Midnight Fight Express is a fast-paced, over-the-top beat 'em up that delivers satisfying combat and a killer soundtrack, but falters with a lackluster story. Set in a neon-lit city, you fight your way through hordes of enemies using a variety of moves, weapons, and environmental interactions.
As mentioned, the combat is undeniably fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed unleashing chaos on my foes. However, as the hours pass, the game's shortcomings become more apparent. New mechanics and enemy types are introduced, but many of them feel frustrating rather than challenging. Some levels even lose their fun factor entirely due to irritating enemy designs that break the combat flow.
I completed the main story in around 8 hours and briefly dabbled with the challenge modes, but didn't invest much time there.
Overall, Midnight Fight Express is a decent experience that deserves a mixed review (I can't do that on Steam, so I won't give my recommendation). The game isn’t outright bad, but it’s also not a standout. Fans of arcade-style brawlers will likely find some enjoyment, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

Story
The story is fairly straightforward: a former criminal is mysteriously "revived" by a talking drone and sent on a mission to take down the bad guys in a city plagued by crime and corruption. It’s filled with dark conspiracies, bizarre elements, and over-the-top scenarios.
The narrative doesn’t take itself seriously - there are many references to classic action movies, packing in as many familiar tropes as possible. While some players might appreciate this approach, the execution is sometimes lacking.
Also, the writing... Yikes. The dialogue is so cringeworthy that it actually made me want to skip the entire story. It’s a mishmash of unfunny jokes and twitter-like "tough-guy" slang. Honestly, it’s pretty painful to sit through.

Gameplay
The combat system is simple yet satisfying, offering a variety of moves and environmental interactions. At its core, it revolves around a mix of light attacks, counters, rolls, and occasional heavy attacks when needed. You can also pick up weapons dropped by enemies or use the environment to your advantage (like crates, chairs, etc.).
As you progress, new abilities are unlocked, which helps keep the gameplay feeling fresh. Additionally, you can unlock two permanent weapons: a rope that pulls enemies closer and a handgun (mostly useless).
The game introduces a wide variety of enemies, with each new level featuring fresh foes. While this sounds appealing on paper, in practice, many of these enemies come with frustrating gimmicks. Some require you to rely on guns or explosives, which interrupts the flow of "normal" combat and can slow down the pacing.
On higher difficulty levels, enemies spawn with more guns and melee weapons, essentially forcing you into a "rat-like" playstyle - constantly rolling, countering, and using light attacks when possible. It quickly becomes less fun and more of a chore.
Each level offers five challenges, which you can attempt after completing the level (you can’t do them on your first run). These challenges aren't particularly engaging, but they do unlock cosmetics and perks that add modifiers to previously completed levels. While this feature is clearly designed to boost replay value, I didn't find it compelling enough to dive too deeply into.

Visuals
Midnight Fight Express adopts a stylized, top-down perspective, which is reminiscent of classic arcade brawlers. It may not be the prettiest, but it does its job well by maintaining a clean design, ensuring nothing important is obstructed during combat (poor camera-work does the obstruction instead).
The game offers a high variety of locations, enemy designs, and character customization options. While the models aren’t hyper-realistic, their exaggerated features and sharp, angular outlines make them stand out and give the game a distinctive look.
However, the level design could use some improvement. Progressing from one linear location to another quickly becomes repetitive, even if the environments are visually appealing. I’m not suggesting the game needs to be semi-open world, but it would benefit from more interactive elements or something to break up the monotony.
On the plus side, the overall animations are smooth and satisfying. There's clear attention to detail in how characters move and interact with their surroundings. Enemy reactions to hits are particularly gratifying - they stagger, fall, or crumple under well-timed blows. If you're looking for more intensity, you can even increase the blood effects in the settings to make the combat feel more brutal.

Audio
The soundtrack is entirely composed of electronic music, featuring genres like Darksynth and Mid-Tempo, perfectly complementing the fast-paced gameplay and nonstop action on screen. I’m a bit conflicted about it, though. While there are some memorable tracks, the continuous loop of similar-sounding electronic music can become repetitive after a few hours of play.
The sound effects, from the crack of bones to the sharp report of gunshots, are top-notch and do a great job of enhancing the game's immersion.
One major drawback, however, is the lack of voice acting. It’s a shame, because reading the dialogue during intense action sequences can be disrupting.

Technicalities
Aside from some wonky ragdoll physics and buggy animations in the final cutscene, I didn’t encounter any other issues.
Performance was solid throughout, maintaining a stable 144 FPS.

