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Disclaimer: I moderate the official game forum on behalf of the devs, and received the game for free for doing so. I own an openly endorsed sister-website hosting custom-made SFD content. I started playing in Pre-Alpha 1.4.2, over 9 years ago, so my experience may vastly differ from yours. I'll do my best to try and stay as objective as I can be, but for all intents and purposes I may be considered biased.

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The original Superfighters Flash game helped me create some great memories over the years. My best friend and I used to play local co-op for hours trying to master the controls and compete with eachother in the 8-player Versus against the AI. Most SFD players originate in this Flash game, and share similar experiences to mine. This is important to note because some deem the free Flash game superior to the product put on offer here. I'd have to disagree.

Superfighters Deluxe is a direct descendant of Superfighters, with its key selling point being the ability to play against your friends online. The aforementioned features are also included; local co-op is still there, as are the AI, the modes, the maps, and some of the melee / ranged combat mechanics. It is still a 2D brawler, with no target score, no kill counter, and no objective other than wiping all opponents off the map.

That's not to say the game didn't undergo some major changes. You are now able to aim and fire your weapons independently, enabling more aggressive playstyles firing from the hip while moving. You are able to punch and kick independently, giving yourself better control over your surroundings. You can block punches and kicks with a dedicated block move, or bypass said block move using the grab (more on this later).

You can throw items at your enemies to stagger or disarm them. You can hold onto and climb over ledges, helping you navigate the stage faster. The ranged weapon category has been split into primary and secondary slots, allowing you to carry more gear, with new weapons complementing this change. Items now drop from supply crates, and disarmed weapons no longer despawn, encouraging more competition over resources.

There are more guns, more powerups, more equipment to engage players with on a larger selection of vanilla maps. Better character customization, 39 challenges unlocking vanity items, multiple short campaigns, a map and a script editor that allow you to further alter gameplay, an option to install different texture and language packs to suit your needs, and a 4-player local co-op compatible with most modern game controllers.

If you disliked the core gameplay loop of the original Superfighters you are not going to enjoy this game. Fighters are pitted against eachother inside arenas littered with hazards, allowing them to burn, gib, drown, melt or otherwise crush nearby players instantly. Those who die early will have to sit the round out - no respawns. Last player standing wins. Supply crates progressively spawn throughout the match, further enhancing fights with new pickups.

Weapon supply crates offer different ways and means to approach different situations. Some weapons work better from up close, while others allow you to stay back and chip away at the enemies' healthbar from afar; some set things on fire or blow them up. Most weapons can critically hit opponents, sending them flying through window panes and scaffoldings. Albeit there being a clear hierarchy of items, I feel the weapon selection provides a fun and diverse experience to those willing to tolerate its random nature.

Parts of the map are destructible, allowing you to kill opponents with well placed shots or equipment pieces. Destroying objects may also open up new paths of attack to otherwise unreachable areas. Larger objects can be kicked around to damage or delay foes, while smaller objects such as chairs and bottles can be picked up and used as an improvised weapon when no other options are available.

The game prioritizes "cool value" above everything else. Rather than being balanced, it allows you to do things simply because they're stylish, and can potentially make for a great story. For example, explosive barrels are coded to follow players in their flight; fighters getting staggered will oftentimes ragdoll towards ledges, just because. Those aren't fair, but are chaotic in nature, thus included in the game. There are other cool mechanics, including:

Combat rolling to put fires out and dodge projectiles; diving off buildings, taking players down with you; shooting through cover to expose less of yourself to your enemy; disarming enemies from their weapons to equalize fights; picking up corpses and using them as temporary cover; blocking or deflecting bullets with melee weapons; catching weapons from mid-air; riding Bazooka rockets into other fighters; kicking or flinging grenades back at their user.

However, the game still mostly revolves around luck. Some players will receive good drops throughout the round while others will remain empty-handed. Those looking for a fair fight will find themselves disappointed. Making Superfighters multiplayer has led some groups and individuals to lean towards its competitive side (namely melee combat, which contains the least amount of randomness), dissatisfied with SFD's reliance on RNG.

