From the anthemic slogan "Beatdown City -- we gon' whoop your ass!" to the epic trailers and artstyle-defying promotional material, Treachery in Beatdown City forebodes a world full of pixelated punches.

Each fight is presented as a vignette between one of three playable characters, and various enemies each personified with a name and archetype. Beatdown City has many types of foes, including bicyclists, preps, cheerleaders, grifters, gym junkies and rent-a-cops.

It follows good game design by easing in mechanics, enemy types, and difficulty. With that said, the "tutorial" is a tad too long, arguably it could be cut to a third of its length and still be effective. The multitude of short battles (each 1-5 minutes in length) can feel repetitive, but the variety in enemies and tactics required in overcoming them keep it fresh.

The developer is planning a large expansion of content that will better justify the $20 non-sale price. I feel good supporting a developer who's committed to supporting this product post-release for essentially free, though still bad for telling him I'd buy the game on-the-spot at $20 and didn't.

Outside of fighting, the writing's some of the most hilarious American social commentary you've seen in a video game. Nobody's spared the rod of "social justice", everyone gets whacked with it a few times for good measure.

This is definitely a love letter to older games and it's made with passion. It's neither too difficult or too easy, and its unique charm in the realm of beat-em-ups will keep you coming back for another fight.