Streets of Rage 4 Mr. X Nightmare Review – Grinding Grinding Grinding

Streets of Rage 4 has finally received some DLC in the form of a Survival mode and a training room—but is it enough for fans hungry for more? Can Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare make you pick up the controller and hit the streets once again? That’s exactly what we’re here to find out.

Game Name: Streets of Rage 4 Mr. X Nightmare DLC
Platform(s):  PC (reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch
Publisher(s): Dotemu
Developer(s): Guard Crush Games, Lizardcube
Release Date: July 15th, 2021
Price: $7.99

Before we dive into this review, let’s clear up a common misconception: if you’re expecting a brand-new campaign in this DLC, you’re going to be disappointed—there isn’t one. The story of Streets of Rage 4 was wrapped up in the base game, and there’s no continuation here. That said, if you’re into testing your skills in the all-new Survival mode, grinding for new moves and weapons, or just exploring the added content, then you’re in luck.

Can you survive?

The core of Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare is the newly added Survival mode. Why a Survival mode, you ask? According to the developers, they always wanted to include one in the base game but decided to finish the main content first. With that done, they finally focused on building a Survival mode—and I think they’ve succeeded in making it something special.

The concept is simple: pick a character and take on wave after wave of enemies. But here’s the twist—everything is randomized. The levels, the enemies, the bosses, the power-ups—you name it. After each level, you’re offered a choice of random power-ups. Some are great, others come with drawbacks, and a few are just plain bad. Since it’s all RNG-based, you can’t count on getting specific upgrades, which adds both excitement and frustration.

And yes, the RNG can be a huge pain. I’ve had runs where the power-ups were terrible, healing items barely dropped, and the enemies became absurdly cheesy. It’s frustrating—especially when you’re having an otherwise great run—but that unpredictability is baked into the design. Expect to hit some walls.

There are two types of Survival mode: the Random Sim and the Weekly Sim. As far as I can tell, both function similarly, but the Weekly Sim offers a preset challenge that changes weekly, giving players something consistent to tackle.

As for the levels in Mr. X Nightmare, yes—they’re randomized, but many of them come with unique gimmicks. For example, one stage features a massive pit in the center, surrounded by electrified ropes that flicker on and off. It’s great for tossing enemies off-screen, but it works both ways—they can send you flying too. Another stage includes swinging wrecking balls, which you can use to your advantage… or accidentally take yourself out if you’re not careful.

These environmental hazards are all designed to ramp up the challenge and keep each run feeling fresh. Personally, I’ve only made it to Stage 20 so far, and there are still more levels beyond that.

On top of the new stages, several classic Streets of Rage levels have also been added to the rotation, offering a nice bit of nostalgia alongside the chaos.

Take it to the Training Room

Survival mode isn’t the only thing added in this DLC—a surprisingly robust training room is also included. It feels like something straight out of a fighting game. You can adjust enemy spawns, assign infinite stars or special moves, tweak enemy health (great for combo practice), and more.

Take my advice: don’t ignore the training room. While you’re out unlocking new moves, it’s just as important to understand how they actually work and how they can impact your gameplay. Some moves can completely change how a character plays, as I found out firsthand. Spending time in the training room really helped me figure things out.

In addition to freeform training, there are also structured training sessions that offer valuable lessons for both new and veteran players alike.

Is Estel playable?

Ever since Streets of Rage 4 was released, players have been asking—begging, even—for Estel, the NPC police officer, to become a playable character. While that didn’t happen in the base game, the Mr. X Nightmare DLC delivers not only Estel, but also Max Thunder and Shiva—two other characters who were previously unplayable.

You can now pick any of the three and play through the original campaign or dive straight into the Mr. X Nightmare content. Fans asked, and Guard Crush Games and Lizardcube delivered.

If you ask me who the standout character is, it has to be Shiva. Unlike the others, he’s a living weapon—literally. Shiva can’t use weapons in the traditional sense. Instead, if you try to pick one up, he immediately throws it in a straight line at high speed. This makes him incredibly dangerous in weapon-filled areas and gives him a unique edge.

Estel is an interesting character, and I’m still getting used to her, but so far she’s solid. Max Thunder, on the other hand, I’m not quite sold on. With Floyd already in the roster, Max feels a bit redundant. That said, if you’re feeling nostalgic for Streets of Rage 2, go for it.

Just my opinion—but if you’re choosing between the three, pick Shiva.

Beats in my head

The music in Streets of Rage 4 is fantastic—something most fans can agree on. With the Mr. X Nightmare DLC, several new tracks have been added, and they’re just as good as the original soundtrack, if not better. Unfortunately, there’s no way to listen to them outside of playing Survival mode. This is where I really wish the game had a dedicated music player or sound test mode. Hopefully, a full soundtrack release featuring these new tracks is on the way.

Never-ending Grind

Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare is a grind fest—there, I said it. You’ll be running through Survival mode over and over to unlock new moves, weapon packs, training content, and other extras. That grind is the core loop, and it’s what will keep players coming back as they try to unlock everything.

If grinding isn’t your thing, there’s no sugarcoating it—this DLC probably isn’t for you, even if you’re desperate for more Streets of Rage 4 content. The repetition may leave you more frustrated than satisfied.

However, if you’re okay with the grind and enjoy working toward unlockables, this DLC delivers enough to justify the asking price.

Overall

This DLC isn’t bad—not at all. Unfortunately, I was hoping for more than just survival and training modes. Fans of the series who are still invested may enjoy the grindy nature of the content, but I didn’t find it as engaging as I’d hoped.

In my opinion, there’s just not enough here to entice players who feel they’ve already had their fill of the original game. That said, given the price, it’s worth checking out—as long as you know what to expect.

Review Disclosure Statement: Streets of Rage 4 Mr. X Nightmare DLC was provided to us for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

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