Streets Of Rage 4 battle mode includes 12 retro characters, out end of April

Streets Of Rage 4’s multiplayer mode will see most of the series’ cast return in their original pixel art style.

We were already excited for the long-awaited Streets Of Rage 4 if only for the soundtrack, but now the newest entry in Sega’s beat ’em-up series has finally been given an official release date.

Originally, it was believed to be coming out on 23 April but, in actuality, it’ll drop the week after on 30 April.

To help keep the hype going, a new trailer has been released that goes into more detail on the game’s battle mode, a multiplayer feature that long-time fans will remember from Streets Of Rage 2 and 3.

Aside from the game’s five playable characters, you will be able to unlock an additional 12 from the series’ past (though three of them appear to be different versions of leading man Axel Stone). And in case you didn’t know, yes, you can play as them in single-player too.

Not only that, these retro characters will be depicted in their original 16-bit art style for that extra bit of nostalgic goodness. It was no easy feat, though, and how the developers pulled it off can be read in further detail in a PlayStation Blog post.

Streets of Rage 4 — ‘Who are you?’ ‘I’m you but stronger'(Pic: Dotemu)

Players will be able to take part in one-on-ones, team fights, and free-for-alls across eight different arenas to prove who the ultimate street fighter is. Or you can use it to practice your combos and special moves in preparation for the main game.

Whether you know the series from the Mega Drive days or not the game’s looking plenty impressive, including the highly-anticipated soundtrack.

Streets Of Rage 4 will release on 30 April for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.