One AI's claim that Absolum's Steam peak is '20 times' Streets of Rage 4's compared different trackers. Raijin shows 355 for Streets of Rage 4, but SteamDB shows 6,438, close to Absolum's 7,576.
Back to the trend of the day: He-Man's long-delayed retro video game finally gets a date: February 2027
Poly Rating · from the trend of the day
Best Modern Beat 'Em Ups 2026: Critics vs Players
Shredder's Revenge drew 11,933 Steam players at once at launch, almost double Streets of Rage 4's 6,438, and is still 94–96% positive on Steam.
- No. 1: Streets of Rage 4
- 10 places
01Final list
The leading AIs built their own top-ten lists independently. Above is one combined result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, the AIs that included it and, where the AIs gave one, a source.
Order: from most to least AI agreement.
A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.
- 1
Streets of Rage 4
It has the most Steam reviews here: 92% positive from about 19,800. Its critic score is 84. Its SteamDB peak is 6,438, but Raijin shows only 355.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 2 · ChatGPT: 1 · Gemini: 1
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 2
The benchmark: 84 from critics and 92% from nearly 20,000 Steam reviews, yet only about 355 players at peak, because its audience is mainly on console.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 1
Its Steam peak topped 6,400 at launch, while the long tail still shows a durable audience years later.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 1
Lizardcube and Guard Crush restored the genre's golden crown with an 84-88 Metascore, 92% Steam positivity across 19,000+ reviews, and the deepest juggle-parry combat engine in 2D history.
Source ↗
3 AIs put it here - 2
River City Girls
Critics give it 78–79 and Steam users rate it Very Positive across about 3,000 reviews. Its RPG-style progression divides arcade purists.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 6 · ChatGPT: 8 · Gemini: 4
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 6
A brawler with RPG-style progression: about 3,000 Steam reviews at Very Positive and a 78–79 from critics.
- ChatGPTplace 8
The first game’s RPG-like progression makes its brawling less strictly arcade-like, a point that divides genre purists and fans.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 4
WayForward reinvented the Kunio-kun formula with an 85% Steam rating, 79 Metascore, and an interconnected open-city brawler propelled by Megan McDuffee's synth-pop soundtrack.
Source ↗
3 AIs put it here - 3
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
Critics and players agree: 87 on OpenCritic from 166 reviews and 94–96% positive on Steam. Its SteamDB launch peak is 11,933, but other trackers show 277–905.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 1 · ChatGPT: 2 · Gemini: 2
What each AI noted 3
- Claudeplace 1
It has the highest critic score here (87 from 166 reviews) and the highest Steam approval (94%), so critics and players agree.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 2
Its launch peak of 11,933 Steam players is nearly double Streets of Rage 4’s, while Steam reviewers remain 96% positive.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 2
Tribute Games shattered modern retro brawler records with an 87 Metascore, 95% Steam rating, and an unmatched 11,933 concurrent player peak supporting 6-player party brawling.
Source ↗
3 AIs put it here - 4
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
Critics split by platform, from 67 on Switch and PS5 to 78 on PC (72 on OpenCritic). Steam players are warmer: Very Positive, 86%.
Included it: Claude, Gemini. Did not include: ChatGPT.In their lists: Claude: 7 · Gemini: 5
What each AI noted 2
- Claudeplace 7
Critic scores split by platform, from 67 on Switch and PS5 to 78 on PC, with a 72 on OpenCritic.
Source ↗ - Geminiplace 5
Secret Base dismantled 35 years of linear arcade tradition, earning an 86% Steam user score by integrating dynamic roguelite stage scaling and tag-team tactical swapping.
Source ↗
2 AIs put it here - 5
Absolum
It has the largest Steam peak in this list after Shredder's Revenge: about 7,576, matched on two trackers. Its Steam reviews are 92% positive, but it is a roguelite rather than a pure arcade design.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT. Did not include: Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 3 · ChatGPT: 4
What each AI noted 2
- Claudeplace 3
It has by far the biggest lasting PC audience here: a peak of about 7,576, over 20 times Streets of Rage 4's, but it is a roguelite, not a pure arcade design.
