Treachery in Beatdown City

Jun 25, 2020

Treachery In Beatdown City well surpassed my expectations. I was skeptical of the combat system and how long it could hold my interest, but after nearly six hours I find myself wanting the second episode to drop the moment I finish typing this review. It scales up nicely in difficulty and sprinkles in new moves, new enemies and new tactics at just the right rate to keep things interesting the whole way through. I’m usually the “wait for a sale” type and not keen on episodic games, particularly ones that cost $20 on the Nintendo eShop, but even if the second episode somehow bombed I’d still be happy with what the first delivered. Here’s hoping that wherever the game goes from here, it involves even more fighting and a healthy helping of Farooq’s halal.

Apr 28, 2021

Summary and quote unavailable.

Apr 16, 2020

Treachery in Beatdown City uses humor skillfully as a tool to deal with contemporary issues with the gig economy, insidious tech company ploys, and obnoxious bigots. It has some lulls and a bit of an abrupt conclusion, but that’s overshadowed by how especially fun the conversations and combat are. The mechanics stand out and push against the standards of the brawler genre, injecting a strong tactics twist that lets you make some freestyle combos in the blink of an eye. In the end it was a short, satisfying playthrough that maintained its action movie aura the entire time. Treachery in Beatdown City is all about fighting, but it shines because at its core it’s about fighting back.

Apr 3, 2020

Summary and quote unavailable.

May 11, 2020

Summary and quote unavailable.

Apr 27, 2020

If you’re down with all sorts of in-jokes and spent way too much time online in the late 2000s, you probably already picked up Treachery in Beatdown City. If you’re still on the fence, it’s a brisk experience with a unique style of gameplay, and the dialogue is as skippable as you need it to be. It’s a good debut game from a studio I’ll be keeping an eye on going forward.

Jun 10, 2020

It’s got fun characters, great presentation, and a system that has some stumbles but is ultimately a neat idea. And let’s face it, if you’ve ever been in a city, bodyslamming people who won’t stop taking up the whole damn sidewalk feels like an appropriate response. ~ Final Score: 7/10 ~ Review copy provided by NuChallenger for PC.

May 1, 2020

Summary and quote unavailable.

May 7, 2020

I may not have personally enjoyed the writing much, but it’s not inherently bad--it’s just not my sense of humor. There may be sticking points and frustrations in terms of the gameplay, but the core of the battle system is solid. Perhaps being episodic will work to Nuchallenger’s advantages, so they can take what they’ve learned from this first episode and make a truly great second one.

May 2, 2020

Treachery in Beatdown City struggles with a few quality of life issues and a story that will be a hit or miss. On the other hand, the game offers an interesting take on the classic side-scrolling beat ‘em up genre that encourages a more thoughtful approach to bashing in faces.