Having played the game already at PAX East this year where I was blown away, this review was a bit of a foregone conclusion before I got more time to put it through the paces on my own. Simultaneously a love letter to the beloved arcade beat-em-up and a pretty major overhaul in terms of both the visuals and the depth of the moves and controls, Tribute Games has really outdone themselves with this retro update. If you’re looking for one of the best games to break out with some friends when they come over, you need look no further. Supporting up to 6(!) players at once there’s no doubt that co-op is absolutely the best way to play this game, without question, and if you don’t have anyone over locally you can pick up some assistance from folks online with connections generally being smooth and easy to pick up (though since I’m not positive this is cross-platform, for how long may not be easy to know). If you’re just looking to play solo, you can do that as well, whether with the more quest-like Story mode where you can find various hidden characters, challenges, and goodies to add to the fun, or just hitting the game old-school with Arcade mode. There’s no doubt that this absolutely belongs at the very top of the beat-em-up pile, probably even being the best overall in class for co-op play. For the overall I’d still give the edge to Streets of Rage 4, but it’s certainly a close call depending on the feel you’re looking for, they’re both fantastic representations of the genre.