Fallen City Brawl

Fallen City Studio's beat 'em up celebrates the great pillars of the genre with a simple and fun proposal, but it suffers from a lack of variety and overall quality. The big difference with the classics of yesteryear is that it didn't leave me wanting to play again. I was left with the impression that it is unfinished and still in development. However, it's not easy to recommend with so much (and such good) competition out there.

Fallen City Brawl brought back the nostalgic vibes of the arcade era, but it failed to deliver an experience on par with classic games of the past. The game is overly simple, extremely short, and annoyingly repetitive. While the local co-op mode and appealing pixel visuals are nice touches, they aren’t enough to make up for the lack of variety and depth in the overall experience.

Heavily inspired by Streets of Rage and Final Fight, Fallen City Brawl is a retro-styled side-scrolling beat 'em up that has some some unique ideas but ultimately falls short in a number of areas.

Fallen City Brawl has its moments, and much of what is here is sound. It does lack some presentation issues and its identity is simply not there. When the final boss fell, I frankly didn't even realize that was it, making its story and resolution to largely fall flat. I think a sequel with a bigger emphasis on its story, characters, and world would provide something to really make it stand apart.

Fallen City Brawl has its strengths, with its crunchy combat, a solid variety of weapons, and a fantastic soundtrack. But those high points are often dragged down by inconsistent visuals, a lack of polish, and some frustrating design decisions. With more time and refinement, it could’ve stood alongside the genre’s modern greats like Streets of Rage 4 or TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. As it is, it’s a decent but uneven experience that genre fans might still enjoy, especially in co-op, provided they go in with tempered expectations.