Final Vendetta PS5 Review: No Hard Feelings? Just The Bare Knuckles!

There’s me thinking that this Final Vendetta review is due by a specific date when, in reality, Bitmap Bureau and Numskull Games released this game two years ago. Scoop this ain’t.

However… so many of you are discovering the classic side-scrolling beat ’em ups and want more. Or like me, you used to pummel in coins down your local arcade on games such as Final Fight and Vendetta, and want to relive the good ‘ol days without reinventing the wheel.

Good news, everyone: Final Vendetta is an ‘inspired-by’ piece that draws upon Final Fight and Vendetta(psst… read the title) and gives appropriate nods to Streets of Rage and many others. Unlike the fairly recent Streets of Rage 4, this beat ’em up is more on par with the older games, though with slicker animations.

Final Vendetta PS5 Review

Want a decent story? Log in to your Amazon Prime account or read the back of a cornflakes packet, as it’s minimalist here. It’s a standard setting: a girl is kidnapped, and a gang of reprobates go out to rescue her by beating the crap out of familiar-looking punks and their respective bosses. Spoiler alert: Dragon Ninja-style hamburger celebrations are present, and if that spoils it for you, you’re playing the wrong game.

There are three immediate characters to choose from in Final Vendetta. Miller is a Haggard/Axel type that is the slowest but hardest-hitting (my go-to). Claire is your agile fighter, similar to Blaze, and super slick. Claire is a mixture of Blood/Cody. Arguably, he’s the all-rounder, but in practice, he’s a little overpowered, as spamming some of the superattacks is easy.

With only six stages in the game and reasonably paced locations, unlike Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game, which drags things out, Final Vendetta is relatively short – even for a beat ’em up. That’s countered, of course, by extra modes such as survival and boss battles, plus versus. There are no additional characters besides the three at the start, though at least they differ in style and not just cosmetically.

Also, there are numerous difficulty modes that add to the challenge and with limited continues, this adds a bit to longevity if trophy hunting for S-ranks for each stage or completing without picking up any items – dirty pizza on the floor included. While it lacks the variety and extras of Fight’N Rage, it is an enjoyable experience and the soundtrack…? It’s so good it gave me nostalgic chills of the 90s, then at the credits… Utah Saints? YES! Great choice.

Bring A Friend

The real fun, for me, was the co-op option. When Streets of Rage 4 came out for the Switch, I asked (guilt-tripped) my eldest daughter to play it through with me. We did it in one sitting, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, she doesn’t look back at it as a fond memory – preferring our time on Animal Crossing or Fortnite. With Final Vendetta, however, my youngest daughter jumped in to ‘help’ with a review game on her terms.

It was brilliant. Though there are animations to show the controls, they’re very intuitive, and within the first few frames, she was performing super moves, stamping on perps, and swinging cricket bats. We unleashed a beast, but what was more entertaining was her maniac laughter and subsequent A-ranks. We finished our playthrough in one sitting, albeit on an easier mode, and it must have taken under an hour or so.

The last boss is the only caveat to all this fun: not enjoyable. With a spammy moveset that can finish you off in three hits, teleportation, and rarely being unable to throw them, it felt like this was a last-minute addition to troll the player. It’s doable but not as fun as the rest of the game, though how you finish them off (steady!) is amusing. And again, Dragon Ninja fans will love the end sequences.

Final Vendetta PS5 Review Summary

So yeah, Final Vendetta is a great modern retro beat ’em up that is well worth a look on your PS5. Don’t expect features galore or to spend hours and hours on it, but that’s a good thing, too. Without a doubt, this will be one to revisit with my girl again, and I encourage you to guilt trip—sorry, persuade yours to experience the golden age of the scrolling beat ’em up.