Source ↗ - ChatGPTplace 4
A recent critic called it a beat ’em up with depth, reflecting the genre’s move toward roguelike structure.
Source ↗
2 AIs put it here - 6
Scott Pilgrim EX
Critics put it in the high 70s: 78 on Metacritic from 82 reviews and 79 on OpenCritic. None of the AIs found Steam review or player figures.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT. Did not include: Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 5 · ChatGPT: 5
2 AIs put it here - 7
Dawn of the Monsters
A kaiju brawler with 81 from critics and 88% positive on Steam, but from only about 320 reviews and a peak of 145. All figures come from one source.
Included it: Gemini. Did not include: Claude, ChatGPT.In their lists: Gemini: 6
What each AI noted 1
- Geminiplace 6
13AM Games traded human brawlers for massive kaiju destruction, backing an 81 Metacritic average and 88% Steam score with heavyweight, high-impact defensive blocking.
Source ↗
1 AIs put it here - 8
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
Critics give it 72–84 depending on platform and Steam players 88%. Its launch peak of 1,841–3,619 fell to about 205 within months.
Included it: Claude. Did not include: ChatGPT, Gemini.In their lists: Claude: 4
What each AI noted 1
- Claudeplace 4
Its Steam peak is 1,841 to 3,619 depending on the tracker, but falling to about 200 a month by mid-2026.
Source ↗
1 AIs put it here - 9
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Complete Edition
The 2021 re-release scored 79 with critics, but Steam players are cooler at 82% from about 5,550 reviews. All figures come from one source.
Included it: Gemini. Did not include: Claude, ChatGPT.In their lists: Gemini: 8
What each AI noted 1
- Geminiplace 8
Saved from seven years of digital extinction, Paul Robertson's iconic pixel art and Anamanaguchi's soundtrack maintain an 82% Steam rating across 5,500 player reviews.
Source ↗
1 AIs put it here - 10
Battletoads (2020)
It had a big launch (8,402 Steam peak) but the weakest reception here: 72 from critics and 75% from players. Purists object to its racing and puzzle breaks.
Included it: Gemini. Did not include: Claude, ChatGPT.In their lists: Gemini: 10
What each AI noted 1
- Geminiplace 10
Rare and Dlala commanded an 8,400 player Steam spike, but a split between its 72 Metascore and 75% user rating highlighted player frustration over puzzle and racing interruptions.
1 AIs put it hereno source given
02Worth knowing
What the AIs noticed while building the list.
Critics and players largely agree at the top: the three leaders score 84–87 with critics and 92–96% positive on Steam.
Launch spikes fade fast: Marvel Cosmic Invasion peaked at 3,619 in December 2025 and averaged about 205 players over the last 30 days.
Modern retro brawlers keep adding roguelite and RPG systems. Critics praise the extra depth, but it moves the games away from strict arcade design.
Steam peaks and reviews leave out console players, who likely make up most of the audience for Streets of Rage 4 and Shredder's Revenge.
03Questions people ask
Where are beat 'em ups from?
They started in Japanese arcades in the mid-1980s. Kung-Fu Master (1984) came first, and Double Dragon (1987) set the side-scrolling co-op format.
Source ↗What are some good co-op beat 'em ups?
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge supports up to 6 players and scores 87 on OpenCritic. Streets of Rage 4 supports 4 players locally and 2 online and scores 84.
Source ↗What is the best modern beat 'em up?
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge has the highest critic score here: 87 on OpenCritic from 166 reviews, with 95% of critics recommending it.
Source ↗Why do Steam player peaks differ between sites?
Each tracker covers a different time window. SteamDB lists Shredder's Revenge's peak at 11,933, while tracker.gg shows 905 and Raijin 277, and none of them count console players.
Source ↗04How we counted
In plain words, no formulas.
1The question
Top 10 Modern Retro Beat 'Em Ups: Where Critics, Players and the Lasting Audience Agree, and Where They Don't
2Why this topic
The reader sees, game by game, where critics, buyers and the long-term audience agree or split, which no single review site or player chart shows.
