An almost perfect DLC for Streets of Rage 4. It adds 4 playable characters (Shiva, Max and Estel), a Survival mode with roguelike elements, new weapons and new unlockable moves for every character (including the SOR1-SOR3 versions).
All 3 DLC characters feel great to play as, especially Estel. She feels insanely powerful and hits hard. Shiva can't use weapons, but is fast and more agile. Max is the slow, but hard-hitting powerhouse.
Survival mode is great, because it takes a classic concept and adds a modern spin on it. It's set up like a procedurally-generated mode where you choose a character and battle through a series of increasingly difficult waves of enemies. All the stages in survival mode are brand new arena based levels, exclusive to Survival mode.
When all enemies are defeated in a wave, you get to pick one of two perks to assist you on your run, such as: decrease damage, increase damage, add elemental effects to blitz moves and specials, spawn an AI partner, spawn a powerful weapon, gain an extra jump, increase weapon durability, etc. Sometimes, a risky perk will be the choice like: deal more damage but take more damage, hitting enemies recovers health but food items no longer heal you, etc.
As a bonus, some perks stack, so if you chose one that gives you an extra jump and are met with the perk option in a future wave, you can choose it again and gain 2, 3 or even 4 jumps! The number of enemies increase by number and difficulty as Survival mode goes on, which adds replayablity and a challenge. Every character has an unlockable move in every category, adding for some experimentation. Even better? Survival mode has a regular mode where the stages and post-win perks are random every time you play, and a weekly mode with a set list of stages and perks.
When you die, your score is measured through a little xp bar per character and filling in sections of the bar unlocks a new move for used character (offensive special, defensive special, blitz attack, star move, etc.) Some characters like the SOR1 versions have less moves available to unlock while the modern versions have more to unlock. These alternate moves can be used in any mode when selecting your character, so the replayablity is near infinite.
The only things that keep it from a perfect score are more nitpicks. Estel, Max and Shiva are great DLC characters, but I can't help but think that a Streets of Rage 4 version of Roo or even Skate Hunter would have been a blast to play as. Also, the new weapons do look cool, but it's difficult to really tell if they do much more damage.
This DLC is definitely worth playing if you enjoyed Streets of Rage 4 in any capacity!
All 3 DLC characters feel great to play as, especially Estel. She feels insanely powerful and hits hard. Shiva can't use weapons, but is fast and more agile. Max is the slow, but hard-hitting powerhouse.
Survival mode is great, because it takes a classic concept and adds a modern spin on it. It's set up like a procedurally-generated mode where you choose a character and battle through a series of increasingly difficult waves of enemies. All the stages in survival mode are brand new arena based levels, exclusive to Survival mode.
When all enemies are defeated in a wave, you get to pick one of two perks to assist you on your run, such as: decrease damage, increase damage, add elemental effects to blitz moves and specials, spawn an AI partner, spawn a powerful weapon, gain an extra jump, increase weapon durability, etc. Sometimes, a risky perk will be the choice like: deal more damage but take more damage, hitting enemies recovers health but food items no longer heal you, etc.
As a bonus, some perks stack, so if you chose one that gives you an extra jump and are met with the perk option in a future wave, you can choose it again and gain 2, 3 or even 4 jumps! The number of enemies increase by number and difficulty as Survival mode goes on, which adds replayablity and a challenge. Every character has an unlockable move in every category, adding for some experimentation. Even better? Survival mode has a regular mode where the stages and post-win perks are random every time you play, and a weekly mode with a set list of stages and perks.
When you die, your score is measured through a little xp bar per character and filling in sections of the bar unlocks a new move for used character (offensive special, defensive special, blitz attack, star move, etc.) Some characters like the SOR1 versions have less moves available to unlock while the modern versions have more to unlock. These alternate moves can be used in any mode when selecting your character, so the replayablity is near infinite.
The only things that keep it from a perfect score are more nitpicks. Estel, Max and Shiva are great DLC characters, but I can't help but think that a Streets of Rage 4 version of Roo or even Skate Hunter would have been a blast to play as. Also, the new weapons do look cool, but it's difficult to really tell if they do much more damage.
This DLC is definitely worth playing if you enjoyed Streets of Rage 4 in any capacity!