If you're a fan of old-school beat 'em ups like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, and Alien vs. Predator, you'll likely be just as excited as us to hear about Fallen City Brawl — a new hard-hitting beat 'em up that is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via Steam).
Developed by Fallen City Studio, the game was first revealed as a Kickstarter project back in 2020 but failed to hit its target. It was then picked up by the publisher eastasiasoft in 2021, and was given a tentative 2022 release date, but has ended up taking a little bit longer than expected to come together.
Recently, though, its developer has claimed on Facebook that it is now "not too far from complete" and has released a brilliant new update to its Steam demo for people to try out, letting players get to grips with all four playable characters (Sgt Clay, Ricco, Natasha, and Iron Jackson).
This demo sees players select from one of the above characters, before setting out to reclaim the streets from the city's criminal underworld. Each character has a distinct move set, which comes complete with their own range attack, combos, and specials. Clay, for instance, is equipped with a shotgun that they can use to control crowds, while Ricco carries a pistol, Natasha can throw a wrench that acts as a boomerang, and Iron Jackson has an arsenal of explosive Molotov cocktails that they can throw. It is only one stage long, culminating in a brief boss encounter, but is a super promising slice of things to come.
Here's a description of the game taken from Steam:
"Inspired by arcade beat ’em ups of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Fallen City Brawl is a story of ambition and revenge told through intense side-scrolling pixel art action. Huge sprites and animated backgrounds breathe life into the dying city streets, while fighting mechanics offer uncommon depth with destructive combos, counters, air-throws, grappling, parries, special moves and “RIOT” supers! Animated cutscenes and a powerful soundtrack by famed composer Daniel Lindholm set the tone for urban mayhem, playable solo or with friends in local co-op"
There's no definitive release date set yet, but it looks like an announcement isn't too far away. We'll keep you posted when there's an update, but for now, you can help out the developer by adding it to your wishlist.