PLATFORM: PLAYSTATION 4 (REVIEWED), XBOX ONE, NINTENDO SWITCH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

From Flux Game Studio and GameMill, the neon cheese and ‘80s-laced hue of the fantastic Cobra Kai TV series has now been brought to video game life in Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues.

Utilising the lore of The Karate Kid, its sequels, and now Cobra Kai, this new offering will tick a whole host of the right boxes for those of us who have a fondness for that most beloved of properties. It would be easy to simply rely on nostalgia here, but The Karate Kid Saga Continues is so much fun to play through. Think the face-punching, spin-kicking brilliance of a Streets of Rage, just with a hearty dose of The Karate Kid sprinkled on top.

Choosing to follow the Cobra Kai or Miyagi methodology, you instantly find yourself thrown into a world that is infinitely familiar to anyone with a fondness for all things ‘80s. As your kick and punch your way through a side-scrolling landscape, new combos and new characters open up amongst the backdrop of a sun-kissed soundtrack. Whether it’s Johnny Lawrence and his disciples or Daniel LaRusso and his followers, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a visual and audio delight.

With interactive environments and the ability to switch up your character mid-fight, there’s forever a bright spark of energy to the action in The Karate Kid Saga Continues. The actual moves and animation involved in the game are fantastic, although one slight disappointment is that the controls and moving your character can be a tad buggy at times. Hopefully there’s a patch coming to fix this, but for now it doesn’t take too much away from the gaming experience.

For those with a love of The Karate Kid franchise, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is like a warm and fuzzy hug from the past. And let’s face it, right now we could all likely do with that.