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Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons tries to revive the series once more

The latest attempt to resurrect the Double Dragon series comes from Modus Games and Secret Base.

Ozzie Mejia

May 3, 2023 12:35 PM

Modus Games

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In a business that thrives on the concept "what's old is new again," Double Dragon has had a particularly rough time reaching its former glory. A staple of 80s gaming, Double Dragon has seen multiple attempts at a series revival over the years with little to no success. Publisher Modus Games and developer Secret Base are going to be the latest to try, announcing a new entry in the series called Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons.

Licensed from current franchise owners Arc System Works, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons will feature a new pixel art style and a lot of the arcade-style brawling that originally made the series famous. However, the game will also add some new ideas. The most interesting one involves the addition of roguelike elements, allowing players to approach mission order how they want and upgrade their characters as they go. "Characters" in this case include more than just Jimmy and Billy Lee. This game will feature up to 13 playable characters, including Marian and Uncle Matin.

With Double Dragon's lore being somewhat of a mess, Modus is clarifying that this will be an alternate take on the Billy and Jimmy's early days, which will see them run afoul of various enemies, both old and new. The game will launch with two-player local co-op, though online won't be ready to roll on day one. Modus is targeting a later update for online co-op.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is coming soon. Expect it to arrive on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch this summer. Those interested in more screenshots can head over to the Double Dragon Gaiden website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?