Now, I don't think it's a bad game, even if you take the price into consideration, but there are a lot of small balancing issues that I didn't expect in a Streets of Rage 2 tribute, and honestly, I don't see a reason why the dev can't solve them, it just needs a few adjustments with the I-frames, numbers, and the timing as well - they don't feel like huge design problems, just small oversights (fixable if the dev wants it). It plays almost exactly like SOR2, pretty much the same move set and combat depth, maybe with a few missing moves - unless they changed the controls for reverse hit and toss recovery.
I personally didn't have any issues with the hit detection, but I think there are other issues that may create that feeling like something is wrong. I suspect the real problem with the game is the lack of I-frames on some of the moves that traditionally would be safer. You can take damage during special attacks and throws, I think they should either have I-frames, or instantly give you a big damage reduction, it does not feel good when you lose half of your health while doing an animation. I mean, if you worry about balancing, maybe the cost of the move could be a little higher, but put in those I-frames so you can actually do it safely. Not everything has to be exactly the same, but you want your moves to be practical.
The combat really isn't all that bad, I actually like that impact feel overall, it just could use a bit of work with timing and numbers. The throws in this game just do a very low amount of damage compared to SOR, you can probably double it from what it is right now, especially the one where you jump over the character, traditionally I think it was the strongest regular move, but here it deals the damage of like a few regular attacks, you want to reward the player for doing it. Another problem I have is that you can't cancel out into the forward+forward+X attack out of hit animation, the command is not recognized unless you do it cleanly, so you pretty much can't chain it properly (like you could in SOR2). The distance on the knuckle dash attack is a little too unsafe, and the way it registers make it unsafe as well, it needs to be more practical like the dash kick.
For the content, you know, it's a 60-minute game which is fine for the arcade style, 3 characters, some skins and all. I kinda wish you encourage the player to replay the game for some concrete rewards, not just optional difficulty, maybe a different ending, some difficulty-specific skins, or a new mode after beating the game. Also, why no intro, I don't need a story in this game, but it could use a small intro you know.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) I think the actual gameplay and the impact feel on the attacks is good, I don't think the game plays badly at all. Again, the problem is with the lack of I-frames on some of the traditional I-frame moves, some numbers are off, and the distance on the attacks could be adjusted. It's not a bad SOR2 tribute, just a few issues that I think you could solve.
(+) I mean it looks decent for $5, I personally don't have problems with it, there are 3 characters, you can unlock several skins, and it mostly follows the SOR2 themes.
[h1] Feedback: [/h1]
[u] Balancing [/u] - you could use I-frames on special attacks AND throw animations too. Now, maybe you would want to balance how much it costs to use them in return, but it would feel better if you didn't drop half of your health doing the animation. The damage on throws is WAY too low compared to SOR, they are not even worth using. I would say increase the basic and back toss by 50%, and the jump over throw by 100%.
I would like to see the dash attack for the girl to be a bit safer, maybe slightly better distance and faster trigger on the impact. You know I never found the dash all that useful, maybe entering and exiting it could give a small damage reduction for a few seconds, just a thought.
Now, SOR2 never really had a proper juggle system with no mods, but you could still do some basic chains, I think you should still look into adding some combinations. Right now you can chain 2 flying kicks, it would be cool if the special attack or dash attack would extend the chain, and at some point, the body would drop no matter what. I am sure it's complicated, but it would make it feel a bit better, like the SOR4 right.
[u] Content [/u] - I mean it's fine for what it is, I just think you could encourage the player to replay the game with some rewards. Maybe if you beat the game once you can unlock a new mode with more enemies and a different ending, or difficulty-specific skins instead of just getting them. You don't want to rely on the player to just increase the difficulty for replay value, give some type of progress, something that changes and justifies replaying the game to get it.
[u] Nitpicks [/u] - why no small intro, you know, SOR is known for that build-up, you could have given a reason to be hyped to find the boss.
The OST was a little weak, I get it but, it's not a great fit for the game.
[b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10 [/b]
I didn't hate the game, I enjoyed it for what it was, just needs a little work with the balance. Even if you manage to fix those things, I think you should consider adding better reasons to replay the game, give some unique rewards like a modified difficulty with a special ending, even if the second run was a little different, I think it would feel more wholesome, otherwise, the game is okay but I am moving on right away. I like that you added a lot of skins, but you should have attached them to challenges, not just easy giveaways, I would have preferred the SOR remake store unlocks. I really don't think it's a bad game, but you kind of neglected it a little, mostly a lot of silly mistakes.
[code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
