Everyone loves cute girls doing cute things. But what about cute girls beating up cute things? Yeah, I bet you didn’t think about that. Luckily, the fine folks at WayForward did. They created a game based around this entire premise years ago. It’s one of my favorite beat-’em-up games ever, actually. And now you can play it for free.
Originally released in 2019, River City Girls stars players as Misako and Kyōko, two female side characters from the River City Ransom series. Originally, Misako and Kyōko were designed as the girlfriends for series protagonists Kunio and Riki; instead, this game casts the two as heroines searching for their boyfriends, who apparently are in grave danger. Along the way, expect to beat up (and be beaten up by) various students, gangsters, and ne’er-do-wells around town. Including other cute girls.
Be a girl. Beat up other girls. Do I have to say more?
I played River City Girls on my Linux (yes, Linux) gaming desktop in 2020, and I fell in love with the game immediately. At the time, my spare gaming computer was hooked up to my 4K TV in my living room, so I got to experience the game from my couch. And, man, what a fun ride. Seriously, there’s nothing like watching Kyōko pick up a bench and chuck it at another schoolgirl, or using Misako’s backpack to knock out corrupt police officers. I finished my first playthrough in about six hours, although I’ve been itching to come back — especially since I have its sequel, River City Girls 2, waiting in my Steam backlog.
Now, I wouldn’t consider River City Girls the hardest side-scrolling beat-’em-up I’ve ever played. Not on the easier difficulty, anyway. But even without touching hard mode, River City Girls offered an engaging and challenging experience — and a good excuse to mash buttons on a Sunday afternoon before therapy. In fact, it’s a pretty good intro to the beat-’em-up genre in general. Perfect for newcomers who want to experience brawler combos and thrills through cute girls KOing bad dudes.
Anyway, River City Girls normally retails for $29.99, so if you grab this game for free? It’s practically a steal. You have until April 17th, after which it’s no longer available as a freebie. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t you want to rescue your boyfriend?! Log in to your Epic Games Store account and pick up the first River City Girls now.
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