As with any other online community, players will criticize changes made to the game not specifically tailored to suit their needs. Whether it be the introduction of the only melee power weapon (the Chainsaw), the offensive AI-controlled Streetsweeper drone, or the Incendiary Ammo powerup - all highly requested features long before those individuals started playing - the features will be branded "cheap", detracting from the alleged well-balanced and incredibly fair gameplay SFD featured up until that point. This makes for a fairly toxic game environment.

Melee combat in particular has been under fire for getting slower with each update, more recently due to the introduction of the grab - a move that can be executed by any player (barehanded), potentially allowing for the instakilling of the rest. I personally like the move, as it allows me to distance myself from opponents I don't want to fight, but most community members don't share the same enthusiasm towards it I do.

Throughout the game's lifespan the devs actively worked hard to fix bugs hurting the game and its playerbase. Some are directly tied to the box2D engine and cannot be fixed, namely objects randomly crushing or flinging players off the map. That said, some bugs are deemed part of the game by the devs (yet contradict existing mechanics), and get exploited by veteran players on a round-to-round basis.

Kneel cooldowns, for example - originally introduced to address stunlock meta - can still be cancelled through the use of ledgegrabs, objects, ladders, and low ceilings; this means players can chain kicks into other moves, specifically into weapon throws, which deal significant damage, or grabs, which then incapacitate opponents and allow them to be thrown off the map with ease. The devs actively elect to ignore this issue.

My other gripe with the game lies within its severely lacking opponent AI. Bots don't know how to navigate hazards, use equipment and powerups, or throw weapons at other fighters. They blindly shoot through cover (often at explosives), never prioritize specific gear, and get stuck trying to traverse dynamic terrain. These quirks allow players to easily beat them - a serious flaw in a game that is quickly losing its online playerbase.

I genuinely believe this is a very solid brawler designed with great care and dedication. That said, I wish the devs had their priorities in order fixing bugs and fleshing the AI out before abandoning their game. As of writing this review, SFD is no longer receiving new content updates; it's not unplayable in its current state, but it could be much, much better.

