The beat-’em-up renaissance continues with a new Double Dragon

polygon.com:

Belt-scrolling beat-’em-ups are truly back (again!), thanks to a new entry in the Double Dragon series. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise ofthe Dragons will bring back Billy and Jimmy Lee for a new street-sweeping adventure this summer, adding some roguelite elements to the classic arcade genre.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is developed by Secret Base and published by Modus Games. The new Double Dragon promises something deeper than a recreation of the series’ arcade days; players will choose missions of varying length and difficulty, taking on four gangs and their leaders, earning in-game cash as they sock it to street scum. That cash can be spent on unlocking extra characters, bonuses between missions, upgrades, and more.

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Joining Billy and Jimmy in Rise of the Dragons are Marian — Billy’s girlfriend and the damsel in distress from the original Double Dragon, who appears here fully armed to the teeth — and Uncle Matin, who is described as a “riot-shield-wielding powerhouse.” Players will be able to tag in and out with different characters in two-player local co-op (online co-op is planned post-launch, Modus says).

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is headed to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X sometime this summer.

The most recent game in the Double Dragon franchise was 2017’s Double Dragon 4, which was developed by Arc System Works. That game served as a legacyquel to Double Dragon 2, and received middling reviews. Prior to that game, WayForward attempted to revive the beat-’em-up classic with 2013’s Double Dragon Neon.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is the latest (promising) attempt to keep the beat-’em-up genre alive. Recent