River City Girls Reviews

River City Girls is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
8 / 10
Sep 6, 2019

A fantastic scrolling beat 'em-ups that shows exactly how the genre can be evolved and modernised, while also indulging in some gloriously retro presentation and throwbacks.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 2, 2019

Impressive effort with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
8 / 10
Sep 12, 2019

Arc System Works and WayForward managed to revive the classics qualitatively. Interesting gameplay, stylish graphics, funny story and four unique characters to choose from should please fans of the genre. And if you are one of them, then this game is definitely worthy of your attention.

Review in Russian | Read full review

Sep 10, 2019

I’m pretty confident in saying River City Girls is the best game to use the River City IP. It has a fantastic understanding of why people play beat-em-ups but typically avoids the pratfalls this genre can fall into. You can also pick up giant fish and smack people in the face with them. That makes this game good enough for me!

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ZTGD
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Sep 23, 2019

I hope WayForward gets to follow this game up so they can tweak their gameplay a bit and explore their take on the world of River City a bit more.

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Sep 9, 2019

River City Girls is so much fun and one of the most enjoyable brawlers I've played in a long time. Developers Arc System Works and Wayforward have made the genre feel surprisingly modern with its anime aesthetic and sharp, tongue-in-cheek approach to dialogue and world design. It's self-aware enough that every joke lands, every location feels distinct and every musical track is an experimental banger. If you're after a charming beat 'em up – grab a friend and help Kyoko and Misako track down their boyfriends. You won't regret it.

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8 / 10
Sep 16, 2019

River City Girls is a very fun, well-crafted and deliciously funny beat'em-up in the same line as its predecessor. With its varied combat options, delightful animations and charismatic characters, River City Girls is set to appeal even to players who might not necessarily be very keen on beat'em-ups.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Sep 10, 2019

River City Girls is a vibrant, colorful, and surprisingly fresh take on the classic beat 'em up series. While small annoyances may hinder its pacing, the overall package from WayForward still packs a few good kicks and punches.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 24, 2019

If you’ve got a friend and some free time, I think there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had here with River City Girls, and the amazing art and music certainly enhance that.

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8 / 10
Sep 2, 2019

River City Girls gives the beat-em-up genre a new lease on life with its solid combat, stellar spritework, and sprawling world. Those that can stomach some backtracking will find an adventure worthy of biffing a few baddies over.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 5, 2019

River City Girls is a great brawler, and though I wouldn't say it rises above its genre, it's still an excellent example of one. Either solo or with a friend, you'll have a good time.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 25, 2019

It would be a lie to say River City Girls is not a good game. This game is full of charm and style, it is really fun to play and the high production values clearly show themselves. But the problem is that it misses some quality of life features to solve many of the recurring flaws in most of beat'em up games (like keys being set to perform multiple commands), and those same flaws have lowered the quality of this game's overall experience as well

Review in Persian | Read full review

GameSpew
Richard Seagrave
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jan 27, 2022

With the problematic screen transition issue fixed and some other tweaks implemented since launch, River City Girls is in better shape than ever no matter what format you play it on. But factor in a sprinkling of PS5-centric improvements, and you have what is undoubtedly the best version of the game yet. If you’re a fan of side-scrolling beat ’em ups, consider this a must-have.

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Sep 5, 2019

It’s only when you dig into the mechanics and stories of previous games that you get a sense of how much effort was put into making River City Girls a familiar trip without sacrificing its unique voice or accessibility in the process.

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8 / 10
Sep 11, 2019

River City Girls is one of the best experiences I’ve had with a beat em up and if it has more time to iron out a few kinks, I think it could be one of the best the genre has to offer. The gameplay excels at being entertaining no matter whether you’re playing alone, or with a friend. There’s a significant amount of different moves to test out, along with a simply stunning visual design. It’s a shame that the RPG mechanics couldn’t have been better implemented. Having a feeling of meaningful progression and knowing the difference in damage output between different moves would have been really nice. If you’re a fan of beat em up’s you’re most likely going to enjoy your time with River City Girls. These two girls definitely pack a punch.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2019

River City Girls is the brawler that the series needed to spark new interest in the franchise. WayForward took this classic IP and made something truly unique, yet still recognizable to long-time fans.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2019

River City Girls is like a sweet treat of the beat 'em up standard and does not overstay its welcome.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 24, 2019

River City Girls may have been full of walls for me but I can still wholeheartedly recommend it to just about any player, especially those fond of the beat-em-up genre. Just be warned that going without help is a lot tougher than expected.

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Oct 8, 2019

I’m not the only one disappointed in this ending. It was the topic of discussion shortly after the game launched on message boards and on Twitter. Many people have had very colorful things to say about Wayforward when it comes to this ending and their portrayal of female characters. Despite my last two paragraphs, I’m not here to attack Wayforward or Arc System Works for this. I think they made an excellent game that hits almost all the right notes but just couldn’t fully nail the landing. I encourage them to revisit and expand on this story in a sequel, because I think the biggest reason the ending doesn’t make a lot of sense to me is that it’s very abrupt. It feels like there was more story to be told about these characters and I would love to hear and see it. Also I just want to play more River City Girls! Some of you might think the $29.99 price tag for the digital release is a bit high, but aside from the ending, this was one hell of a good time. If you are interested in a physical copy, Limited Run Games had a standard edition available to preorder until September 27th. If you were unable to preorder a copy by then and are still looking for a physical copy, Play-Asia also has multi-language physical copies for both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 5, 2019

River City Girls is a throwback beat 'em up with RPG elements, eye-catching visuals, and a thumping soundtrack.

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