[hr][/hr] [b][i]Disclaimer[/i][/b]: [i]I moderate the official game forum on behalf of the devs, and received the game for free for doing so. I own an openly endorsed sister-website hosting custom-made SFD content. I started playing in Pre-Alpha 1.4.2, over 9 years ago, so my experience may vastly differ from yours. I'll do my best to try and stay as objective as I can be, but for all intents and purposes I may be considered biased.[/i] [hr][/hr] The original Superfighters Flash game helped me create some great memories over the years. My best friend and I used to play local co-op for hours trying to master the controls and compete with eachother in the 8-player Versus against the AI. Most SFD players originate in this Flash game, and share similar experiences to mine. This is important to note because some deem the free Flash game superior to the product put on offer here. I'd have to disagree. Superfighters Deluxe is a direct descendant of Superfighters, with its key selling point being the ability to play against your friends online. The aforementioned features are also included; local co-op is still there, as are the AI, the modes, the maps, and some of the melee / ranged combat mechanics. It is still a 2D brawler, with no target score, no kill counter, and no objective other than wiping all opponents off the map. That's not to say the game didn't undergo some major changes. You are now able to aim and fire your weapons independently, enabling more aggressive playstyles firing from the hip while moving. You are able to punch and kick independently, giving yourself better control over your surroundings. You can block punches and kicks with a dedicated block move, or bypass said block move using the grab (more on this later). You can throw items at your enemies to stagger or disarm them. You can hold onto and climb over ledges, helping you navigate the stage faster. The ranged weapon category has been split into primary and secondary slots, allowing you to carry more gear, with new weapons complementing this change. Items now drop from supply crates, and disarmed weapons no longer despawn, encouraging more competition over resources. There are more guns, more powerups, more equipment to engage players with on a larger selection of vanilla maps. Better character customization, 39 challenges unlocking vanity items, multiple short campaigns, a map and a script editor that allow you to further alter gameplay, an option to install different texture and language packs to suit your needs, and a 4-player local co-op compatible with most modern game controllers. If you disliked the core gameplay loop of the original Superfighters you are not going to enjoy this game. Fighters are pitted against eachother inside arenas littered with hazards, allowing them to burn, gib, drown, melt or otherwise crush nearby players instantly. Those who die early will have to sit the round out - no respawns. Last player standing wins. Supply crates progressively spawn throughout the match, further enhancing fights with new pickups. Weapon supply crates offer different ways and means to approach different situations. Some weapons work better from up close, while others allow you to stay back and chip away at the enemies' healthbar from afar; some set things on fire or blow them up. Most weapons can critically hit opponents, sending them flying through window panes and scaffoldings. Albeit there being a clear hierarchy of items, I feel the weapon selection provides a fun and diverse experience to those willing to tolerate its random nature. Parts of the map are destructible, allowing you to kill opponents with well placed shots or equipment pieces. Destroying objects may also open up new paths of attack to otherwise unreachable areas. Larger objects can be kicked around to damage or delay foes, while smaller objects such as chairs and bottles can be picked up and used as an improvised weapon when no other options are available. The game prioritizes "cool value" above everything else. Rather than being balanced, it allows you to do things simply because they're stylish, and can potentially make for a great story. For example, explosive barrels are coded to follow players in their flight; fighters getting staggered will oftentimes ragdoll towards ledges, just because. Those aren't fair, but are chaotic in nature, thus included in the game. There are other cool mechanics, including: Combat rolling to put fires out and dodge projectiles; diving off buildings, taking players down with you; shooting through cover to expose less of yourself to your enemy; disarming enemies from their weapons to equalize fights; picking up corpses and using them as temporary cover; blocking or deflecting bullets with melee weapons; catching weapons from mid-air; riding Bazooka rockets into other fighters; kicking or flinging grenades back at their user. However, the game still mostly revolves around luck. Some players will receive good drops throughout the round while others will remain empty-handed. Those looking for a fair fight will find themselves disappointed. Making Superfighters multiplayer has led some groups and individuals to lean towards its competitive side (namely melee combat, which contains the least amount of randomness), dissatisfied with SFD's reliance on RNG. As with any other online community, players will criticize changes made to the game not specifically tailored to suit their needs. Whether it be the introduction of the only melee power weapon (the Chainsaw), the offensive AI-controlled Streetsweeper drone, or the Incendiary Ammo powerup - all highly requested features long before those individuals started playing - the features will be branded "cheap", detracting from the alleged well-balanced and incredibly fair gameplay SFD featured up until that point. This makes for a fairly toxic game environment. Melee combat in particular has been under fire for getting slower with each update, more recently due to the introduction of the grab - a move that can be executed by any player (barehanded), potentially allowing for the instakilling of the rest. I personally like the move, as it allows me to distance myself from opponents I don't want to fight, but most community members don't share the same enthusiasm towards it I do. Throughout the game's lifespan the devs actively worked hard to fix bugs hurting the game and its playerbase. Some are directly tied to the box2D engine and cannot be fixed, namely objects randomly crushing or flinging players off the map. That said, some bugs are deemed part of the game by the devs (yet contradict existing mechanics), and get exploited by veteran players on a round-to-round basis. Kneel cooldowns, for example - originally introduced to address stunlock meta - can still be cancelled through the use of ledgegrabs, objects, ladders, and low ceilings; this means players can chain kicks into other moves, specifically into weapon throws, which deal significant damage, or grabs, which then incapacitate opponents and allow them to be thrown off the map with ease. The devs actively elect to ignore this issue. My other gripe with the game lies within its severely lacking opponent AI. Bots don't know how to navigate hazards, use equipment and powerups, or throw weapons at other fighters. They blindly shoot through cover (often at explosives), never prioritize specific gear, and get stuck trying to traverse dynamic terrain. These quirks allow players to easily beat them - a serious flaw in a game that is quickly losing its online playerbase. I genuinely believe this is a very solid brawler designed with great care and dedication. That said, I wish the devs had their priorities in order fixing bugs and fleshing the AI out before abandoning their game. As of writing this review, SFD is no longer receiving new content updates; it's not unplayable in its current state, but it could be much, much better.