Uppers (2016)

A competent and charmingly designed 3D beat 'em up that is, unfortunately, weighed down by shallow mechanics, lackluster writing, and tired anime tropes.

Was Uppers worth the years-long wait to be able to play it in English? Probably not. Even as a fan of the titles Honey Parade Studios puts out, there's something disappointing about the way Uppers is too scared to fully commit to the gritty, hot-blooded front that it puts up. By having one foot in there and another firmly planted in the same-old T&A antics of the studio, it fails at truly capturing either aesthetic successfully. It's still a fun brawler with satisfying combat, and it looks amazing on PC, but there are plenty of areas where it could be improved on.

So if you’ve been looking for a simple Brawler to take up some time and are in the mood for a few laughs as there is a fair amount of comedy along with the fighting, Uppers by Bullets and XSEED Games and Marvelous isn’t a bad choice.

Uppers may be a wish come true for some longtime Vita or Senran Kagura holdouts, but outside of that odd legacy, it can’t really compete with its contemporaries.

In general, Uppers is a beat ‘em up whose combat is quite fun, but small technical defects end up weakening the experience. It is still worth checking out for enthusiasts of the genre since the combat offers good variety and exaggerated blows, but it does not stand out in comparison to what already exists in the market.