Ahh, the shadow drop. What better way is there to build instant hype than to release a game that nobody was expecting, right here, right now? That's exactly what Square Enix has done today with Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD-. The original Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon was released on Super Famicom in Japan way back in 1993. Although the PSOne sequel did get an English version, today's release is the first official English version of the original game.

Scott Pilgrim EX, the long-awaited sequel to Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game, is probably the best new beat 'em up this year. It features gorgeous pixel art, catchy chiptunes, a diverse but manageable open world, and 4-player local and online co-op with cross-play. That's a lot to like! Well, now there's even more to like. Today, the game got a free update alongside the arrival of a DLC character pack.

Sometimes, workers just really resent their bosses. The boss looks down on them, asks them to do too much, and never provides substantial raises. Who wouldn't want to rise up and overthrow the tyrannical boss? Well, that's not what Underling Uprising is about. Oh no, this game is about a group of test subjects who rebel against the mad scientist who empowered them. This fresh, new beat em up (and Kickstarter success story) comes from Dummy Dojo and Abylight Studios, and it features 4-player local co-op.

It seems like it was only two years ago when Taito released the first co-op console entry in the Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move series, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble. That's because it was two years ago! The only major downside to Everybubble is that it was a Switch exclusive game. Other people want to play Puzzle Bobble too! Well, now some of them can, because Arc System Works has just published Puzzle Bobble Everybubble on Steam. It still features 4-player local co-op and 2-player online versus battles, not to mention plenty of bubble-popping puzzles.

We first ran across Japanese merchandise label Kumagumi when they released a cool line of Double Dragon clothing a few years ago. Well, now they're back with a similarly attractive array of physical goods dedicated to SNK's Metal Slug. Metal Slug, of course, is a series of run-and-gun shooters that began its life on the NeoGeo arcade hardware. The series is known for its attractive pixel art and memorable character designs, to say nothing of the challenging gameplay.

Ever since the film Clerks perfectly captured the drudgery and indignity of convenience store work, Jay and Silent Bob have been popular characters. They've popped up in numerous Kevin Smith films, on Degrassi: The Next Generation, and even starred in a series of beat 'em ups. The latest of those beat 'em ups is Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch, and it's out today, a normal day just like any other.

It's always sad when a game developer dies, but especially so when that person is the founder of an actual genre. Yoshihisa Kishimoto is just such a person. He created the Kunio-kun/River City and Double Dragon franchises, and as such, is considered the father of the beat 'em up genre. Double Dragon was instrumental in popularizing cooperative multiplayer, so his influence even extends beyond the genre that he created. Lamentably, Kishimito died on April 2, as reported by his son.

When Hades came along in 2020, it quickly built a reputation as one of the best roguelike games around. Naturally, such a successful game has inspired many others, but how can other developers improve on perfection? With co-op, of course! That’s the clever approach that games like TMNT: Splintered Fate from Super Evil Megacorp and SWORN from ...

While Arc System Works is best known for games like Double Dragon Revive and the BlazBlue series, they also make non-punching games from time to time. DAMON and BABY is just such a game. It stars a future demon king named Damon who is bound by a curse to a mysterious baby (more like a toddler, really). In 2-player local co-op games, the second player gets to be Damon's dog! The game has just launched on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam... Poor Xbox doesn't get to hold the baby.

King Arthur is known to be a valiant warrior, so defeating him won't be easy. It will be especially tough in SWORN, a Hades-style roguelike in which Arthur and his knights have been corrupted into monsters. Suppose that a player was brave enough to fight all of those once-gallant knights all in a row. Why, that is now possible thanks to the game's recent Version 1.2 update. It adds a Boss Rush mode, new cosmetics, an enemy Corruption system, and more.

Dotemu's Absolum broke all kinds of sales records when it debuted on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam last year. The developers even promised a big Version 1.1 update which came along in February of this year. All the while, Xbox gamers had no choice but to look on from the outside and long for the coveted Absolum beat 'em up roguelike experience. It wasn't easy, I can tell you. Thankfully, those long months of yearning are finally behind us. Absolum came out on Xbox Series consoles today, and it's even on Game Pass. It's time to get absolumming, boys and girls!