Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a 2D pixel art brawler similar to streets of rage or TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, it was created by Digital Eclipse who are known for their meticulous love of old 90s style games such as Tetris Forever and Worms: Armageddon Anniversary edition. It was released on December 10th and has been received fairly well for those who love the genre.
An Ode To Beat Em Ups
It’s clear that Digital Eclipse have shown how to pay homage to retro classic titles and this one is no different, it follows the same formula that we’ve come to expect out of 2D beat em ups, the game consists of 15 levels which are split into 5 chapters of consistent beam em action and boss battles.
The combat and music all come together to present a satisfying and addicting combat style that just has wanting more and more. There are returning characters for those that remember the TV series that came out in 1993 such as Bulk and Skull with banter reminiscent of their dialogue from the show.
Another plus to games that don’t focus on graphics too much is the complete lack of any glitches and technical difficulties that we see are present on so many launches of other games. The game runs smooth like butter with no visible issues with the gorgeous pixel art or combat encounters, just adding to the authentic feel of those retro arcade games that so many of us grew up playing.
Just Perfect Pixel Perfect Art And Sound
One of the main reasons to try out retro style games is the pixel art. Digital Eclipse has shown just how much the artstyle matters due to the amazing detailing that is presented to us in every scene or moment of encounter. The colors have this natural pop and that really brings home the vibe that this could be a game that was released in the 90s.
But of course it is a game released for modern consoles and seeing how smoothly the combat animations work, or how the enemies fly off when we land powerful hits look really satisfying really shows the attention to detail that Digital Eclipse have given.
These CRT style screens that show up at the end of a level showing our combat score or when we tinker with the settings just shows how far the developers have gone in making sure an authentic experience is given to whoever is playing the game.
A Confusing Launch
Of Course games like these are meant to be played with a buddy, the expectation being that 5 players can play together each as one of the Power Rangers but confusingly it is not possible and only a maximum of 2 players are allowed.
Even more strange is the fact that only 2 versions of the game can be played online, the Playstation and Steam versions. Moreover 5 player local co-op is supported on any machine that is not a Playstation that has a hard limit of 4 players.
Online play for the Xbox and Switch is coming soon the developers mentioned with full online 5 player support coming “eventually”. It is a confusing launch to say the least for a beat ’em up action title, where the whole point is to play it with friends.
More Please Digital Eclipse
While the game does go a long way in presenting an authentic 90s arcade experience with the pixel art, sound design and animation alas we are not in the 90s. Thus there are some issues that the game does have. The 15 levels unfortunately all follow the same general formula of just being a bunch of enemies.
Multi-environments could have been a great addition where we go from the surface to underground sewers or something like that. There could be a lot of enemy variety than the same old enemies just reskinned. These can be addressed in DLC or free content updates if they wish to do so.
Overall, the game is a love letter to the original and Digital Eclipse have shown their skills in making these sorts of retro classics and lets hope we can expect more games like this from this developer or maybe even a sequel where we get to see new enemies or a more in-depth story.
