Thank you Sokaikan for sending us a prerelease build!

Recently, Okinawa Rush had a successful kickstarter campaign here. Unfortunately, we couldn't cover this game until afterwards, but thankfully it was successful, because this appears to be quite the gem.

In the introduction, enemy ninjas come and take your wife, kill her, and steal your children. They seek a ninja scroll that has the secret to your powers. Of course you refuse, and then set out to wipe out the evil enemies and get your children back.

The story is pretty basic, but really, that's all it has to be. What you have here is not so much about the story, but about the gameplay. Okinawa Rush is FUN. It's a side scrolling beat 'em up where you punch, kick, jump, and perform various special moves and combos that are simply a blast to perform. And sometimes literally – your attacks include fire blasts and projectiles, along with the more typical uppercuts, kicks, and other powerful moves. Beating up bad guys is so enjoyable here I can't recall anything like this.

There are also RPG elements, where you earn money and can upgrade your dojo, as well as perform katas, which are routines that help a martial artist focus their skills; they can help make you more powerful. These upgrade systems are only in a very basic form in the demo, but they show a potentially very interesting upgrade system when the full game comes around.

There is also co-op mode, which is a little bit more unfinished at the moment (which is why it's not in the public demo, only the press kit). As you might expect, it's a lot of fun, though rather quirky in its current form. I would say it is worth waiting for.

Morally, there is the typical martial arts violence, with quite a bit of blood and gore in the default setting. If you choose to disable blood from the main menu, it does more than turn off the blood. After speaking to the developer, it also sanitizes the story a bit to make it more children friendly, by taking out the murder of his wife in the intro, for example. It's a neat idea, and one that I know many parents will appreciate, since this game will be a blast to play with your kids.

Okinawa Rush is one of the best prerelease demos I have played in as long as I can remember. While it's obviously short, unfinished, and rough around the edges, it's a ton of fun – and I highly recommend keeping a close eye on this one. The final release may be worth the wait!