[h1]UNFULFILLED POTENTIAL[/h1] Midnight Fight Express is a fast-paced, over-the-top beat 'em up that delivers satisfying combat and a killer soundtrack, but falters with a lackluster story. Set in a neon-lit city, you fight your way through hordes of enemies using a variety of moves, weapons, and environmental interactions. As mentioned, the combat is undeniably fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed unleashing chaos on my foes. However, as the hours pass, the game's shortcomings become more apparent. New mechanics and enemy types are introduced, but many of them feel frustrating rather than challenging. Some levels even lose their fun factor entirely due to irritating enemy designs that break the combat flow. I completed the main story in around 8 hours and briefly dabbled with the challenge modes, but didn't invest much time there. Overall, Midnight Fight Express is a decent experience that deserves a [b]mixed review[/b] (I can't do that on Steam, so I won't give my recommendation). The game isn’t outright bad, but it’s also not a standout. Fans of arcade-style brawlers will likely find some enjoyment, but it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. [b]Story[/b] The story is fairly straightforward: a former criminal is mysteriously "revived" by a talking drone and sent on a mission to take down the bad guys in a city plagued by crime and corruption. It’s filled with dark conspiracies, bizarre elements, and over-the-top scenarios. The narrative doesn’t take itself seriously - there are many references to classic action movies, packing in as many familiar tropes as possible. While some players might appreciate this approach, the execution is sometimes lacking. Also, the writing... Yikes. The dialogue is so cringeworthy that it actually made me want to skip the entire story. It’s a mishmash of unfunny jokes and twitter-like "tough-guy" slang. Honestly, it’s pretty painful to sit through. [b]Gameplay[/b] The combat system is simple yet satisfying, offering a variety of moves and environmental interactions. At its core, it revolves around a mix of light attacks, counters, rolls, and occasional heavy attacks when needed. You can also pick up weapons dropped by enemies or use the environment to your advantage (like crates, chairs, etc.). As you progress, new abilities are unlocked, which helps keep the gameplay feeling fresh. Additionally, you can unlock two permanent weapons: a rope that pulls enemies closer and a handgun (mostly useless). The game introduces a wide variety of enemies, with each new level featuring fresh foes. While this sounds appealing on paper, in practice, many of these enemies come with frustrating gimmicks. Some require you to rely on guns or explosives, which interrupts the flow of "normal" combat and can slow down the pacing. On higher difficulty levels, enemies spawn with more guns and melee weapons, essentially forcing you into a "rat-like" playstyle - constantly rolling, countering, and using light attacks when possible. It quickly becomes less fun and more of a chore. Each level offers five challenges, which you can attempt after completing the level (you can’t do them on your first run). These challenges aren't particularly engaging, but they do unlock cosmetics and perks that add modifiers to previously completed levels. While this feature is clearly designed to boost replay value, I didn't find it compelling enough to dive too deeply into. [b]Visuals[/b] Midnight Fight Express adopts a stylized, top-down perspective, which is reminiscent of classic arcade brawlers. It may not be the prettiest, but it does its job well by maintaining a clean design, ensuring nothing important is obstructed during combat (poor camera-work does the obstruction instead). The game offers a high variety of locations, enemy designs, and character customization options. While the models aren’t hyper-realistic, their exaggerated features and sharp, angular outlines make them stand out and give the game a distinctive look. However, the level design could use some improvement. Progressing from one linear location to another quickly becomes repetitive, even if the environments are visually appealing. I’m not suggesting the game needs to be semi-open world, but it would benefit from more interactive elements or something to break up the monotony. On the plus side, the overall animations are smooth and satisfying. There's clear attention to detail in how characters move and interact with their surroundings. Enemy reactions to hits are particularly gratifying - they stagger, fall, or crumple under well-timed blows. If you're looking for more intensity, you can even increase the blood effects in the settings to make the combat feel more brutal. [b]Audio[/b] The soundtrack is entirely composed of electronic music, featuring genres like Darksynth and Mid-Tempo, perfectly complementing the fast-paced gameplay and nonstop action on screen. I’m a bit conflicted about it, though. While there are some memorable tracks, the continuous loop of similar-sounding electronic music can become repetitive after a few hours of play. The sound effects, from the crack of bones to the sharp report of gunshots, are top-notch and do a great job of enhancing the game's immersion. One major drawback, however, is the lack of voice acting. It’s a shame, because reading the dialogue during intense action sequences can be disrupting. [b]Technicalities[/b] Aside from some wonky ragdoll physics and buggy animations in the final cutscene, I didn’t encounter any other issues. Performance was solid throughout, maintaining a stable 144 FPS.