Ever since developer Dotemu teased DLC for Streets of Rage 4 last year, fans have been wondering what might be included. Will it be a new character? More gameplay modes? Additional weapons? Or more music? The answer to those questions, is “yes.” Following its leak late last month, Dotemu confirmed that the next DLC for Streets of Rage 4 is Mr. X Nightmare, and it’s bringing it all. The DLC will contain a total of three new characters, more music, a Survival game mode — and that’s just to start. Oh, and about the first confirmed character. Yes, the DLC finally makes the badass cop Estel Aguirre a playable character in Streets of Rage 4.
Estel was possibly the most obvious pick as a new playable character. She appeared a couple times in the course of the game to try and stop your vigilante nonsense. Estel clearly had a fully developed set of moves, as well as her own character-specific special attack. However, looking at the gameplay trailer for the DLC, she’s learned a few new tricks. One of her combos ends with her slamming a grenade to the ground to knock back surrounding enemies. She also has a stun grenade and a brutal knife attack.
Choose your character
The other two characters haven’t been revealed yet, but Dotemu says they are teased in the trailer. So, who are they? Near the end of the trailer, you can see two characters silhouetted besides Estel. One clearly looks like Max who, like Estel, is a boss-style character in Streets of Rage 4 with his own moves. Max was introduced as a playable character in Streets of Rage 2, so it’ll be good to have him back on the team. I’m not sure about the third character, but whoever it is has some messy hair. At first, I had high hopes of Shiva returning to the fray. On closer inspection, however, I think it may be someone completely different. It might be a character we’ve never seen before.
New characters are exciting, but Streets of Rage 4 – Mr. X Nightmare will bring even more to the fight. The DLC includes a Survival mode, in which you can customize a character with your own chosen moves and fighting style. More info for the mode will arrive later. The DLC will also bring new music by composer Tee Lopes, known for his work on games like Sonic Mania and League of Legends. There will also be new weapons (such as a swordfish) and more moves.
Finally, Dotemu announced a free update coming to the base game. For those looking for a real challenge, Streets of Rage 4 will soon include a New Mania+ difficulty, which offers a training system and color palette swaps for characters. The free update will launch alongside the DLC.
Streets of Rage 4 – Mr. X Nightmare doesn’t have a price or release date yet, but I’m definitely on the lookout.
Published: Apr 8, 2021 01:00 pm