Good beat 'em ups with a cooperative mode have been around since the legendary Double Dragon, but the number of really good ones on the PC is limited. Last year Streets of Rage 4 came out, which is really good and can even be played by up to four players. With Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, another excellent new representative of the genre has now been released, completely unexpectedly for me, at the beginning of 2021.

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is based on the Netflix series Cobra Kai (2018), which in turn continues the story of the Karate Kid feature films from the 80s. You may like the series or not, the game is damn good. As a rule, one should always be careful with games based on a film licence, but in this case the game is definitely not a licensed pickle. The story in the game is completely new, by the way.

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a classic left-to-right scrolling beat 'em up in isometric view. You walk a few steps, fight the enemies attacking you and walk a few steps again until you finally reach the boss. However, the variety during the fights is enormous - different punches, special abilities, rechargeable ultimate attacks and the many possibilities to include the environment in the fight do not let the ongoing brawls become monotonous. Usable objects such as chairs that can be kicked around or bottles and baseball bats can be used to maltreat the opponents. Of course, there are also edible things to find to replenish your life energy. The variety of enemies is considerable, and the different opponents also have completely different fighting techniques. During the fight, it is shown whether enemies are currently performing a non-blockable attack or are stunned and can be thrown around. There are also temporary power ups to be found in the levels, as well as hidden collectibles.

In the game you can play two long campaigns - either on the side of Daniel LaRusso and the fighters of the Miyagi-Do Karate Club or on the side of Johnny Lawrence and the fighters of Cobra Kai. Only those who play through both campaigns will see the real (ultimate) ending sequence. In total there are eight playable characters (4 per side), each with their own punches, combos, ultimates and other abilities. Between fights, the money you find can be invested to either improve your fighters in an extensive upgrade tree with over 40 unique abilities, or you can invest in improvements to your dojo, which benefits all fighters - almost like a role-playing game.

Conclusion:
The game can be played alone, but it's really fun to be played together, like Double Dragon. All in all, a very comprehensive, modern beat 'em up.

[table][th] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34907518/]Games for Lovers[/url] - only GOOD local co-op games! [/th][/table] Good beat 'em ups with a cooperative mode have been around since the legendary Double Dragon, but the number of really good ones on the PC is limited. Last year Streets of Rage 4 came out, which is really good and can even be played by up to four players. With Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, another excellent new representative of the genre has now been released, completely unexpectedly for me, at the beginning of 2021. Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is based on the Netflix series Cobra Kai (2018), which in turn continues the story of the Karate Kid feature films from the 80s. You may like the series or not, the game is damn good. As a rule, one should always be careful with games based on a film licence, but in this case the game is definitely not a licensed pickle. The story in the game is completely new, by the way. Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a classic left-to-right scrolling beat 'em up in isometric view. You walk a few steps, fight the enemies attacking you and walk a few steps again until you finally reach the boss. However, the variety during the fights is enormous - different punches, special abilities, rechargeable ultimate attacks and the many possibilities to include the environment in the fight do not let the ongoing brawls become monotonous. Usable objects such as chairs that can be kicked around or bottles and baseball bats can be used to maltreat the opponents. Of course, there are also edible things to find to replenish your life energy. The variety of enemies is considerable, and the different opponents also have completely different fighting techniques. During the fight, it is shown whether enemies are currently performing a non-blockable attack or are stunned and can be thrown around. There are also temporary power ups to be found in the levels, as well as hidden collectibles. In the game you can play two long campaigns - either on the side of Daniel LaRusso and the fighters of the Miyagi-Do Karate Club or on the side of Johnny Lawrence and the fighters of Cobra Kai. Only those who play through both campaigns will see the real (ultimate) ending sequence. In total there are eight playable characters (4 per side), each with their own punches, combos, ultimates and other abilities. Between fights, the money you find can be invested to either improve your fighters in an extensive upgrade tree with over 40 unique abilities, or you can invest in improvements to your dojo, which benefits all fighters - almost like a role-playing game. [u][b] Conclusion:[/b][/u] The game can be played alone, but it's really fun to be played together, like Double Dragon. All in all, a very comprehensive, modern beat 'em up.