Devolver Digital is back with another ultra-violent game and this time publishing a game developed by France-based indie studio, Le Cartel Studio. Mother Russia Bleeds is a classic beat ‘em up following in the footsteps of classics like Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. Up to 4 players can join in on the brutality as you side-scroll through stage-by-stage and inflict much mayhem and pain to enemies with their bare fists or the various weapons littered throughout the stage.

Set in an alternate 1980s Soviet Union, the game lets you chose from four imprisoned street fighters who end up under the influence of the Russian mob’s new drug, “Nekro”. As they flee from prison, they begin to uncover the secrets behind the drug and its influence in this alternate Soviet Union, working their way to the very head of the conspiracy, suffering from mad visions caused by the drug along the way too. The heroes, already addicted to the drug, “Nekro”, can utilize the drug in two ways, to heal themselves or go into a superpowered frenzy. In order to replenish their Nekro stock, players must harvest the drug from spasming enemies, the green-skinned ones giving out a larger amount due to the over-saturation of the drug within their bodies. 

Inflict Physical Harm Virtually

Gameplay-wise, controls are straightforward. You can punch, kick, grab, throw, uppercut, dodge and jump your way through the many hordes of enemies in the game. Combinations of the dodge button with others will result in another set of complex moves, such as a sliding tackle or a quick grab. Holding down the punch button also charges it up into a head exploding uber-punch.

As is the staple in such games, weapons will appear over the course of your brawl, featuring one hit kill knives, incapacitating tasers, even firearms and grenades make an appearance later on in the game. While they haven’t included a kitchen sink as a weapon, you’ll be glad to hear that a toilet bowl is an actual weapon in the game!

Coming to terms to all the possible moves and combos in the game takes some getting used to. As certain moves are efficient counters to particular types of enemies, learning the system rewards the player with endless combos of violence as you begin to throw blocking enemies into a vicious guard dog, thereby neutralising both threats.

As enemies later on start turning into damage sponges, learning the proper way to neutralise them will keep you on top of the chaos. If you do end up struggling playing Mother Russia Bleeds by yourself, there’s an option to select bots as your teammates, levelling the playing field somewhat. I found this to be a game changer as it turns Mother Russia Bleeds from a frustrating beat ‘em up similar to the token gobbling games of old into a no holds barred battle royale with your buddies.

I had the opportunity to do some couch co-op with a three more friends and it was enjoyable working together to defeat a horde of homeless junkies. Not to mention the fairly interesting boss fights which always needed you figure out the best possible way to damage the boss without severely hurting yourself in the process. In the endless ‘Arena’ mode, we ended up competing on who would get the highest body count which made for some memorable gaming banter between friends. 

A New Take to the Classic

Mother Russia Bleeds’ choice of visual style is less of an homage to the games of old but rather a reimagining of the genre, with its abundance of grit and gore sure to raise a fuss if this game were to be released during the heyday of the scrolling beat ‘em up. There’s even an option to add scanlines to the game to give that warm fuzzy CRT monitor feeling.

I’d love to tell you what the story was really about but during my playthrough, I found myself incredibly impatient during the cutscenes as I felt the developers were trying too hard to make the characters badass and serious. More often than not, I was skipping cutscenes so I could jump into the mayhem as quickly as possible.

Despite not having the most engaging story, Mother Russia Bleeds makes up for it with senseless violence and tight combat controls. I found myself easing into the game as I learned how to string my combos and harvest Nekro in the middle of all the chaos.

If you’re looking for a game that brings back the nostalgic wonder days of the side-scrolling beat ‘em up, you’ll find that Mother Russia Bleeds has it in buckets, buckets of gore. However, the weak storytelling and lack of innovation might not be for those who see nostalgia as just a thing in the past.

Byline: By Amir Rothman

Genre: Action, Indie

Developer: Le Cartel Studio

Publisher: Devolver Digital       

Release Date: 5 September 2016

Score: 7/10