My gf bought this because she likes to punch things. And also because I told her SOR4 had a reputation.

Here's an opinion I try to establish as a fact : SOR4 might have the most beautiful 2D animated graphics currently available. It is candies for my eyes. Everybody, from Blaze to the most random punk have tons of animated moves that both capture the essence of early 90s SOR and benefit from the 20 years past since. I must point out chara design, which is peak.

The gameplay isn't in rest. Punching thugs lessen their health. If you press a magical button called X on the switch controller, you do a special powerful move. Using this move is an interesting tradeoff : it diminishes your health, but you can regain it by doing normal damages. Nonetheless, if you're hit on your way to recovery, you definitly lose your health. That's the salt of SOR4. It is fun. Oh, and if you're an hardcore player, be sure the combat system is deeper than that and there are many difficulty level to choose from.

Overall, a very good retro beat'em all that is definitly a 2020 game, that knows where it comes from and respects its legacy. The only "default" is the game announces 17 characters whereas in fact there are only 5 characters made out of 2020 standards, while the other ones are retake from the genesis era.