Streets of Rage 4 goes retro with pixel art characters, throwback soundtracks

In brief: It’s been more than 26 years since Sega dropped the last installment in the Streets of Rage franchise. That’s set to change in the near future with the upcoming launch of Streets of Rage 4, a new game with a heavy retro influence.

Streets of Rage 4 developer Dotemu recently dropped a new trailer that outlines some of the changes that have been implemented since the project was first announced back in 2018.

Chief among the new additions are 12 unlockable pixel art characters from earlier games in the series with moves and abilities akin to their respective titles. This is in addition to the game’s five hand-animated lead fighters, bringing the total roster to 17.

Dotemu is also baking in the ability to play the game using the original soundtracks from Streets of Rage 1 & 2. It’s a neat throwback, especially for those that consider the works of composers Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima to be among the best in the Sega Genesis era.

Streets of Rage 4 is heading to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC sometime soon priced at $24.99 (unfortunately, the “leaked” April 23 launch date can’t be confirmed right now, Dotemu said on Twitter).

Limited Run Games is also offering a physical Classic Edition that features a retro Sega Genesis clamshell case with reversible cover art if you’re into that sort of thing.