There's a new Double Dragon Gaiden trailer in town, and it's all about showing you how the game's roguelite mechanics will work. Traditionally, Double Dragon has been a fairly straightforward beat-'em-up series, but Gaiden is introducing customizable difficulty sliders, procedural mission modifiers, and more.
Announced back in May, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is slamming its way onto PC and consoles next month, and ahead of its July release date, Modus Games has released a brand new trailer showcasing some of Gaiden's roguelite mechanics, as well as its extra playable characters and core gameplay systems.
First off, we get a look at the skill-based combat present in Gaiden; if you just mash buttons (as has been my wont in beat-'em-ups for many a year), you won't get very far. Instead, you'll have to carefully construct combos and pull off special moves, earning you cash for defeating enemies using those moves.
As you work your way through each of Double Dragon Gaiden's gangs, the others will toughen up in response to your actions. More enemies will be present in levels, the stages themselves will be bigger, and a new sub-boss will appear to test your mettle. Luckily, the more cash you earn, the more you can upgrade yourself, so you won't be completely unprepared.
At the end of a run, the cash you earn will be converted into Tokens, which you can use to unlock extras like tips, artwork, music, and extra characters. These characters will have "their own unique skillsets, strengths, and weaknesses", according to Modus, and since each level has different routes to take, there's lots of potential content to see.
Adjustable difficulty parameters will also give you a greater level of control over your game. You can increase player health, revival cost, and how much it costs to upgrade yourself, for instance, as well as pumping up enemy stats and aggression to make your run that much more challenging. In short, the roguelite elements don't sound like they've diluted the classic hardcore Double Dragon experience.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is scheduled to arrive on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch on July 27th.