3Where it applies
Global; side-scrolling beat 'em ups made or remade in the 1990s arcade style, 2018–2026, on consoles and PC
4What we looked at
- Critic score (OpenCritic or Metacritic)
- Share of positive Steam user reviews and number of reviews
- Gap between critic and player scores
- Lasting PC audience: Steam all-time peak and players months after launch
- Combat depth, replay value and local co-op, judged by hand
- OpenCritic — Average professional review score and share of critics recommending
- Metacritic — Metascore per platform; coverage differs by game
- Steam (Valve), via Raijin — Share of positive user reviews and review count, as of October 2026; only counts Steam buyers
5Who ranked
The leading AIs, each building its own list of ten independently and naming a source for every place: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini.
6How the places were set
The same entry written differently by different AIs was counted as one. The more AIs put an entry on their list, and the higher they put it, the higher its place. "AI agreement" shows how many of the AIs had it on their own list. Sources are only those the AIs found themselves; nothing was added by hand.
05Each AI's own list
🇺🇸 Claude9 places · 4 notes
The same question, answered by Claude alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1TMNT: Shredder's Revenge (2022)
It has the highest critic score here (87 from 166 reviews) and the highest Steam approval (94%), so critics and players agree.
Source ↗ - 2Streets of Rage 4 (2020)
The benchmark: 84 from critics and 92% from nearly 20,000 Steam reviews, yet only about 355 players at peak, because its audience is mainly on console.
Source ↗ - 3Absolum (2025)
It has by far the biggest lasting PC audience here: a peak of about 7,576, over 20 times Streets of Rage 4's, but it is a roguelite, not a pure arcade design.
Source ↗ - 4Marvel Cosmic Invasion (2025)
Its Steam peak is 1,841 to 3,619 depending on the tracker, but falling to about 200 a month by mid-2026.
Source ↗ - 5Scott Pilgrim EX (2026)
Reviews cluster in the high 70s: Metacritic 78 from 82 reviews, OpenCritic 79 average.
Source ↗ - 6River City Girls (2019)
A brawler with RPG-style progression: about 3,000 Steam reviews at Very Positive and a 78–79 from critics.
- 7Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (2023)
Critic scores split by platform, from 67 on Switch and PS5 to 78 on PC, with a 72 on OpenCritic.
Source ↗ - 8Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind (2022)
Reviews ranged from 6/10 (GameSpot) to 8/10 (IGN), averaging 71.
Source ↗ - 9Fight'N Rage (2017, console and PC)
A hand-crafted 1990s-style brawler with only 3 Metacritic critic reviews but a 7.8 user score; I found no Steam figures.
Source ↗
What Claude noticed
Absolum's all-time Steam peak (about 7,576) is more than 20 times Streets of Rage 4's (355), even though Streets of Rage 4 has more reviews. The two measure different things: a roguelite's PC audience versus a console-heavy classic.
Critics and players largely agree at the top: the three leaders are 92–94% on Steam and 84–87 with critics.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion shows how fast a release-month spike fades: SteamCharts shows a December 2025 peak of 3,619 and about 205 in the last 30 days.
The next entry, He-Man: Dragon Pearl of Destruction (Bitmap Bureau), is dated February 4, 2027, so it is not yet in this ranking.
🇺🇸 ChatGPT10 places · 2 notes
The same question, answered by ChatGPT alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Streets of Rage 4 (2020)
Its Steam peak topped 6,400 at launch, while the long tail still shows a durable audience years later.
Source ↗ - 2Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (2022)
Its launch peak of 11,933 Steam players is nearly double Streets of Rage 4’s, while Steam reviewers remain 96% positive.
Source ↗ - 3Fight’N Rage (2017)
Its modest profile hides a notably systems-heavy throwback, with multiple routes and endings cited among its strengths.
Source ↗ - 4Absolum (2025)
A recent critic called it a beat ’em up with depth, reflecting the genre’s move toward roguelike structure.
Source ↗ - 5Scott Pilgrim EX (2026)
Its open-map structure and RPG-like progression show how modern retro brawlers keep adding systems beyond the arcade template.
