Thank you Cougar Interactive for sending us a review code!

Battle of Angels is the third game we’ve reviewed by Cougar Interactive. The Zoo Race was released in 2007 and Noah’s Adventures came out in 2004. Those games are family-friendly and suitable for people of all ages.

Unlike the previous games, Battle of Angels has some mature references and violence that may not be good for younger audiences. In this game, you play as an angel who is tasked with cleaning up a city (presumably New York) that’s infested with crime. The city has violence, drugs, prostitution, gambling, as well as alcohol and tobacco use.

Upon launching the game, you get to select the language and then can read the author’s spiritual journey, or jump right into the action. Once you enter the game mode, you’ll be taken to the graffiti-riddled streets where you have to wait for a dialogue bubble to appear. After you click on the dialogue bubble, you’ll be treated to a low-res story sequence to watch. The scenarios can be as serious as preventing a murder or rape or as light-hearted as making sure a birthday party goes well. No matter the scenario, the outcome is determined by whoever wins the boxing matching between a demon and the angel you play as.

At first, the angel will only have one fighting move available to them. As you clean up the city, more fighting moves and a shield will become available. Until that happens, you’ll be at a disadvantage. This game gets easier the longer you play it. At first, your rank is a Messenger. After about an hour, I worked my way to Arch Angel. Like many arcade games, your progress will be lost upon exiting.

The instructions and on screen legend will show which keyboard keys work for the various moves. The arrow keys are a little awkward and moving diagonally is tricky. There are no blocking moves, and timing is key for executing your attacks successfully. Gamepads are supported and I recommend using one if possible.

Visually, this game is pretty dated. Even still, the message is clear and the developer’s story about spiritual warfare is worth reading. Unfortunately, the story sequences are grainy and don’t look that good at a 4K resolution. There’s a decent amount of variety in NPCs, including a couple of former presidents. Some of them are rather odd looking when animated.

There’s a decent amount of background music and the game will show the title of the track playing on the bottom of the screen. If you like the soundtrack, it’s available for purchase on Steam. The voice acting is hit or miss with some good performances, while others were laughable.

Most of the violence takes place in the boxing ring, but some of the cutscenes have violent situations where people are being held at gunpoint. If you lose, it’s presumed that the violent act happens (fades to black without showing anything) and God will scold you for messing up and you’re sent back to the city to take on another mission. Thankfully I won most of the fights so I have prevented a rape and dog with an unusually small head from getting run over. One of the story sequences had some farting humor.

If you’re in the market for a beat em’ up Christian game, Battle of Angels is worth checking out. The asking price is $4.99 which is reasonable. I can’t deny that this game is rough around the edges, but I found it entertaining and more enjoyable when using a gamepad over a keyboard.