WINDJAMMERS 2
Developer/publisher Dotemu
Format PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Local multiplayer might be a dying art, something we’ve charted this year in features on the dwindling of splitscreen game development and the dissolution of Japan’s final bastion of arcades. But dying isn’t the same as dead, as proven by Dotemu’s rather unexpected sequel to a 1994 Neo Geo game that might generously be described as a ‘cult hit’. The game offers a respectable if slight singleplayer offering in the classic Street Fighter mould (pick your character, strike one rival after another off the map, with the occasional minigame sprinkled in between), and online multiplayer that’s sadly deserted these days. But, as befits the game’s heritage, Windjammers 2 really sings when you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with an opponent, jostling and taunting and generally making an offensive amount of noise each time a point is scored.