Streets of Rage 4 marks the long-awaited return of one of the most iconic beat-’em-up franchises in video game history. Released in 2020 by Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games, this entry revives the spirit of the classic Sega Genesis series while updating it with modern flair. With its hand-drawn visuals, refined combat mechanics, and nostalgic charm, Streets of Rage 4 both honors and reinvents the series for new and returning players.
Set ten years after the events of Streets of Rage 3, the game introduces a new crime wave threatening Wood Oak City. A criminal syndicate, led by the Y twins—children of the infamous Mr. X—is spreading chaos. Veterans Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding return, joined by newcomers Cherry Hunter (daughter of Adam Hunter) and Floyd Iraia, a cybernetically enhanced fighter. Adam Hunter himself becomes a playable character later in the game, delighting fans who remember his limited appearance in earlier entries.
The gameplay retains the side-scrolling brawler essence: players fight waves of enemies using combos, throws, and special moves. What sets Streets of Rage 4 apart is its deep combat system. Characters have unique move sets, and players can recover health lost during special attacks by landing follow-up hits—adding a risk-reward element to battles. Environmental interactions and weapon-based combat further add variety.
Visually, the game adopts a bold new art style. Abandoning pixel graphics for hand-drawn animation, the game’s vibrant colors and fluid character animations bring the city’s gritty underworld to life. The soundtrack, composed by Olivier Derivière with contributions from series veterans Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, perfectly complements the action, blending retro beats with modern energy.
Streets of Rage 4 also offers robust multiplayer modes. Up to four players can team up locally, or two can play online, making it a great co-op experience. The game also includes unlockable retro characters and pixel art stages, a nod to its roots that rewards longtime fans.
Ultimately, Streets of Rage 4 is more than just a nostalgic throwback—it’s a thoughtful evolution of a beloved franchise. By merging old-school gameplay with modern design, it reestablishes Streets of Rage as a top-tier beat-’em-up and sets a high bar for any future entries.
Wizard of Legend is a fast-paced dungeon crawler that blends classic pixel art with modern, fluid combat. Developed by Contingent99 and released in 2018, the game challenges players to master powerful elemental spells, known as arcana, and fight through procedurally generated dungeons filled with traps, enemies, and challenging bosses. Its dynamic combat system, co-op gameplay, and replayability have made it a favorite among indie game fans.
Players take on the role of a wizard participating in the Chaos Trials, a magical contest that tests skill, speed, and strategy. Each run through the trials involves battling through several elemental-themed stages, each culminating in a boss fight against one of the elemental council members. The goal is to defeat all the council members and prove yourself as the ultimate wizard of legend.
Combat in Wizard of Legend is where the game truly shines. It features a wide variety of arcana across different elements such as fire, water, lightning, air, earth, and chaos. Players can equip a set of spells that include a basic attack, a dash, two standard spells, and one powerful signature spell. This allows for deep customization, as players can experiment with different spell combinations and playstyles. The combat is fast and requires quick reflexes, making dodging and timing crucial.
The game’s pixel art style is crisp and colorful, with well-animated spell effects that give each attack a sense of impact and flair. The procedurally generated levels ensure that no two runs feel the same, maintaining the excitement of discovery and challenge. While the single-player mode is engaging, Wizard of Legend also features local co-op, letting two players tackle the trials together, adding a layer of strategy and fun.
One of the standout features of the game is its progression system. While each run resets your active loadout, players earn gems that can be used to permanently unlock new spells, relics, and outfits. This keeps the game rewarding even when a run ends in defeat, encouraging players to come back and try new builds.
Wizard of Legend combines tight, responsive controls with rich spellcasting mechanics to create an addicting gameplay loop. Its blend of action, strategy, and roguelike elements makes it a standout title in the indie scene and a must-play for fans of magical combat and fast-paced dungeon crawling.
Blasphemous is a brutal and visually arresting action-platformer developed by The Game Kitchen and published by Team17. First released in 2019, the game blends the challenging combat and precise platforming of Metroidvania-style titles with a rich, Gothic atmosphere steeped in religious symbolism and Spanish Catholic imagery. It quickly captured attention for its punishing gameplay, haunting art style, and compelling world-building.
Set in the dark and decaying world of Cvstodia, players control the Penitent One, a silent warrior and the sole survivor of the Brotherhood of the Silent Sorrow. He embarks on a journey of redemption and punishment, seeking to unravel the mysteries of a supernatural curse known as The Miracle. This enigmatic force is both a source of divine power and cruel suffering, manifesting in grotesque creatures, tormented souls, and bizarre religious rites that shape the world’s architecture and lore.
