.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.