[ad_1]
In yesterday’s Streets of Rage 4 coverage, Digital Foundry dissected the original Mega Drive trilogy, discerned the key aspects that made the original games so successful, and then applied the same criteria to the new sequel. Our verdict? It’s a masterpiece, a modern retro title that stands alongside Sonic Mania, Mega Man 11, and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. But how do the different versions compare, and specifically, does the Switch version hold up against the other console platforms?
While we were able to cover PlayStation 4 and the Steam code prior to launch, Xbox and Switch were not available, but the game is live now and we have been able to enforce the rule over each version of the game. The good news is that they are all brilliant, we can recommend a purchase for any given system, but there are a few quirks that we hope to see addressed in the short term through a patch.
To get to the point, though, the number one question we’ve been asked since the embargo was lifted relates to the quality of the Switch’s release, and with good reason, as this style of play would make for a brilliant portable experience. Here, we can report that the title is completely identical to the launch of PlayStation 4. Whether you are playing in docked mode or in mobile mode, the frame rate is locked at 60 frames per second and the visual composition of the game is also the same. . Even the graphics menu is fully present and correct on the Nintendo / portable hybrid console. Like the other consoles, four-player local co-op mode is supported and, unsurprisingly, two users can grab a Joycon to get into the action without the need for additional pads.
John Linneman and Rich Leadbetter meet to discuss Switch and Xbox One ports for Streets of Rage 4.
Rest assured that a purchase of Switch Streets of Rage 4 is highly recommended. It is perhaps not surprising that Seaven Studio has carried out the conversion, and they are also responsible for the PS4 game we covered earlier. Interestingly, different studios were assigned different console ports. Blitworks handled the Xbox version and, unsurprisingly, it’s as good as the PS4 and Switch versions, with one exception: the graphics menu is greatly reduced. It’s a curious omission, but it definitely doesn’t depend on system limitations: some of the menu-selectable effects do manifest in-game anyway, and they’re still there on Xbox, just not available as user-selectable options . It doesn’t bother us as much as the default presentation is, in our opinion, the best way to play. However, there is no real reason why these options should not be available to Xbox users.
The graphics menu situation is equally confusing on the PC. The Steam version of the game has all the options found on PS4 and Switch, along with some additional graphics tweaks and a low latency mode. However, if you take the game from the Windows Store, it seems like you’re getting some kind of ramification from the Xbox version. Once again the game continues to play exactly as it should, it is still brilliant. However, once again, the graphics menu lacks options, and that’s not entirely ideal. You’ll get brightness, screen-shake, full-screen, v-sync, low-latency, and maximum frame-skip options, but much of the cool stuff in the Steam build is missing. Streets of Rage 4 does not require a high-powered PC to function well, but it would have been preferable to get at least the full range of graphics settings.
It took some time to confirm this because, once again, we ran into problems running the Windows Store software. On one machine, Streets of Rage 4 would simply quit after loading. Installation on another PC worked. Graphics menu objections aside, Streets of Rage 4 is solid gold on all systems, highly recommended in every respect. If you have fond memories of the fighting genre from a long time ago, you should play it, and even if you are new to this type of game, it is so much fun that we highly recommend you give it a try. Oh, and the icing on the cake? While the default maximum health pickup is a good hot chicken, Streets of Rage 4 offers plenty of alternatives … including a vegan option!
[ad_2]