The game's visual design is one of its most striking aspects. Featuring meticulously crafted pixel art, Blasphemous evokes the works of Goya and the iconography of Semana Santa processions in Spain. From blood-soaked cathedrals to twisted effigies, every location pulses with grim beauty and despair. The soundtrack, composed by Carlos Viola, complements this aesthetic with haunting melodies and ominous tones that reinforce the game’s melancholic atmosphere.
Gameplay-wise, Blasphemous demands skill and patience. Players explore an interconnected world filled with secrets, shortcuts, and deadly enemies. Combat is fast, visceral, and unforgiving, with the Penitent One wielding his sword, the Mea Culpa, against hordes of grotesque foes and challenging bosses. As players progress, they unlock new abilities, rosary beads, and prayers that enhance combat and exploration, allowing for deeper customization and strategy.
Beyond its challenging gameplay and stunning visuals, Blasphemous stands out for its deep lore and thematic ambition. It weaves a narrative of guilt, sacrifice, and penance, drawing heavily from Catholic doctrine and Spanish folklore without directly parodying religion. Instead, it offers a mature, allegorical take on faith and suffering, inviting players to interpret its layered symbolism.
Blasphemous has since spawned a sequel, expanding its narrative and refining its mechanics, but the original remains a standout title. For those drawn to dark fantasy, challenging gameplay, and rich storytelling, Blasphemous is a grim yet unforgettable pilgrimage worth undertaking.
Hero’s Adventure is an open-world RPG developed by Chinese indie studio Okjoy and published by Paras Games. Released in early access, the game offers a unique blend of traditional Chinese martial arts storytelling with immersive, choice-driven gameplay. Inspired by classic wuxia novels and sandbox RPGs, Hero’s Adventure has gained attention for its freedom, rich character interactions, and replayability.
Set in a fictional version of ancient China, the game puts players in the role of a young martial artist starting out on a personal journey. Rather than following a fixed plot, players are encouraged to carve their own path through a sprawling world filled with clans, sects, and moral dilemmas. Whether pursuing justice, seeking revenge, or amassing power, players shape their own legacy through choices, alliances, and actions.
One of the game’s standout features is its deep character creation and stat system. Players can choose backgrounds, personalities, and skills that influence their relationships and dialogue options. This allows for a wide range of builds, from a cunning tactician to a noble warrior or a reclusive monk. Interactions with NPCs are central to the experience, with reputation, karma, and persuasion playing key roles in unlocking opportunities or avoiding conflict.
Combat in Hero’s Adventure is turn-based and highly tactical. Players can recruit companions, use positioning to their advantage, and chain attacks or skills for maximum effect. The game also includes internal martial arts techniques and weapon styles, which can be learned from various masters throughout the land. Experimentation and strategic planning are rewarded, making each battle feel meaningful and challenging.
Exploration is another core element. The game world is vast and filled with towns, hidden caves, ancient ruins, and rival sects. Random encounters, side quests, and dynamic events make each playthrough feel different. The day-night cycle and calendar system also affect activities and availability of certain quests or characters, giving a sense of time and consequence to the player’s journey.
Visually, Hero’s Adventure uses a pixel-art style reminiscent of classic RPGs, with a detailed world map and atmospheric locations that reflect traditional Chinese aesthetics. Combined with a strong musical score, it immerses players in a poetic, yet dangerous world of martial arts legends.
Hero’s Adventure is a promising and ambitious RPG for fans of open-ended storytelling, tactical combat, and East Asian fantasy. Its depth and flexibility offer something fresh for those seeking a sandbox role-playing experience.
Ibis Paint is a popular and versatile digital drawing app widely used by artists on mobile devices. Developed by Japanese company Ibis Inc., the app is available on iOS and Android, and it has earned a strong following for its extensive features, user-friendly interface, and compatibility with both beginners and experienced digital artists. With over 100 million downloads, Ibis Paint has become a go-to tool for creating illustrations, manga, and graphic art on the go.
One of the most appealing aspects of Ibis Paint is its wide range of tools and customization options. The app includes over 380 brushes, ranging from pencils and markers to airbrushes and digital pens. Each brush can be adjusted for size, opacity, and pressure sensitivity, offering a flexible drawing experience. This level of control makes it ideal for line work, coloring, and detailed shading.
Layers are another essential feature in Ibis Paint. Artists can add an unlimited number of layers, depending on their device's memory, and use blending modes, opacity settings, and layer masks to create complex and polished artworks. The ability to group, duplicate, and organize layers helps streamline the creative process, making the app feel similar to more advanced desktop software.
In addition to standard drawing tools, Ibis Paint includes specialized features for manga and comic creation. These include screen tones, frame division tools, and text support with a variety of fonts. Artists can even add dialogue using speech bubbles and align their pages for comic layouts. This makes Ibis Paint particularly popular among aspiring comic artists and webtoon creators.
