Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a unique surreal arcade scrolling beat-em-up. For me, it has mixed success as it does have cool characters with unique skills and some cool ideas. But as the gameplay is not robust this game will struggle to pull players in outside of fans of the film and series. I fell that some some features, like powerups, could have been cut if it meant the combat ended up more refined. It is fun to play with a friend and I’m sure fans of the series will enjoy the tie in, but it just leaves me with the feeling that this was rushed out before it was done.

Cobra Kai is a fun game that falls victim to a lot of the genre’s downsides. I enjoyed it for what it was, but have a hard time recommending it mostly due to the $40 point of entry. The game has enough content, but it drags at times. This leads to a game that would have been an easy win if it was priced a little lower. I understand why with having the actors portray their roles, but this game could have done better with soundalikes and a lower price point.

It is difficult to objectively rate this Cobra-Kai in an industry where this type of game has completely disappeared from the shelves. The idea of honoring the series in a beat'em up tribute to the 80s was good; unfortunately, the developers did not take advantage of the many generations that followed to bring the wind of freshness and novelty necessary to the quality of the title. We end up with a game that could very well have been released many years ago despite some undeniable qualities that provide a certain playing pleasure. For this result, it is difficult to want to spend forty euros on it. Cobra Kai remains a far from unpleasant vent that might suit fans of the genre or series. It's up to you to see if you want to pay the price.

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues on Xbox One gets about as many aspects right as it manages to mess up. There’s a surprising amount of depth to the movesets, the enemy variety is smashing, and the RPG-like skill trees are an added bonus. When the hit detection and technical accuracies are lacking though, it’s very annoying and off-putting. Throw in the phoned-in voice acting, budget graphics and bang-average story, and you find that most of the good work comes undone.

If you’re a massive Cobra Kai fan, you’ll find enough good here for it to provide you with some hours of entertainment. It’s just not quite the game that it could have been. Thanks to Streets of Rage 4, the side-scrolling beat ’em up bar has been raised this year, and while Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a fuller, more feature-packed entry in the genre, its core gameplay isn’t quite up to scratch. Maybe it’ll get patched and fulfil its potential? Until then, it’s an experience that most will find annoyingly mediocre.