Speed Brawl (v08.18.2021)

Victorian London becomes a loud, strange arena where speed matters as much as a clean punch. Speed Brawl mixes side-scrolling beat ’em up action with the relentless forward drive of a time-attack racer, casting players as celebrity fighters battling insectoid Selenites for a complacent empire’s entertainment. Its alternate-history setting is colorful and sharply satirical rather than grim, full of posh propaganda, industrial excess, and wonderfully exaggerated character designs. The result feels like a Saturday-morning cartoon with a surprisingly vicious competitive edge.

Matches send you sprinting through compact 2D stages, smashing enemy groups while keeping your momentum high enough to clock the best completion time. Stopping to mash through every encounter is rarely the answer: enemy placement, movement options, dodges, launches, and special attacks all encourage efficient aggression and quick decisions. Six brawlers bring distinct rhythms to combat, from close-range bruisers to faster, more technical fighters, while upgrades let you tailor their stats and abilities around your preferred approach. More than 50 events across its leagues add races, combat challenges, and escalating missions, and the entire campaign supports both local and online co-op.

What separates it from standard brawlers is its demand for speedrunning discipline without turning every stage into an inaccessible execution test. The hand-drawn art is exceptionally crisp, animation sells every impact, and the banter-filled presentation gives each fighter a stronger identity than the genre often manages. Replaying stages for improved ranks and times provides the real long-term hook, especially when experimenting with team combinations alongside a friend. Fans of Streets of Rage-style combat who also enjoy the momentum and score-chasing of Sonic or arcade racers should find plenty to like, while newcomers can enjoy its approachable basics before chasing the tougher time goals.