Midnight Fight Express is a phenomenal third person brawler that borrows some of the best elements of Sifu and the Batman: Arkham games while simultaneously making fun of them. Combat here is smooth, impactful, and surprisingly deep, with multiple skill trees that open the door to unique play styles and ways to interact with the world. While there are still places the game falls short, and it could benefit from some changes, the overall experience is fun, satisfying, and challenging.
Midnight Fight Express puts players in the shoes of Babyface, a former member of the criminal underworld who forgot his past and, like a sleeper-agent, was "awoken" by a mysterious drone. It's clear that the drone has a deeper connection to Babyface than it initially lets on but is more focused on completing their mission to defeat the of the criminal underworld by sunrise to prevent a city-wide take-over. The game kicks off from here and players are in for a bunch of challenging and sometimes unfair fights with hilarious characters and witty dialogue.
Combat will feel especially familiar to fans of the Batman: Arkham games. Players have access to light and heavy attacks, the ability to counter and punish, can utilize weapons and the environment, gain access to some long-distance abilities, and perform visceral finishers. The presence of multiple enemy types and unique encounters help highlight these various abilities and force players engage with all the mechanics available to them. In turn, the flow of Midnight Fight Express is really easy to get into and doing so increases Babyface's rage meter which increases his speed and damage output. The only difference in this fighting system is that unlike the bad guys that were definitely, though accidentally, killed in the Batman: Arkham games, Babyface is out for blood.
Midnight Fight Express isn't shy about its humor either, with clear parodies of films like Fight Club and the video game industry. The former through fighting a character named Kyler Turden outside a nightclub and the latter in an entire mission where Babyface s a studio-wide pillow fight while they're on crunch, only for S.W.A.T to barge in and create even more chaos. There are incredible set pieces as well, such as fighting on and through a speeding train, taking down a plane, and a couple vehicles chases. While there are plenty of wild action set-pieces to behold, the game is not without its faults.
There are several areas and boss encounters that are just flat-out unfair towards the end of the game. For example, one of the running gimmicks is that each level has a different gang or group, and one of these is called the Deadheads. What makes them feel unfair is that they must be fought with firearms, however there is no line or other reticle-like indication as to where the guns are action pointing to. This causes several shots to miss despite looking like they would be going in the right direction. For players with any visual impairment, there are no options to add guiding lines or adjust any controls. The overall lack of accessibility options is disappointing and will be a barrier for some players.
Midnight Fight Express is a solid beat 'em up that offers more than one would expect. While it would be nice to see some added accessibility options in future updates, it's still possible to get through each of the game's 40 levels and have a blast doing it. Beat 'em up fan or not, Midnight Fight Express is an awesome game with a great sense of humor and is absolutely worth picking up and throwing down.
Midnight Fight Express is available August 23 for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, & Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.
Midnight Fight Express
- Released
- August 23, 2022
