Copyright nintendolife
The beat ‘em up genre has experienced something of a renaissance in the last generation, with original titles like Fight’n Rage (2019) and more recently Absolum (2025) finding new ways to move the genre forward, while releases such as Streets of Rage 4 (2020) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (2022) show how effectively classics can be modernised. It makes sense, then, that Arc System Works wanted to find a way to bring back Technōs Japan's Double Dragon, one of the progenitors of the whole genre. Yet after the middling response of Double Dragon Gaiden (2023), the company decided to go back to the drawing board when it tried again with Double Dragon Revive. This release is a much more straightforward entry in the long-running series. Despite having some interesting ideas going for it, Double Dragon Revive unfortunately lacks polish and comes across as a very ‘okay’ experience. Surprisingly enough, it is very story-driven, complete with fully voiced and partially animated anime cutscenes. The narrative here is set (rather oddly) several years after the conclusion of a nuclear war, with society breaking down into a collection of warring city-states ruled by various groups that have managed to seize power. In Billy and Jimmy Lee’s hometown, a nasty group of thugs called the Shadow Gang run the show, and the plot kicks off with them kidnapping (again) the boys’ childhood friend Marian, leading to the famed duo hitting the streets to get her back. Obviously, you don’t usually play a beat ‘em up for a riveting and emotional story, but the narrative here actually feels pretty interesting and goes a step beyond the typical basic setup most entries in this genre will go for. Those cutscenes go a long way towards setting up a moderately interesting world and characters, even if it does sometimes come off as a bit cheesy and over-the-top. As far as gameplay is concerned, this entry plays genre conventions relatively straight, with the addition of the key gimmick that the action plays out on more of a 3D plane than strictly 2D. Otherwise, you still move from screen to screen, comboing waves of baddies and occasionally picking up a knife or sledgehammer to dole out intense street justice. Another new gimmick here is that you can use your environment to your advantage, such as knocking enemies into cars for quick kills that net you lots of points. Double Dragon Revive has all the basics and even has some cool ideas in how it implements them, but the actual execution of these mechanics falters. Movement consistently feels rigid and janky, while the level design is sometimes lacking. One stage involves a forced platforming challenge that the controls definitely aren’t designed for, and there are many encounters where annoying enemy placement can lead to things like getting ganked from firebomb-wielding foes attacking you from off-screen. It’s the kind of game that feels frustrating, and not in the good way that many soulslikes and roguelikes manage to hit. Fortunately, things are saved somewhat by the moderate depth of your character’s moveset, which helps make things feel a bit more dynamic. Alongside the lead brothers, there are two unlockable characters whose unique movesets have their pros and cons that give the moment-to-moment gameplay variety. Carefully determining when and where to make certain moves, such as a screen-clearing special attack that builds up as you combo enemies, makes combat encounters more than a simple button-mashing fest. And of course, in classic beat ‘em up fashion, you can be joined by another player in either couch or online co-op sessions (no drop-in, though) for some good ‘ol multiplayer fun. In my experience, the online environment on Switch is already a total ghost town, but the local co-op is just as engaging as you’d imagine and it tends to amplify the fun factor when you're beating up screens of foes in a friendly ‘co-opetition’. Capping the multiplayer at just two players feels like a bit of a weird decision, but then again it is called Double Dragon, and not Multiple Dragon. As far as replayability is concerned, there’s a decent amount of content here to justify the price tag. You’re given a ranking at the end of each stage based on score and overall performance, and this, paired with the selection of playable characters, means there’s fair reason for repeat playthroughs to try mastering every stage with every character. Once you’ve tired out the main campaign, you can then turn to the ‘Extra’ mode where you can do a series of bite-sized missions that also add little vignettes that flesh out the story a bit more. As long as the core gameplay clicks for you, there’s plenty to do here. Visually, Double Dragon Revive leaves a lot to be desired, mostly sticking to a lifeless and generic-looking 3D art style that immediately makes the game look cheap. Environments have detailed but ultimately forgettable designs, while the 3D models of all the characters on screen are stiffly animated and tend to lack charm. Nothing explicitly looks bad, but the visuals don’t leave much of an impression. Meanwhile, the anime-styled cutscenes are more interesting, but they only serve to further contrast how middling the rest of the game looks when you’re actually playing it. On the other hand, the soundtrack does a better job of supporting the action, mixing together a collection of house, drum and bass, rock, and pop tracks to make for an energetic soundscape. It can be a bit easy to overlook the music amid all the howls and sound effects of a fight, but I thought this music was a pretty solid companion to the action and does a good job of contributing to the scrappy atmosphere the developers are clearly going for here.
