I do like a good beat ’em up. Developed by Bitmap Bureau and published by Numskull Games, Final Vendetta is a title that looks and feels like it fell right out of 1989, the heyday of the scrolling beat ’em up. But does it work in 2024?

“Final Vendetta is a hard-hitting action packed beat ‘em up for 1 or 2 players in the vein of classic arcade titles. Featuring stunning pixel art and a thumping soundtrack with exclusive tracks from Utah Saints! Brawl with bad dudes and tough girls as you fight through dangerous environments.”

Let’s not beat around the bush here, Final Vendetta is basically an unofficial remake of the arcade classic, Final Fight. I am a wee bit late with this review, what with the game being released back in 2022. But sometimes, it’s good to let the hype die down and get to a game a little later in its life. Anyway, Final Vendetta plays just like Final Fight, with just a soupçon of Streets of Rage thrown in. You don’t need to know the plot as it is so bare-bones that it may as well not be there. Somebody is kidnapped by a gang, and you go to save them.

You get three characters to choose from, and if you have played any classic beat ’em up from the late ’80s to early ’90s, then you’ll know exactly what you are getting here. Big, muscley wrestler type that is slow but powerful, a skinny lass who is weaker but fast and the happy middle ground with an all-rounder. Each character has a standard attack, a back attack, a special attack and a super attack. Throw in a jump button and you have the staples of an old-school scrolling beat ’em up and a basic but fun move set to unleash on the numerous bad guys.

You know the score with a title like Final Vendetta, move through the stages, beat the crap out of the enemies as you make your way to the end of level boss… some of which use very cheating tactics. Smash open boxes and barrels, eat the floor food found inside, pick up items for bonus points, use weapons to smack people around the head – and that’s about it really. This one does have a few neat tricks like a block button or the ability to wail on a grounded enemy but kicking them while they’re down, but even so, what you get with Final Vendetta is a basic and very vanilla beat ’em up.

With a price tag of around £20 (depending on the platform) and the game being available now for Steam and all of the consoles, Final Vendetta is a perfectly serviceable title. There’s nowt wrong with the gameplay, which is solid and it captures the look and feel of an old-school scrolling beat ’em up perfectly. But, I feel that it lacks any serious meat on the bones. There are a couple of new play modes to unlock… and that’s it. Final Vendetta plays well, it looks great, but it is all rather short-lived. Six stages, a few different difficulty modes and a couple, of unlockable extra modes. Overall, it’s a fun but very light package. If you are a big fan of Capcom’s classic Final Fight series, then this is as close as you’re going to get to a reboot of the franchise (unless Capcom announces something soon).