"Midnight Fight Express" is a 3D, iso, beat 'em up that's a fun time. A very overzealous and fun fighter to help make up for an OK plot line.
I’ve always felt cheated as a person growing up in the early 2000s. TV shows, movies, and even some games getting censored for violence and gore. Heck, it was only about two years ago that I saw “RoadHouse” with Patrick Swasey for the first time. Watching a man ‘rip’ another throat out was madness. Granted, that was about as real and as cheesy as you’d expect for a film circa 1989 (eight years before I was born, you can do the math to figure out how old that makes me). There’s been that piece of me that longs for it. Not the violence, but the thrill of watching action like that and even living it in some cases. All of us dream at some point of being the hero in our action movie. It may sound like I’m trying to describe Batman to you, but I am not. I’m talking about “Midnight Fight Express” from Humble Games.
“Midnight Fight Express” is a beat ’em up fighting game that allows you to take the place role of the hero. You play as Babyface, a protagonist that you don’t know much about to start. You begin in an interrogation room, stripped of all knowledge of what is happening (and your clothes). You then start having flashbacks where the player learns more about what has happened and why you’re here.
The world outside is in shambles. Your ‘City of Tomorrow’ has gone to hell in a handbasket. Violence is at an all-time high. Evil is on the brink of a total hostile takeover, and everyone is to ‘stay home.’ As Babyface learns about the world’s fate around him, the mailman drops off what looks to be a saving grace. Droney is…well a drone and your sidekick as you now learn your goal. Save the city before the sun comes up. The hero’s journey is now before them. Droney wants you to save the city, and in return, you’ll get you’re old life back.
Here is part of the review where you’ve run out of bubble gum, and now you’ll have to go and kick butt.
The combat is close quarters. You go in like a full-blown brute. Full on fisticuffs. It’s honestly a fun fighting game combat-wise. It feels tense at times as you move through the world. Taking on baddies, you’ll gain knowledge of how each type fights, attacks, and their weaknesses. Fighting earns you skill points and cash that you can use to help up your combat skills or spend on super sweet clothing to help make you look more like a badass.
In fight sequences, you interact with the world around you and pick up weapons that enemies drop. This is a cool feature, but one that I have issues with. During close combat, you have to spam the button to pick it up, only to have picked it up and sat it back down like 12 times before you actually realize it. Weapons also have a ‘life meter.’ Meaning everything you use can and will break at some point. I don’t hate this feature, but it’s confusing. The amount of use for each weapon is about the same. I can use a club for about the same time I use a knife. Both feel like they have shorter life spans. Guns are also in-game but have short lives as well due to ammo size in the gun. Babyface never really holds on to a weapon for a long time.
Nothing about the game is slow. I want to preface that. However, the dialogue in levels and fight sequences always feels slightly misplaced. Like the conversations suddenly pop up to take you out of fighting. Most are shorter blurbs like, ‘we gotta head down there,’ but some longer conversations and dialogue can take you out of the fight.
Enemies are interesting. Each has its character designs and abilities. From ‘Bulky Bozos’ to ‘The Muscle’ each has its purpose as you move through the world. As you learn and develop through the skill tree, you’ll learn and use special new attacks on these foes. However, I never really strayed too far from the basics. Just common attacks and dodges felt like enough to get through each fight.
The story overall is just OK. It’s not the most riveting and philosophical story known to mankind. As you move through the world, you’ll begin to learn more about your past and how it seems you’ve forgotten a lot about the world before. That’s not the point though. Everything out the game feels over the top, and that’s where the game makes up. Fights and combat feel claustrophobic at times. Tight combat in tight corners makes for tense and anxiety-filled battles that make it all the more exciting for you to play.
I want to take a moment and talk about this soundtrack and OST. Noisecream who also did “My Friend Pedro,” are the creators. This might be one of the most influential OSTs I’ve heard in a long time. Sure I’ve played games the OST has ‘added’ something, but never like this. Going back to the tense battles and fights, the music adds to that. Listening through headphones, you get this building of tension as if someone is about to sneak up on you. It’s both good and unsettling to make you feel on edge. It’s a lot of techno, and its synthy sounds and heavy bass hits make your blood pressure rise as you tense up. It’s honestly really great pump-up music.
Visually, the game looks fine. Lots of gray, black, and darker color palettes make sense because you know…at night. Character designs for both you and others are simple, yet effective in conveying parts of enemies and others. The world is also really well put together. Levels feel dirty and distorted. You perceive the dinginess. Trash scattered everywhere, and things destroyed on the ground. It’s a messy world with the possible collapse of the city in front of you. The worldbuilding is also a great point of the game. Everything feels like there is a purpose that you must see and learn about.
“Midnight Fight Express” is a 3D, iso, beat ’em up that’s a fun time. A very overzealous and fun fighter to help make up for an OK plot line. Fights are nerve-racking and get you excited. The music is a great mood setter. Combat is OK. You’ll often stick with the same moves. AI enemies are fine but lack just something to make the battles feel more. It’s a fun time. It lacks just that little something to help push it to a newer height.
“Midnight Fight Express” is out now for Switch, Xbox Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
