At the start of May, Secret Base Games and Modus Games announced Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, the latest game in the long-running Double Dragon series. The publisher promised the game would arrive by the end of summer. We now know that to be true since Double Dragon Gaiden's official release date has been revealed! The game will hit consoles and PC on July 27.
Double Dragon Gaiden is a beat 'em up Roguelike, the first Roguelike in the series. It's a reboot that retells the story of the first game, taking place in a post-apocalyptic 1990s version of New York.
The game will feature:
- TAG TEAM ACTION: Choose two fighters and seamlessly switch between them, giving you a multitude of strategies for devastating combos, defensive and offensive moves.
- BEAT ‘EM UP WITH ROGUELITE ELEMENTS: Experience endless playthrough possibilities with a dynamic mission select function; the order in which you choose your mission will affect mission length, number of enemies, and overall difficulty. Choose where you improve with randomized purchasable upgrades for your characters at the end of each mission, or save your cash to revive your players in-mission.
- 13 UNIQUE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS: Start the fight with Billy, Jimmy, Marian, and Uncle Matin. Earn tokens along the way to unlock a diverse roster of 9 more characters, each with their own playstyle and strengths. Strategically choose your fighting duo by taking into account each characters’ strengths and weaknesses.
- SHAPE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND REWARDS: Adjust game difficulty to affect the amount of tokens earned per session and use those tokens to unlock content from the Token Shop including characters, tips, and more. Modifier can be used to enter permadeath or even infinite mode.
- LOCAL CO-OP: Grab a friend and clean up the city streets together in local co-op mode that supports up to two players.
We're always excited to see a new Double Dragon, especially when the developers get creative with them. My advice is to avoid getting hung up on the art style (which is actually quite pleasant and remeniscent of TMNT: Shredder's Revenge) and instead focus on the potential of the gameplay. The Roguelike elements and large number of playable characters should give Gaiden tremendous replay value.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons will arrive on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam on Tuesday, July 27. It will sell for $24.99 digitally and $29.99 for physical versions. Sign up for the newsletter at DoubleDragonGaiden.com and stay tuned here for more news!