Another standout feature is the app’s time-lapse recording. Every stroke is automatically recorded, allowing users to create and share videos of their drawing process. This is great not only for showcasing progress on social media but also for educational purposes, as artists can review and learn from their own workflows.
Ibis Paint also supports styluses like the Apple Pencil, offers pressure sensitivity on supported devices, and allows exporting to various file formats, including PSD, making it compatible with software like Adobe Photoshop. The app is free to use, though a premium version unlocks additional features and removes ads.
Overall, Ibis Paint combines powerful tools with accessibility, making it one of the best mobile apps for digital drawing. Whether you're sketching for fun, creating manga, or working on a professional illustration, Ibis Paint offers the tools you need in a compact and intuitive package.
Warm Snow is an action roguelike game developed by BadMudStudio and published by Bilibili. Released in 2022, it blends fast-paced hack-and-slash combat with a rich dark fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology. The game has received praise for its tight gameplay mechanics, unique art style, and deep narrative that unfolds over multiple runs.
Set in a dystopian world plagued by a mysterious phenomenon known as "Warm Snow," the game follows a lone warrior named Bi An. The snow, which is unnaturally warm and tainted, has corrupted the minds of both common people and powerful clans, turning them into monstrous beings. As Bi An, players must travel across different regions, battle through hordes of enemies, and uncover the truth behind the source of the warm snow.
Gameplay in Warm Snow is fast, fluid, and highly rewarding. It features top-down action with roguelike elements, meaning every run is procedurally generated and offers new challenges. Players can collect various weapons and relics, each with different effects and synergies. Combat emphasizes dodging, timing, and strategic use of sword throws, which return to the player like a boomerang. This mechanic adds depth and creativity to encounters, especially during boss fights.
A major strength of Warm Snow lies in its build variety. There are multiple martial arts styles to choose from, each offering a unique set of abilities and passive skills. These styles, combined with relics and item upgrades, allow for experimentation and replayability. Players can tailor their runs to suit aggressive melee combat, ranged attacks, or elemental damage strategies.
Visually, the game uses a stylized art direction with a muted color palette and atmospheric effects that reflect its somber world. The hand-drawn environments and enemy designs are deeply influenced by Eastern folklore and convey a haunting beauty. The music and sound design enhance the tone, adding to the immersive, mysterious setting.
Beyond its engaging gameplay, Warm Snow also presents a layered story that gradually reveals itself as players progress through multiple runs. The narrative explores themes of corruption, redemption, and spiritual balance, adding weight to the protagonist’s journey.
Warm Snow stands out among indie action games for its combination of intense combat, rich world-building, and cultural depth. For fans of roguelikes and dark fantasy settings, it offers a polished, thrilling experience that keeps evolving with every playthrough.
Black Border 2 is a border control simulation game developed by Bitzooma Game Studio. Released on January 1, 2021, the game offers players a chance to experience the life of a border patrol officer, tasked with ensuring the safety and legality of individuals crossing into the country. Available on both Android and iOS platforms, Black Border has garnered attention for its engaging gameplay and realistic portrayal of border security operations.
In Black Border, players assume the role of a border officer stationed at an entry checkpoint. The primary objective is to inspect documents, identify discrepancies, and prevent the smuggling of illegal items. Players must carefully examine passports, visas, and other identification documents to ensure their authenticity. Additionally, the game introduces scenarios where officers must detect and apprehend individuals attempting to cross the border with contraband or engaging in illicit activities.
The gameplay emphasizes attention to detail and decision-making skills, as players must balance efficiency with thoroughness. Each decision can have consequences, affecting the flow of traffic and the overall security of the border. As players progress, they encounter more complex situations, requiring quick thinking and adaptability.
Black Border features a minimalist art style, focusing on clarity and functionality. The user interface is straightforward, allowing players to quickly access necessary tools and information. While the graphics are not highly detailed, they effectively convey the game's themes and setting.
The audio design complements the gameplay, with ambient sounds and background music that enhance the immersive experience. Sound cues are used effectively to alert players to potential issues, such as discrepancies in documents or suspicious behavior.
Upon its release, Black Border received positive reviews for its unique concept and engaging gameplay. Players appreciated the game's focus on strategy and attention to detail, setting it apart from other simulation games. The game's realistic portrayal of border security operations sparked discussions about the challenges faced by border officers and the complexities of immigration control.
In conclusion, Black Border offers a thought-provoking and engaging simulation experience, allowing players to step into the shoes of a border patrol officer. With its emphasis on detail, decision-making, and strategy, the game provides a unique perspective on the responsibilities and challenges of border security.
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When will this summer game blog be removed from ur website
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