Streets of Rage 4 Anywhere and Everywhere (Google Stadia)

Being able to play games wherever I want is outstanding. Whether on my various TVs around the house – sometimes natively via the TV and other times via my Chromecast with Google TV – on my cell phone, any of my computers…you get the picture. While not a huge fighting game fan, Streets of Rage 4 was something I could dive into for a few moments at a time, anywhere in my house, and I really enjoyed the experience.

It’s not something I’d play for hours on end, and perhaps that’s not how Streets of Rage 4 is to be enjoyed. But as a casual fan of fighting games – and fan is even a bit too much here – I found my brief bouts with the game incredibly enjoyable, at least on the easiest mode and against the easiest AI!

But when a few friends played the game, who are longtime fighting fans, they said this was the ultimately love letter to old beat-em-up games of the past, with simple controls. You move left and right, punching enemies, punching boxes, finding weapons and health, and so much more. And when I got out of my head, about how much I hate fighting titles, I began to see why these games are so enjoyable. And I actually started having fun!

See, going on 33 years old, I’m not into learning new genres of games. Am I missing out on a ton of gems because of this? Probably, but if the game I’m trying to learn is too complex, I’m probably out. But Streets of Rage 4 is so easy, and learning to play was done in minutes! This is all aided by a fantastic presentation. While the story leaves a lot to be desired, the beautiful animations and comic book style story telling is really great, and really aids in drawing me into the experience. Good art goes a long way!

Ultimately, though, its the ease of playing anywhere with Google Stadia that makes my time with Streets of Rage 4 so enjoyable. When I do get into a new genre, I need to spend a good amount of time with the game. In my house, on stationary home consoles, that can get hard. I have kids looking to play the latest and greatest on the PlayStation 4, my wife wanting to play her games on Xbox, and more. So Stadia allows me to move where there is room, and that is really enjoyable.

For more on Google Stadia and Streets of Rage 4, check out Adam on twitter!