The modern wave of brawler games continue. Following the success of the River City Girls series, Streets of Rage 4, and the critically acclaimed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, two of the grandfathers of the arcade beat'em up genre, Billy and Jimmy Lee mark another return to modern day platforms. Publisher Modus games and Singapore-based developer Secret Base (Streets of Red: Devil's Dare Deluxe, Bitejacker) have announced Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons will be coming to all modern platforms, and are eyeing a summer 2023 release. 

Rise of the Dragons takes place in the year 199X, and New York has become a nuclear wasteland where law enforcement has decayed and civilians are left at the mercy of violent gangs. Billy and Jimmy, no longer willing to put up with it, take action into their hands to drive the violence from their city. This setting vaguely reminds me of the 1994 live action Double Dragon movie. It will mark the first Double Dragon game since Double Dragon 4, which was developed by Arc System Works, who owns the rights to the franchise, in 2017

The Double Dragon brothers return in this fresh addition to the iconic beat 'em up franchise. With roguelite elements, every playthrough is a chance at new action. Tag in with 2 of 4 starter characters or unlock 9 additional characters, each with their own special moves and unique playstyles.

Double Dragon Gaiden will include, for the first time, rogue-like elements. The "dynamic mission" function will alter the number of enemies, mission length, and difficulty. Fighters can be improved with randomized purchasable upgrades at the end of missions. Use tokens to adjust game mechanics and difficulty, such as the inclusion of permadeath and infinite mode. With 13 playable characters, including a heavy arms-wielding Marianne (a far cry from her days as the archetype damsel in distress) and newcomer Uncle Matin, a riot cop, the game will feature local co-op and intense tag team action.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is expected to launch this summer for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.