The Karate Kid: Street Rumble was surprisingly revealed by GameMill Entertainment back in July. Developed by Odaclick Game Studio and described as a 16-bit pixel art stylized multiplayer side-scrolling beat ’em up, this action-packed title is set to release on consoles and PC later this month.
During PAX West, I got hands-on time with the game and left very impressed. The Karate Kid: Street Rumble offers fans the perfect synergy between reliving key moments from the classic trilogy and playing a wildly addictive beat ’em up. Here are more thoughts on the game and why it’s worth checking out.
Celebrating The 40th Anniversary of The Karate Kid
2024 is an important year for The Karate Kid franchise thanks largely to it being both the 40th anniversary and the start of Cobra Kai’s final season which is set to end next year. A new Karate Kid film featuring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan will be released next May. Knowing all of this information, Street Rumble couldn’t have been released at a better time than now.
Set during the 1980s, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble allows players to revisit key locations and moments throughout the trilogy across 12 challenging levels. Playable characters include Daniel LaRusso, Mr. Miyagi, Kumiko, and Ali Mills with up to four-player local co-op. Main bosses throughout the game include Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese, Chozen Toguchi, Terry Silver, and more.
Beautiful Character Designs and Nonstop Action
As part of my 30-minute demo, I played through an All Valley Tournament level with one of the developers. I selected Mr. Miyagi as my fighter of choice while he picked Kumiko. Just like any beat ’em up game, the main objective is to fight through waves of enemies until you reach the boss at the very end. The only difference with this game is the inclusion of key moments throughout each level that reenact events from the films.
For example, if you decide not to play as Daniel LaRusso then he will still show up during confrontations with some of his closest enemies. Whenever these moments happened, it didn’t disrupt what was happening in the game but it did succeed in pulling me further into witnessing how well the devs would capture these moments. Seeing Daniel face Johnny never gets old and these familiar setpieces made every fight intense and intriguing.
The 16-bit pixel art style is stunning. The gameplay was also incredibly smooth and pulling off combos and signature moves was easy. If I could think of a recent beat ’em up game with similarly satisfying controls then it would be TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. If you dig games like this and don’t mind a little button mashing then you will most likely be satisfied with Street Rumble.
The Possibility of Future Games
In addition to the story campaign, there are plans to include mini-games in this package. I got a glimpse of one mini-game centered around players competing with each other while in Daniel’s signature prekick fighting stance. I have no idea how many of these games will be available once Street Rumble launches but this extra content including level challenges and objectives should keep fans busy for a while.
As I mentioned above, Street Rumble was primarily designed to pay homage to The Karate Kid trilogy of films. If you have continued to follow the franchise up to this point, you already know that several new characters have been introduced while Johnny and Chozen are now among the good guys. This made me wonder if we could get another game like this in the future that follows the events of Cobra Kai. While there are no plans right now, circumstances can change if fans heavily support this game. While my time with The Karate Kid: Street Rumble was short, I’m anxiously counting the days until I can pick up the controller again.
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble launches on September 20th for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
