3 people found this review helpful
Not Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 1.7 hrs on record
Posted: 16 Dec, 2024 @ 2:59pm
Updated: 18 Dec, 2024 @ 8:15am

UPDATE: The developers have released a patch that addresses some of the issues mentioned in my review, including improvements to movement speed, minor improvements to combat, and a few other fixes. However, there are still no plans to implement a save system for online play, which remains a dealbreaker for me, and is not great for those wanting to experience the game for the first time online with friends. I’ll revisit the game later down the line or when the price better reflects its current state, if nothing changes.

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I want to begin by saying that I approached this game with the hope of rekindling the magic of my childhood. Back in the '90s, I would religiously watch Mighty Morphin Power Rangers every Saturday morning as it aired, utterly obsessed with everything Power Rangers. So, when I first learned this game was in development, I was ecstatic. Fast forward to its release, and it pains me to say that Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind feels like a half-baked effort that falls far short of its potential.

From the outset, the developers acknowledged challenges with the online co-op functionality, initially promising two-player co-op at launch and a later patch to enable full 5-6 player online multiplayer. However, the game launched without any online multiplayer at all—a major letdown that immediately soured the experience.

Eager to give the game another chance after the promised patch, a friend and I returned to try it out, only to be met with more disappointment. The gameplay felt sluggish and uninspired; the movement is slow, and the combat is disappointingly limited, with all rangers sharing an identical moveset and only a single super ability each. While such simplicity might have been acceptable in the early '90s, it feels woefully outdated today, especially in light of gems like Streets of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, which have set the bar high for the genre.

What truly marred the experience was realising that our game progress hadn’t been saved after slogging through 4-5 stages, made all the more tedious by the aforementioned gameplay issues. Upon investigating, I learned that the developers had stated, “Saves are not supposed to work online due to a variety of issues, but we are working on a way to improve that situation.” While it’s commendable that they’re addressing this, such a glaring issue is unacceptable in a game priced at £30/$35.

To the developers’ credit, they’ve done a commendable job of capturing the essence of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers—to a degree. The game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, with a mostly original soundtrack that includes some thoughtful nods to the series, along with the iconic theme song featured during key moments. However, even this aspect feels somewhat incomplete. The absence of a full morphing sequence or the ability to start as the rangers in their civilian forms and earn their morphs, as seen in earlier games, feels like a missed opportunity to truly embrace the source material. While this is more of a nitpick compared to the game’s fundamental flaws, it would have been a welcome touch for fans.

I appreciate the developers’ intention to address these shortcomings, and I sincerely hope the game improves in future updates, as I would love to revisit this game someday. For now, however, Rita's Rewind falls short of the morphinominal experience fans deserve.
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