Source ↗ - 6River City Girls 2 (2022)
Its sequel drew a 79 OpenCritic average in an early seven-review snapshot, a thinner sample than the top-ranked returns.
Source ↗ - 7Final Vendetta (2022)
It leans into the arcade format, but this research did not establish enough comparable player data to rank it above better-documented peers.
Source ↗ - 8River City Girls (2019)
The first game’s RPG-like progression makes its brawling less strictly arcade-like, a point that divides genre purists and fans.
Source ↗ - 9Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare DLC (2021)
The expansion extends replay through survival play, though DLC should not be counted as a separate full game in a genre ranking.
Source ↗ - 10Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Dimension Shellshock DLC (2023)
Its survival-mode expansion adds replay options, but its reviews and audience belong to the base game’s storefront record.
Source ↗
What ChatGPT noticed
Shredder’s Revenge’s 11,933 Steam peak was substantially higher than Streets of Rage 4’s 6,438, but peak concurrency measures launch activity rather than lasting ownership.
Modern retro brawlers increasingly add progression and roguelike systems; reviewers praise the added depth while those changes can move games away from strict arcade design.
🇺🇸 Gemini10 places · 3 notes
The same question, answered by Gemini alone. The final list above combines all the AIs.
- 1Streets of Rage 4
Lizardcube and Guard Crush restored the genre's golden crown with an 84-88 Metascore, 92% Steam positivity across 19,000+ reviews, and the deepest juggle-parry combat engine in 2D history.
Source ↗ - 2Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Tribute Games shattered modern retro brawler records with an 87 Metascore, 95% Steam rating, and an unmatched 11,933 concurrent player peak supporting 6-player party brawling.
Source ↗ - 3Fight'N Rage
Solo developer Sebastián García created the purist's combat benchmark, pairing a 92% Steam approval rating with parry windows and branching routes rivaling Capcom's finest arcade cabinets.
Source ↗ - 4River City Girls
WayForward reinvented the Kunio-kun formula with an 85% Steam rating, 79 Metascore, and an interconnected open-city brawler propelled by Megan McDuffee's synth-pop soundtrack.
Source ↗ - 5Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
Secret Base dismantled 35 years of linear arcade tradition, earning an 86% Steam user score by integrating dynamic roguelite stage scaling and tag-team tactical swapping.
Source ↗ - 6Dawn of the Monsters
13AM Games traded human brawlers for massive kaiju destruction, backing an 81 Metacritic average and 88% Steam score with heavyweight, high-impact defensive blocking.
Source ↗ - 7Mayhem Brawler
Hero Concept delivered a stylish urban-fantasy graphic novel on arcade tracks, earning an 84% Steam rating and 77 Metascore through branching choice-driven investigations.
- 8Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition
Saved from seven years of digital extinction, Paul Robertson's iconic pixel art and Anamanaguchi's soundtrack maintain an 82% Steam rating across 5,500 player reviews.
Source ↗ - 9The TakeOver
Forged as a direct tribute to 90s Sega arcade classics with tracks composed by Yuzo Koshiro, Pelikan13's indie brawler holds an 82% Steam score and dedicated firearm mechanics.
Source ↗ - 10Battletoads
Rare and Dlala commanded an 8,400 player Steam spike, but a split between its 72 Metascore and 75% user rating highlighted player frustration over puzzle and racing interruptions.
What Gemini noticed
The genre's player base expanded from niche nostalgia to mainstream esports tiers: Streets of Rage 4 and Shredder's Revenge combined for over 32,000 user reviews on Steam alone, eclipsing the total lifetime sales volumes of late-1990s console ports.
Deep mechanical systems trump brand power: solo-developed Fight'N Rage (92% Steam positivity) outperforms multi-million-dollar licensed studio titles like Battletoads (75% Steam positivity) by focusing purely on frame-data parries, juggle physics, and branch routes rather than mini-game distractions.
Modern retro beat 'em ups have universally evolved into hybrid designs: 6 of the top 10 titles abandon linear quarter-munching stages in favor of roguelite token trees, RPG stat leveling, or branching narrative trees.