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Vengeance Hunters Review

Casey ScheldNovember 3, 2024

Overall - 80%

80%

Official Score

Vengeance Hunters pays glorious tribute to the 90s-era of beat-em-ups with fists-a-flying. While the level selection sticks a little too close to genre staples, those looking for some good old-fashioned street justice have found their second coming.

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Developed for the legendary Neo-Geo MVS and AES hardware (remember when?), Nalua Studio’s Vengeance Hunters comes out of the gate with some serious 90s cred. Is this new-school old-school beat-em-up worthy of SNK’s big red beast?

Vengeance Hunters Review

Set in a megalopolis filled to the brim with mutants, monsters, and mayhem, the titular Vengeance Hunters Candy, Golem, and Loony set out to deliver (what else?) vengeance on the high-rolling suit men that set fire to their home.

Letting their fists do the talking, Vengeance Hunters hits all the right notes for the beat-em-up genre. As players take on rot-walkers, knife-packing thugs, and gun-wielding henchmen, they’ll keep their chins up – and their health up – as they take down foes en masse.

Vengeance Hunters’ combat gives players a number of options to dispel of this title’s many different evil forces. Each of these three heroes packs a light attack, heavy attack, jump, signature move, and charge attack that can come in clutch when things get heated.

Taking cues from beat-em-up greats like Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator, Vengeance Hunters lets players stun enemies, juggle them like the new clown in town, and run the combo meter up to double digits. Launching foes into the stratosphere and tagging a friend in for an action duet never gets old.

Each of the three characters in Vengeance Hunters provides a wildly different style of play, but rest assured; this is one speedy title. From the robot Golem’s nasty pile-drives, to the cyborg Loony’s flying fists of justice, each character packs a move list just waiting to be mastered.

There’s also an ending for each character with some stills that features pure Saturday morning cartoon cheese. While these segments – and the greater story segments as a whole – are nothing too revolutionary for the genre, they are still a welcome addition that adds character and charm to the title.

The environments of Vengeance Hunters are par for the course, taking players through wastelands, laboratories, and even the far reaches of space throughout is five different stages.

As a result, Vengeance Hunters ends up being a bit tried-and-true when it comes to its level selection. While each stage has unique elements like side-scrolling bike sections, exploding TNT boxes, and freakin’ laser beams that must be timed, it’s still sticks to the beat-em-up suite of levels a little too closely. Not a deal breaker, but still worth noting.

Despite this, Vengeance Hunters’ presentation is at the top of its class, perfectly channeling the 90s era of beat-em-ups. Sprite-work is packed with detail, everything is fluid, and the music perfectly complements Vengeance Hunters’ fast and frenzied action. If Vengeance Hunters were to be released during the Neo-Geo MVS’ heyday back in the 90s, you better believe it’d turn heads and steal quarters at the local arcade.

Vengeance Hunters Review

Reviewed On: PC
Release Date: October 27, 2024
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, SNK Neo-Geo AES/MVS
Developer: Nalua Studio
Publisher: Nalua Studio
Alternative Reviews: New Game Old Flame
Aggregate Scores: Metacritic

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