Double Dragon Revive: Review of a Beat 'em Up That Hits Itself

The Yuke's development team, under the supervision of Arc System Works, sought to revive the historic saga of the Lee brothers with a three-dimensional approach, built on Unreal Engine. The intent was clear: to fuse the arcade DNA of classic beat 'em ups with a modern structure, capable of attracting both arcade veterans and new players. And in part, this goal was achieved, but the big problem is not having fully believed in this project. The game manages to convey a certain physicality in combat, with blows that "feel heavy" and a parry and dodge system that adds a technical touch to the action. The animations, though not always fluid, are well-crafted and respectful of the original material, and the remixed soundtrack with historical tracks successfully evokes the atmosphere of 80s action movies.

However, the visual department highlights a generic art direction, with polished polygonal models and scenarios that, while varied, lack personality. The dynamic camera, although effective in some phases, struggles to manage the most chaotic situations, especially in local co-op. And it is precisely multiplayer, which should represent one of the genre's strengths, that suffers from balancing issues and visual space management. When you move on screen, you struggle to understand which direction you are going; not only that, you "get stuck" with the scenery due to clipping, and consequently, you struggle to manage enemies.

The combat system works on the ground but collapses as soon as you try to elevate it to a more technical level. There are good special moves and some excellent characters, but the combos don't properly enhance the characters' potential, even though it's fun to punch everyone on screen.

From a narrative perspective, Double Dragon Revive tries to expand the saga's universe with static comic-book-style cutscenes and a more serious tone. The story revolves around Sou-Setsu-Ken, the power of the Lee brothers and Marian, and a conspiracy to steal it. There is nothing fundamental or useful; it's just a simple glue to move from one scene to the next, but ultimately, no one expects an Oscar for the screenplay, so it's fine as it is.

Longevity is another critical point. With a main campaign that concludes in about three hours and an uninspired extra mode, the game offers limited replayability. The roster, consisting of four characters, is sparse and not very varied, with minimal differences between Billy and Jimmy and a Marian who fails to stand out. The only truly distinctive character is Ranzo, but even he suffers from the simplicity of the combo system. It's not as bad as the latest Contra games; you can tell there were ideas under the hood, but it's as if at some point everything was abandoned to avoid optimizing the game, leaving it to its own devices and problems, with a rather ineffective result.