Midnight Fight Express – Review

Created by lone developer Jacob Dzwinel and published by Humble Games, Midnight Fight Express is an isometric beat ’em up fighting game. Over the course of several levels, players will face off against waves of enemies using a wide variety of combat styles.

A player assumes the role of Babyface, a reformed criminal tasked with eliminating rival gangs before dawn. You have the fighting skills of Jason Bourne, but you also have no recollection of your earlier life. A sentient drone follows you as you embark on a path of criminal destruction. After playing through a few levels, however, you’ll learn that there’s more to the story than what the drone implied at first.

Over 41 levels in Midnight Fight Express can be played again and again as players take on waves of criminals. Each stage is scored by Noisecream’s pulsating electronic beats, the names of which are displayed in the corner of the screen. When you beat a level, you’ll receive a score that can be topped on subsequent attempts. Additionally, the level’s music and skins for the specific enemies you faced will become available to you.

Midnight Fight Express focuses primarily on quick melee battles. As you progress through the game and earn skill points, you’ll be able to purchase new fighting moves, finishers, and defences against attacks like parries, counters, and grapples. You can use your secondary weapon to fire upgraded bullets with unique effects on your foes. For instance, electrified bullets temporarily paralyse foes, providing an opening for a swift punch. Hypnotize Bullets are unlocked further in the tree; they turn enemies into temporary allies who fight on your side. Once a skill or upgrade has been unlocked, it can be assigned or removed from your character’s active skill bar, giving you a great deal of flexibility in how you equip yourself for battle.

The use of mo-cap animation performed by a real-life stunt artist ensured that every punch felt natural and convincing. Act 2 is where the fighting starts to feel natural. The more you progress through the game, the more options you’ll have for combat moves and combos that will help Babyface dodge and weave between the various foes he’ll face. Grappling was the aspect of combat that I rarely used because I found that parries and finishing moves were more effective.

While the majority of the missions follow the standard beat ’em up formula, some of them add new twists and challenges to keep players on their toes. Weaving through traffic during a high-speed chase is one example, as is evading trains in a crowded tunnel or the pinpoint of a sniper’s laser. Some levels only allowed you to use guns, which slowed down the pace and felt out of place in a game that primarily focused on melee combat.

As a combatant, Babyface can pick up and use fallen weapons until they are destroyed. This can include anything from knives and axes to rifles and machine guns. To progress through most levels, I found that switching between melee and ranged attacks was the best strategy. If you’re at a distance from your opponent, you can use chairs or barrels as a drop kick to knock them out.

However, firearms and bladed instruments are hardly the only weapons available. Everything from plungers and power tools to turkey legs and whole fish can be used as a weapon. The items you have access to will change based on the level you are currently playing. In one memorable mission, players used pillows and Nerf guns in a massive pillow fight.

Each enemy and boss you face will present Babyface with unique challenges to overcome in order to progress through the game. For instance, you may want to stay away from the toxic waste that Ratboys spew and the volatile puddles they leave behind. Despite facing a wide variety of enemies, it could be difficult to tell them apart in combat due to similarities in their tactics.

You can earn new power-ups, background tracks, and visual upgrades by replaying levels and completing level-specific challenges. Most items, once unlocked, must be purchased with the money earned from runs before they can be equipped. Although money can be acquired quickly, it felt like a hassle to have to buy new equipment right after unlocking it.

The term “cosmetics” refers to both new clothing options and enemy skins that let you transform into one of the game’s more bizarre foes. Different types of character skins and equipment, from the straightforward to the absurd, provide a wide variety of options for smacking bad guys in style. There are a wide variety of skins to choose from, including those resembling pirates, evil clowns, and stressed-out game developers. Cosmetics are purely for aesthetic purposes. Many of the outfits and clothing items are mediocre at best, and they don’t add any gameplay benefit other than looking cool. Instead of getting dressed for most of my playthrough, I just wore the sloth mask because I was too lazy to change.

The Playground is a designated training area that can be set up according to the preferences of the player. In the Playground, you can adjust the AI’s attack settings to perfect a particular move or counterattack. You can also use the unlockable cosmetics, bonuses, and background music as you progress through the game. Despite my appreciation for the additional customization options, I rarely used them in Playground mode.

Throughout Midnight Fight Express, you’ll find plenty of wit and whimsy. The game’s dialogue is written with a satirical sense of humour that made me laugh out loud a few times. The game celebrates the action film genre while also making fun of its tropes. Game and pop culture references abound, and there are secret NPCs waiting to be discovered who each have their own lines of dialogue. Its consistently humorous tone provides welcome relief from the story’s more serious undercurrents. Despite my low expectations, the game’s story kept me engaged throughout, and I was interested in learning more about Babyface’s past.

With the tools provided by Midnight Fight Express, players can don the skins of their enemies and stage their own John Wick-style action scenes. As long as there are players who want to beat the game at S-rank or complete all of the challenges in every level, the game will have replay value. Combat is fluid and interesting, but I doubt I’ll be back for more of the streets.