"Wulverblade" Review

A side-scrolling brawler in the vein of "Streets of Rage" and "Alien Hominid," "Wulverblade" blends bloody slash-and-hack combat with outrageous humor and hellacious boss battles.

Packing eight sadistic levels of swarming you-against-the-world melees, the effort from developers Fully Illustrated and Darkwind Media makes for a blood-pumping, button-mashing spectacle with every ounce of its being.

The game makes its way to the PS4 and Xbox One in a buffed-up, feature-added form -- online leaderboards and a animations flowing at a consistent 60 fps. With the Roman army bearing down on northern Britannia, you select a warrior who represents the presiding tribe and proceed to bash in the skulls of any and all soldiers who dare cross your path.

Single-player modes are fun, but the action truly comes to life in two-player co-op mode. Engaging a tricky opponent so your pal can jump the enemy from the back never loses its appeal. Likewise, spacing out your cooldowns and build-ups for rage mode and special moves makes your team an unstoppable dynamo of destruction.

Heroes and enemies utter hilarious quips that keep the slim narrative alive, pumping up the tone with a come-at-me-bro bombasticism.

A rapidly-paced, muscle-flexing lark, "Wulverblade" scratches the stride-and-slam itch that gamers who came of age in the 90s will best appreciate.

Publisher provided review code.